A consortium of South Korean institutional investors has acquired De Rotterdam, a 44-floor mixed-use tower complex in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, for an estimated €350 mln - the largest single-asset investment transaction in Dutch real estate history.
The vendor is the real estate arm of Dutch bank Rabo and Savills advised on the marketing and sales process.
Market commentators describe the estimated investment volume of €350 mln as a 'big success for Rabo Real Estate', which is expected to book a big profit on the sale of the complex. It is estimated Rabo had about €200 mln of capital in the building.
The three-pillar De Rotterdam was designed by OMA/Rem Koolhaas and is located on Wilhelmina Pier overlooking the Nieuwe Maas, a branch of the Rhine River, in Rotterdam. The sale relates to 75,000 m2 of office space, a 278-room NHow hotel, a 2,000 m2 congress and events centre, 3,000 m2 of commercial units and a five-floor parking garage with 670 parking places which is leased to Q-Park. The 240-unit residential component of De Rotterdam is owned by Amvest.
The municipal government of Rotterdam agreed a long-term lease for most of the office component before the property was delivered in late 2013. The lease accounts for about 40% of the rental income for the entire building. The remainder of the office space is leased to various tenants.
Sales process
The announcement of the sale had been expected for months. Savills announced the relaunch of the marketing of De Rotterdam, on behalf of Rabo Real Estate, during the Provada real estate fair in Amsterdam last year. News of the deal comes a week before the start of the 2016 edition of Provada, which features the International Business Lounge & Forum, focused on cross-border investors active in the Netherlands.
Savills said in a statement that Rabo Real Estate timed the sale of the asset to coincide with the recovery of the investment market and the success of leasing out the offices.
Clive Pritchard, head of country for Savills in Amsterdam, who led the sale, commented: 'Timing for the sale could not have been better with high investor demand and availability of financing. The worldwide marketing campaign attracted a high level of interest from the investment community who were attracted to the iconic design of Rem Koolhaas (OMA Architects), the stable long-term income, and Rotterdam which is well known for its thriving community and world port. The buyers being a combination of French and Korean investors show that the Netherlands is a serious player in the European property markets.'
The sale process is believed to have taken quite long as the Korean group proceeded very cautiously with its first deal in the Netherlands. The opportunity was sweetened recently when the Media Markt Saturn group signed a lease for 7,000 m2 of office space. Market commentators say this lease will have had a definite impact on the ultimate sales price.
Korean institutional capital is increasingly becoming a force in UK and European real estate investment. The Korean buyers of the 160,000 m2 De Rotterdam were represented by Amundi Real Estate, which had earlier acted for the same parties in London. De Rotterdam is believed to be this consortium's first transaction in continental Europe. Back in March Patrizia Immobilien acted for another Korean consortium in the acquisition of the Astro Tower in Brussels.
Savills and law firm Houthoff Buruma advised Rabo Real Estate in the sales transaction, with CMS and Stibbe providing taxation advice.
The Korean consortium was represented by Amundi Real Estate, advised by L’Etoile Properties and law firm Clifford Chance. Other advisers included Simone Investments Managers, BOAG, JLL, Cairn Real Estate and HVS.
