M7 Real Estate, the pan-European investor and asset manager, has acquired a portfolio of 11 light industrial assets in Hungary and the Czech Republic, on behalf of M7 CEREF I, from a joint venture between Partners Group and Cromwell Property Group.
The transaction price was not disclosed, but M7 said that it had now acquired 19 properties with a total value of circa €127.5 mln on behalf of the fund since its final close was completed in April 2017.
'We believe that a revitalised asset management strategy for this portfolio will enable us to capitalise on current occupier conditions in the region,' commented David Ebbrell, M7's chief investment officer. 'The equity we raised in April has been efficiently deployed as we continue to secure properties where significant capital and income upside can be achieved which will deliver strong returns for the fund.'
M7 CEREF I, which invests in Core Plus and high yielding regional opportunities across CEE, raised €60 mln of investor capital in April and completed a senior debt facility of €68.5 mln with Starwood European Real Estate Finance.
This latest portfolio comprises 209,832 m2 across 276 units, with a 23.6% vacancy. Seven of the assets are located in Hungary, while the remaining four are in the Czech Republic.
'We are delighted to have completed the disposal of the Hungarian and Czech portfolio. The sale of this portfolio is in line with the business plan we had agreed with our investor prior to the acquisition of the fund. Since acquiring the portfolio in early 2016, we have generated an attractive 26% return for our partner on this portfolio,' concluded Karol Pilniewicz, head of CEE at Cromwell Property Group.
