An investment vehicle advised by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) has teamed up with M7 Real Estate to enter Central and eastern Europe to acquire a €79 mln portfolio of logistics and light industrial assets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The portfolio covers four locations in these two countries with a strong focus on the Bratislava area and other gateway cities, with one site having direct access to the adjacent airport. The transaction also includes a development component with established permits in place, allowing for expansion of the existing adjacent sites within a short timeframe.
The assets, developed by international real estate developer HB Reavis, with a multinational blue-chip tenant base, are being jointly sold by HB Reavis Group and HB Reavis CE REIF fund.
M7 Real Estate, the pan-European investor and asset manager, has been appointed as asset manager for the portfolio, JLL has been selected as property manager and JLL capital markets teams in Bratislava and Prague advised on the acquisition. Miroslav Barnáš, head of capital markets and managing director JLL Slovakia, said: 'We are delighted to witness yet another blue-chip institutional investor entering Central Europe, which has now become an established investment destination offering prime investment opportunities across various asset classes.'
MIRA has announced a significant expansion of its global real estate platform in recent months with key appointments in Europe, US, India and Hong Kong. Steven Sewell as executive director, head of real estate – EMEA, MIRA commented: 'Our current focus is on niche real estate sectors where we see good relative value. The logistics sector in CEE is showing strong fundamentals and remains one of the most interesting property submarkets in Europe. There is a growing importance of the Czech Republic and Slovakia as key European logistics markets and these assets were available at an attractive price level.'
MIRA, together with M7, have identified a number of asset management initiatives across the new portfolio including refurbishments, leasing of space, lease re-gears and extensions as well as potential development opportunities on land at two of the assets.
Richard Croft, CEO at M7 Real Estate, said, 'We continue to identify a number of compelling light industrial and logistics investment opportunities across CEE whose yields are attractive compared to those available in many Western European markets but with similar profiles. M7 has a proven track record of delivering value from investing in and asset managing multi-let properties across Europe and we intend to leverage this experience, combined with the knowledge and expertise of our local teams to create strong returns for Macquarie.'
MIRA Real Estate has €3.8 bn AUM (as at 31 March 2016) with a portfolio of 300 retail, commercial, residential and industrial properties in Australia, China, Korea, Mexico and New Zealand.
