AEW has acquired a prime retail asset in the centre of Ghent on behalf of its City Retail fund, its first deal in Belgium.
The fund, which was launched in November 2015, has raised €215 mln from several institutional investors. The Ghent purchase is its seventh acquisition, bringing its deal total to €200 mln in cities including Copenhagen, Madrid and Rome. The transaction volume was not disclosed.
'We believe that the asset in Ghent, which has a strong tenant base, is an attractive addition to the City Retail fund,' commented Christina Ofschonka, City Retail fund executive at AEW Europe. 'The fund intends to further invest in assets in locations which we believe will strengthen over the short to medium term. Over the coming months, we will continue to expand our core high street retail portfolio in Europe’s leading city centres and we have a number of potential opportunities in the pipeline which will support the diversification of the fund in terms of both size and location,' she added.
The asset, which is a former post office building dating back to 1909, has been acquired from MG Real Estate and comprises 3,630 m2 of retail space in the Korenmarkt area of the city. The property is currently 100% let to fashion retailers Sissy Boy and Men at Work, Skins Cosmetics, Le Pain Quotidien and supermarket Albert Heijn.
AEW’s City Retail fund has a medium term total target fund raise of up to €400 mln in equity commitments which, with a maximum LTV ratio of 50%, will provide the fund with an investment capacity of up to €800 mln.
AEW was advised by K-Law, SECO and KPMG. MG Real Estate was advised by CBRE and DLA Piper.
