New York-based investment manager Davidson Kempner has been confirmed as the victor in the hotly contested bidding battle for Ireland's National Portfolio of retail parks. The investment volume of €175 mln equates to an initial yield of approximately 6.5%.

New York-based investment manager Davidson Kempner has been confirmed as the victor in the hotly contested bidding battle for Ireland's National Portfolio of retail parks. The investment volume of €175 mln equates to an initial yield of approximately 6.5%.

Savills, which was marketing the portfolio, confirmed the transaction on Wednesday. Rumours of the deal have been circulating for a few weeks.

The National Portfolio comprises five retail parks and, at over 102,000 m2, represents the largest Irish real estate asset opportunity to have come to the market in terms of its overall floor area.

The portfolio was marketed in three lots. Lot 1 included the Nutgrove Retail Park in Rathfarnham, South Dublin, Lot 2 included four major regional schemes namely Letterkenny Retail Park, Sligo Retail Park, Tullamore Retail Park and Deerpark Shopping Park in Killarney, while Lot 3 comprised the entire National Portfolio.

According to Savills, the sale attracted significant levels of interest from both domestic and international investors, with the aggregated Phase 1 bids exceeding €1.22 bn from seven portfolio bidders and two individual lot bidders.

Online publication CoStar had reported that Oaktree Capital Management, Tristan Capital Partners and Benson Elliott were among the finalists.

'There was an extremely positive response to the sale of the National Portfolio and we are very pleased with how the process went,' said Domhnaill O’Sullivan of Savills. 'We are witnessing continued demand from a mix of Irish and international purchasers who are seeking to acquire retail in scale while rental levels are recovering on the back of improving consumer sentiment. As a retail park portfolio, there were significant synergies in terms of dealing with existing tenants across multiple schemes and more importantly new tenants looking to access the market.'

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PROPERTYEU AT MAPIC 2015
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European Retail Investment & Asset Management

Date: Thursday, 19 November 2015
Time: 11:00 - 11:40
Location MAPIC - TriGranit Stand, Stand C1, Riviera Hall (R7.C 1), Palais des Festivals

Finding the right investment opportunities in Europe

Where are the best returns and opportunities in European retail? Which cities & markets? Which sectors - High Street, Shopping Centres, Retail Parks, Luxury or Budget? How do leading investors see the retail market? Join industry experts in a lively interactive discussion focused on the investors view .

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