New York-based Marathon Asset Management has deepened its involvement in the Dutch office market with the acquisition by a subsidiary of six assets in four cities.
Bryant Park Netherlands Acquisition III, a fund managed by Marathon's UK-based business, MCAP Global Finance, acquired the portfolio, called Mercury, for an undisclosed sum.
The vendor was asset manager MN Services, which was acting on behalf of Dutch pension funds PMT and BPFK. The investment volume was not disclosed.
The Mercury porfolio comprises 21,567 m2 of office space and almost 1,900 m2 of retail. The properties are Vivaldiplantsoen 100 and 200 in Utrecht; Saturnusstraat 40-62 in Hoofddorp; Boelekade 3 in Gouda, and Otto Reuchlinweg 1008-1150 and Antoine Platekade 1005-1021 in Rotterdam.
UniforeDMC conducted the transaction, financing and underwriting for the buyer and is the asset manager for the portfolio. Law firm Loyens & Loeff also advised MCAP. DTZ Zadelhoff, now Cushman & Wakefield, acted for MN, with Houthoff Buruma providing legal services.
Marathon is a global credit manager with about $13 bn (€12.3 bn) of capital under management in opportunistic investments. It's MCAP business made a big splash in the Dutch real estate market in December 2015 by purchasing 14 office properties from a fund managed by Bouwinvest Real Estate Investment Management. Two months later MCAP acquired the 20-storey Zuidtoren office building in Hoofddorp for just over €40 mln.
Then in April 2016 MCAP acquired a 14-property portfolio from Credit Suisse for an estimated €380 mln. About 85% of the 140,000 m2 portfolio measured in m2 is located in the Randstad conurbation, which encompasses the cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Offices accounting for three quarters of the rental income, with the rest coming from retail, hotel, logistics and educational space.
