The UK subsidiary of New York-based Marathon Asset Management has acquired a 14-property portfolio from Credit Suisse in one of the largest transactions in the Netherlands so far this year.
The investment volume for the acquisition of the 140,000 m2 portfolio was not disclosed, but PropertyEU estimates it was in the region of €380 mln.
The portfolio was acquired by MCAP Global Finance, a London subsidiary of Marathon Asset Management, the US-based global credit manager with $13 bn (€11.4 bn) of opportunistic capital under management.
This is the third large transaction by MCAP in the Dutch market in recent months. In February Marathon's subsidiary acquired the Zuidtoren office property in Hoofddorp, near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, for €40 mln, and at the end of 2015 MCAP purchased 14 office properties from a Dutch fund managed by Bouwinvest Real Estate Investment Management.
About 85% of the Credit Suisse portfolio measured in m2 is located in the Randstad conurbation, which encompasses the cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Offices account for three quarters of the rental income, with the rest coming from retail, hotel, logistics and educational space.
Credit Suisse sold the assets on behalf of two of its open-ended property funds, CS Euroreal and CS Property Dynamic. Property adviser NL real estate, and its partner Knight Frank, advised Credit Suisse in the disposal, with Houthoff Buruma providing legal advice. CBRE and law firm Loyens & Loeff advised the buyer.
Fred Rikken, a partner at NL real estate, said, 'This portfolio provides good exposure in the most important office locations in the Netherlands, locations where there is currently strong investor demand. More and more investors are looking at the opportunities to place capital outside the traditional core European markets such as the UK, Germany and France, and Amsterdam is now a particularly attractive option.'
