Merlin invests €88m in Spanish property during December

Merlin Properties acquired an office building and two logistics warehouses in Spain for a total of €88.4 mln in December.

Following the latest acquisitions, the Spanish REIT's portfolio comprises a gross leasable area (GLA) of 680,000 m2, which generates gross rental income of €129 mln per annum.

The office building, located in the Barcelona World Trade Center Almeda Park business park, was acquired for €36.5 mln. The property has a GLA of 14,540 m2 and is partially let to blue-chip tenants such as Panasonic, Technip and Colt Telecom.

Merlin said the acquisition price reflects an initial gross yield, according to EPRA recommendations, of 5.6% (4.8% net), while also offering high growth potential through leasing the unoccupied space, some 35% of the surface area. In a full occupancy scenario, the acquisition price would reflect a yield in excess of 8%.

This is the second acquisition by Merlin within this location following an initial purchase in August 2014.
The logistics warehouses are located in the Logistics Supply Centre (CLA) in Getafe, Madrid, let under a long-term lease to Transportes Souto; and Júndiz business park, Vitoria, let under a long-term lease to international logistics operator Norbert Dentressangle.

The 16,240 m2 Madrid asset was acquired for almost €13 mln, reflecting a gross and net yield, according to EPRA recommendations, of 8.4%. Merlin paid €28.6 mln, reflecting a yield of 9.6%, for Júndiz Business Park, which comprises almost 73,000 m2 of space.