European private equity group MGPA has made its third acquisition of a retail warehouse portfolio in Germany with the purchase of 11 retail assets on behalf of a North American institutional investor. The company agreed to keep the financial details confidential.
European private equity group MGPA has made its third acquisition of a retail warehouse portfolio in Germany with the purchase of 11 retail assets on behalf of a North American institutional investor. The company agreed to keep the financial details confidential.
The properties, which will be managed by MGPA, includes three community centres, one retail park, one hypermarket and six retail warehouses. The portfolio is mainly located in western Germany and provides a combined total net lettable area of 75,000 m2 on a total site area of 190,000 m2. The majority of the portfolio's income is secured by strong covenant tenants, with 55% of the income being derived by leading German food retailers such as Edeka, Rewe, Penny and Aldi.
The portfolio provides active management opportunities, notably through re-letting and repositioning. The largest asset in the portfolio is the retail park Bamlerstrasse located in the city of Essen. This retail park - an older but established format - provides the potential for significant upside once redeveloped.
Following the deal, MGPA has 175 retail properties with a total NLA of 340,000 m2 under management.
'Contrary to many of the traditional investors in retail warehouses, we are focusing on management intensive portfolios where we see the opportunity to add value,' said Marius Schöner, MGPA's head of Germany. 'We have built up a specialised management team with the knowledge and skills to acquire and manage large complex retail warehouse portfolios across Germany. As part of this strategy to manufacture a stabilised value retail portfolio, we also continue to dispose of non-strategic assets.'
