64 Investments, an investment company targeting post Covid opportunities, has identified central London as a cyclical buying opportunity.
Ralf Nocker, who launched 64 Investments this year with partner and former Heitman executive Mark Abramson, said: ‘There is a market disclocation now that is the chance of a lifetime. It comes from an exogenous shock and it is more profound than the 2007-2008 crisis because it is so sharp and deep.’
He said central London offices is one of 64 Investments’ key areas of focus. ‘We have a pipeline of 20 or so deals. We see price drops of 30%-50% which we think compensates for the uncertainties around rental income and occupational demand.’
One of the shortlisted investments is a Covent Garden building with ground floor retail and offices above, which 64 Investments is in discussions to buy for circa £40 mln.
In London, 64 Investments is looking at redevelopment opportunities in partnership with specialist London developer CO-RE.
64‘s first transaction was the acquisition of a non-performing loan in Italy, one of the first NPL deals since Covid, which the company announced in a press release last month.
64 Investments acquired the loan and the shopping centre that the loan is secured on, a 13,000 m2, food-anchored convenience centre with 60 shops let to tenants including H&M and Adidas.
Nocker said he could not comment on a report on Debtwire that the banks which sold the loan were ING and EAA and that the centre was Ibleo in Sicily.
‘While we cannot identify the centre or the financing parties involved, we are pleased to be at the forefront of investment activity resuming in the European real estate and NPL market’, the press release said. ‘We secured a discount of over 60% to market value in this first mover deal, and we are looking forward to further opportunities arising from the post-lockdown market dislocation.’
Nocker previously worked for Vivion Investments where he was chief investment officer. The Dayan family, who also own Vivion, are one of a number of 64 Investments’ capital partners.
An earlier version of this story which said that 64 Investments has agreed to buy Bavaria House, 13-14 Appold Street, was incorrect.
