US private equity investor Oaktree Capital Management is gearing up to sell €550 mln of German commercial property assets, Boris Hardi, head of real estate at Sabal Financial Europe Germany, has told PropertyEU.
‘The timing is right to sell,’ Hardi said. ‘There is strong interest in the German market, particularly after the Brexit vote, coupled with a strong office letting market. We also have a low interest rate environment, so the outlook is bright.’
Sabal, based in Munich, is the servicing and asset management subsidiary for European investments made on behalf of Oaktree.
The assets – which comprise both properties and loans - are mainly being divested from two portfolios, Hardi said: Project Adelaide and a financing portfolio. Project Adelaide largely comprises German retail assets which were acquired by Oaktree from the UK’s Nationwide Building Society two years ago for €675 mln. The portfolio includes supermarkets, DIY stores, several REAL hypermarkets and some logistics centres. Around €150 mln of the Adelaide portfolio is up for grabs, Hardi said.
‘Our aim is to bring around 50% of the assets to market before EXPO REAL in October,’ Hardi said. ‘The remaining assets will then be brought to market by January next year. We are open to selling them individually or in portfolios, depending on buyer demand.’
The financing portfolio was acquired by Oaktree from Hypothekenbank Frankfurt last year. The portfolio, valued at around €400 mln, comprises a broad range of assets, including offices, retail and residential properties, as well as a hotel component. In total, Oaktree is selling 30 separate assets from the two portfolios, valued at between €8 mln and €50 mln each.
In July, Oaktree Capital Management and Valad Europe acquired the Wisniowy Business Park in Warsaw for an undisclosed sum. The business park is located next to two of the largest business districts in Warsaw, Upper South (Mokotow) and South West (Wlochy), and close to Okecie Airport. It comprises four buildings totalling 40,214 square metres of leasable area. Tenants include IBM and Carlsberg.
