European real estate investment manager Principal Real Estate Europe has revealed it completed €1.2 bn of real estate transactions across European funds and mandates during 2018.
According to the firm, deals such as the acquisition of the National Air Traffic Services Centre in Farnham for €90 mln; the €137 mln purchase of assets for the Principal European Office Fund; the €80 mln acquisition of the Levallois office building for Saudi Investment Manager, SEDCO; €205 mln of acquisitions in Germany for the German CARE Invest I fund and the French Novapierre Allemagne fund; and €350 mln of committments in new developments for a US pension fund contributed to the sum.
During the period, Principal completed €232 mln of asset sales. Notable transactions included the disposal of the Euro Logistik fund for €120 mln and two office assets in Portugal for a total of €60 mln.
'We believe that the current sustained economic growth will continue to drive demand for commercial real across all property types in Europe, allowing landlords to maintain pricing power in the market and setting up favourable conditions for some rent inflation over the next 12 to 18 months,' said Guillaume Masset, head of transactions and asset management in Europe for Principal.
'While there’s a lot going on in the global economy, Europe’s economy is in good shape, with the rental cycle lagging the US by 18 – 24 months. Among other factors, we believe these conditions will present real estate investors with some interesting opportunities in 2019, particularly for those focussed on sustainable long-term trends linked to demographics, innovation-led industries, globalisation and technology,' concluded Andrew Thornton, Principal's CEO.
