Russia-focused property fund Raven Russia has acquired a portfolio of assets in St Petersburg, comprising office and industrial space, for RUR 4.9 bn (€77 mln) from a fund managed by Northern Horizon Capital.
Subsidiaries of Raven Russia, the LSE-listed company registered in Guernsey, entered into the purchase agreement with EPI Russia I Ky. The properties comprise a completed logistics park and two office buildings, let to 68 tenants. Overall, the portfolio is 98% let and is occupied by international firms including Otis, Oracle, YIT, Schenker and Maersk.
'We are very pleased to have agreed to acquire this high yielding portfolio of prime properties at a highly opportunistic time in the current cycle. The properties complement our existing portfolio and consolidate our presence in the St Petersburg market,' commented Glyn Hirsch, chief executive of Raven Russia. 'This feels like the perfect time to acquire some exceptional, high yielding, assets at below replacement cost. The more deals we can find like this, the more we will do.'
Raven Russia sais that the 87,000 m2 logistics park was predominently let in Roubles at today's market rents, while the office buildings (22,000 m2 and 11,000 m2 respectively) were let on a mixture of rouble, US dollar and euro leases.
With income for the next 12 months of approximately US$13 mln, the purchase price represents an initial US dollar yield of 16%.
