Real estate investment manager Revetas Group announced on Wednesday that it has sold CEE developer Trigranit to the DRFG investment group, after seven years of ownership.
DRFG has acquired 100% of the shares in Trigranit, which will continue to operate under its own brand. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Trigranit is one of the largest privately-owned real estate development platforms in Central Europe and has completed nearly 50 projects over the past two decades, adding 1.7 million m2 of GLA across seven countries in the region.
It recently completed the award-winning 37,200 m2 GLA Millennium Gardens office complex in Budapest and the 8th office building in the B4B mixed-use development in Krakow. It is also active in residential development, repositioning over 90,000 m2 of office development land to close to 2,000 apartments.
DRFG’s CEO Roman Reznícek said: ‘Acquiring Trigranit is a strategic move to strengthen our presence in Central and Southeastern European real estate markets. With Trigranit's long-standing history and expertise, we aim to enhance our development capabilities and expand our market position.
‘Under DRFG Investment Group ownership, Trigranit will continue to operate with its existing management, ensuring continuity while exploring new opportunities and asset classes. This acquisition allows us to combine our resources with Trigranit’s experience, enabling more ambitious projects and attracting diverse investors.’
DRFG is active in telecommunications and financial services alongside real estate. The group manages over CZK 25 bn worth of real estate and development projects in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. It is active in telecommunications in five European countries.
Revetas acquired Trigranit from TPG Real Estate in 2018, together with funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a deal estimated at the time to be worth around €450 mln.
Commenting on the sale to DRFG, Eric Assimakopoulos, founding partner at Revetas, said: ‘I am delighted that Trigranit is transitioning to an investor who truly values and recognizes the expertise and dedication of Trigranit’s entire team of professionals, which has been instrumental to our development projects over the past 5 years.
‘Since our acquisition of Trigranit from TPG in 2018 together with the Keystone portfolio, we have brought new management to the group, Trigranit has completed the iconic, award-winning 37,200 sqm GLA Millennium Gardens office complex in Budapest, completed the 8th office building in the B4B mixed-use development in Krakow, repositioned over 90,000 sqm of office development land to close to 2,000 apartments, amongst other successes. We are confident that under DRFG’s umbrella, they will continue to thrive and achieve new heights.’
Assimakopoulos noted that when Revetas purchased the company from TPG Real Estate, TriGranit’s strategy had been focused on acquiring office buildings and brownfield development sites across Central Europe to establish an office-owning platform.
Revetas, meanwhile, prioritised managing operational risk for investors, particularly in the context of third-party involvement in the development sector. Upon acquiring TriGranit, the group decoupled the developer from the underlying assets, effectively mitigating development risk.
This approach, said Revetas, gave it the flexibility to explore alternative uses for the portfolio. Ultimately, Revetas divested the development arm of the business while retaining ownership of the original assets - a portfolio encompassing over 170,000 m2 of GLA across Budapest, Krakow, Katowice, and Bratislava.
‘We successfully accomplished our objectives with TriGranit and meticulously identified the optimal buyer to propel the company forward, aligning with TriGranit’s development strategy,’ said Assimakopoulos. ‘The transaction yielded returns surpassing our initial business projections - a remarkable achievement. This success resonates not only with us and the buyer but also within TriGranit and the broader market. It underscores the presence of astute investors who adeptly manage risk, ensuring we remain grounded and avoid overreaching.’
Tom Lisiecki, CEO of Trigranit, said: ‘We are excited about the bright future ahead for Trigranit as part of the DRFG family. Under the stewardship of Revetas Capital, we managed to weather the Covid crisis and geopolitical challenges in CEE while completing the landmark Millennium Gardens office complex in Budapest. With new ownership, we will be focusing on new development opportunities and expanding our geographic footprint.’
Trigranit will continue to work together with Revetas on projects following the takeover, such as a logistics park in western Poland and other ongoing developments. It will also will implement DRFG group projects and continue previously contracted projects such as Millennium Gardens in Hungary and Bonarka for Business in Krakow, Poland.
Founded in 2002, Revetas is a vertically integrated pan-European real estate investment advisor and manager focused on distressed opportunities and value-add investments which ‘may be entangled in complex and special situations’. The firm’s leadership has been active in Europe for the past 25 years.
In May this year, Revetas Capital said it had secured three mandates from Korean asset management companies for an initial investment volume over €860 mln.
PropertyEU spoke with Revetas’ Assimakopoulos in a wide ranging interview last year which centred among other things on his aspirations to upgrade ice hockey arenas across several countries in Europe.
