Rockspring Property Investment Managers has acquired a logistics portfolio totalling 158,000 m2 on behalf of its Rockspring TransEuropean Property Limited Partnership VI (TEP VI) for an undisclosed sum.

distribution warehouse rs

Distribution Warehouse Rs

Acquired in an off-market transaction, the portfolio consists of five assets located in the outskirts of Paris, Lyon, and Orleans and will be managed by the firm's Paris-based asset management team.

The deal follows the €101 mln portfolio of four French high-grade logistics properties acquired in April 2016 and sees TEP VI’s French logistics holdings increase to 390,000 m2 across 10 assets.

TEP VI, which held a final close in July 2016 with €430 mln of equity and has leverage of up to 55%, is now fully committed across 12 projects in six European countries. The fund has an annual 15% target return.

Commenting on the latest deal, Paul Hampton, Rockspring partner and fund director of the TEP series, said TEP VI  had now concluded one of its core objectives - 'to build an attractive income-focused portfolio of investments within supply-constrained sub-markets'.

'Taken in combination with our earlier purchases, we now have a high-quality portfolio through which we expect to enjoy a strong leveraged cashflow whilst also pursuing a range of value enhancement initiatives - including building renovations, re-tenanting and selective redevelopment,' he added.

Growing logistics portfolio
Since December 2012, Rockspring has originated and closed on just under €400 mln of similar deals - the majority of which have been in non-compete situations, Rockspring's European director Kevin Muscat added.

Rockspring was advised on this latest deal by Lefèvre Société d’Avocats, Les Notaires du Quai Voltaire, Eversheds, Turnbull/Burgeap, Arsene Tax, Expansion and JLL. The portfolio has been financed by German bank Aareal.

Rockspring manages a growing portfolio of logistics properties across Europe which now totals some €0.8 bn and is located across the principal logistics markets in France (39.1%), UK (33.7%), Germany (10.5%), Spain (9.1%), Sweden (4.9%) and the Netherlands (2.8%). The portfolio includes a land bank, with a consented development potential of 240,000 m2 GLA.

TEP VI's diversified pan-European portfolio consists of office, retail, residential and industrial properties in large metropolitan areas of core Western Europe (including the UK). The fund has focused on assembling a cash-flow generative portfolio that can be aggressively ‘managed to core’, utilising the firm’s Europe-wide platform and, more specifically, its hands-on asset management or operator-style approach.