Rockspring completes acquisition of Helvetia Parc in Germany

Rockspring Property Investment Managers has acquired Helvetia Parc, a 30,000 m2 retail park located 30 kilometres from Frankfurt, for €41.65 mln.

Rockspring acquired the asset on behalf of its TransEuropean Property V fund. The firm was able to complete the transaction within three months of first meeting the vendor, an unnamed global real estate company.

The retail park, which was built in 2008 and has parking space for 900 cars, is anchored by a Toom DIY store. Other tenants include German supermarket chain Rewe, Aldi, Medimax electronics, Deichmann, Takko and dm-drogerie.

'This core-plus property offers us an excellent, secure cash flow opportunity, as well as attractive asset management potential to grow rents through the letting of vacant units and the improvement of the tenant mix,' commented Ulf Christiansen, head of acquisitions for Rockspring in Germany.

Stuart Reid, Rockspring partner overseeing the German market, added: 'The combination of a market leading, in-house asset management team with a decade-long track record of outperforming the market, together with the historically low financing costs that are available today, puts us in a strong position to generate excellent risk-adjusted returns for our investors through this acquisition.'

The addition of Helvetia Parc brings TransEuropean V’s portfolio in Germany to six properties, with a total value of €135 mln. The fund is expected to achieve full investment by the end of 2014, with a total gross value of €700 mln.