Specialist real estate investment, development and asset management firm Round Hill Capital has announced new asset management hires for its strongly-performing Nordic logistics and industrial portfolio.
Jacob Goldmann and Jakob Paljak have been appointed as local asset managers dedicated to the portfolio, which was acquired by Round Hill in September 2016 in partnership with StepStone Group Real Estate for $200 mln (€170 mln).
The original portfolio comprised 18 assets spanning approximately 326,000 m2 across Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Round Hill had been evaluating the Nordic markets for several years and the acquisition of this portfolio marked its entry into the Nordic region.
'After only twelve months of ownership, we are very pleased to be ahead of our original expectations on the portfolio, which is providing both stable rental income and higher performing repositioning and development opportunities,' said Michael Bickford (pictured), founder and CEO of Round Hill Capital.
According to Round Hill, since acquiring the portfolio, it has signed thirteen new leases totalling 23,000 m2, which has increased occupancy by 10% to 85%, and increased the weighted average lease term of the portfolio to 4.6 years from 3.5 years, with two recent lease agreements of 15 and 12 years, setting new market precedents for rents for their respective areas.
The firm has also secured planning for a 7,750 m2 expansion of a 30,438 m2 light industrial facility in Pagen, Central Sweden. Skanska began work on site in September, which will be achieved in two phases, with practical completion of the extention project due in December 2018.
During the 12 month period, value-add initiatives on six assets, which include feasibility studies to optimise the use of the land and re-zoning the land to higher value uses, have raised the potential of securing the sale of specific assets in the near term, according to the firm. Round Hill also divested four non-core assets for attractive returns.
New hires
Jacob Goldmann joins Round Hill from AXA Real Estate Investment Managers in Stockholm, where he was asset manager from June 2016, responsible for the management of a €400 mln Nordic commercial property portfolio. Prior to this, Jacob was at at Unibail-Rodamco in Stockholm for three years.
Jakob Paljak has been hired from Unibail-Rodamco’s Nordic office in Stockholm, which he joined in August 2013. In his most recent position as a development manager, he sourced, evaluated and led development opportunities across the Nordic region.
'We are delighted to welcome Jacob and Jakob as asset managers to the Round Hill team. Their knowledge and experience of asset and investment management, as well as development in the region, complements our existing management capabilities, helping Round Hill maximise the value of our existing assets and identify new attractive investment opportunities,' said Bickford.
'We continue to look in the market for other portfolios and assets with similar value characteristics as we further strengthen our team and our portfolio in the Nordic region and across Europe.'
