Toronto-based firm Slate Asset Management has bought two convenience retail portfolios in Germany for its first pure Europe-focused fund.
The alternative asset manager paid two vendors a total of €72 mln to acquire 60,000 m2 of assets across Germany leased to grocery and other ‘essential-use’ tenants.
Slate European Real Estate Fund III closed earlier this year after raising €250 mln from European, Asian and North American investors.
Brady Welch, one of Slate’s founding partners, moved from Toronto to London to oversee the fund. He said the portfolios were defensive real estate acquired 'at a discount..Both portfolios have performed well throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, providing essential goods and services..even throughout lockdown periods'.
He added: ‘We continue to see attractive opportunities focused on grocery and essential-use real estate across Europe.’
Slate’s previous real estate investment vehicles had only partial allocations to Europe. The business describes itself as a ‘value-oriented’ manager with $6.5 bn AUM.
JLL and Cushman & Wakefield advised the portfolios' vendors.
