US investment giant TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP) has entered the Czech Republic and Slovakia by teaming up with central European industrial operator Contera.
The companies have formed a joint venture, for which TREP has purchased around €90 mln of assets from the Czech company, including industrial parks in Teplice and Ostrava.
The JV will target industrial projects in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and also in the wider east European region. One of the partnership's first projects is a 140,000 m2 industrial property in Ostrava-Hrušov, near the border with Slovakia.
Contera will continue to operate and manage the assets, as well as assets acquired and developed by the partnership. Contera will also continue to independently own and manage the remainder of its portfolio, including around 110,000 m2 of industrial real estate.
TREP has a history of forging strategic partnerships with local management teams and operators. Its portfolio has included A&O Hotels and Hostels, Arlington Business Parks, Evergreen Industrial Properties, Icon Industrial, P3 Logistic Parks, and TriGranit.
‘In forming the venture, we are partnering with a highly experienced and proven local team to pursue opportunities in a region and sector that continue to experience strong growth trends,' said Michiel Celis, a principal at TREP. 'We look forward to making this a successful, long-term partnership and hope to invest significantly more capital as we source new projects and execute on an exciting pipeline of opportunities.’
Welcoming the arrival of TPG, Tomáš Jirku, co-founder and CEO of Contera, said it signalled the start of a new phase for the firm. 'After 10 years of growing Contera independently, thanks to this partnership with a strong global investor, we can start a new era in the development of our company. Our partnership with TREP will allow us to expand significantly and reach strategic scale in the Czech and Slovak markets.´
TPG Real Estate (TPGRE) is the real estate platform of TPG, a leading global alternative asset firm with more than $104 bn of assets under management and 17 offices around the world. Industrial parks owner and operator Contera was founded in 2009, specialising in the field of property development in major locations in the Czech Republic.
