Valad Europe has acquired a retail warehouse in Liverpool and exchanged contracts on other assets in the UK and Germany for its new €450 mln diversified fund.
Valad Europe has acquired a retail warehouse in Liverpool and exchanged contracts on other assets in the UK and Germany for its new €450 mln diversified fund.
The deals come as Valad Europe raised £150 mln (€180 mln) of equity in the first close of the fund established to invest in core plus/value add office, retail and logistics assets in the UK and Germany.
The equity raised so far has been provided by several investors including one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. Leverage has been pitched at 50-65%, with individual lot sizes of €6-24 mln.
The fund has already acquired a 2,438 m2 retail warehouse in Aintree, Liverpool, let to Wickes, the leading UK home improvement and building trade supplier. It has exchanged contracts to acquire a South East office asset in the UK and has also secured a German logistics portfolio and a retail asset in Frankfurt.
David Kirkby, Valad Europe’s chief investment officer, commented: 'We envisage a narrowing of the prime-secondary spreads during the Fund’s life both in the UK and German real estate markets and our local teams are seeking to purchase good value, high quality, and leasable assets with strong covenants.
'In the UK, offices in regional city centres, especially in the South East, and retail warehouses currently provide good value investments, while in Germany, offices in the top and second tier cities and nationwide distribution warehouses are priced attractively. We have actively targeted and secured our initial investments in the UK and Germany and our future pipeline of opportunities is strong.'
The launch of the Valad European Diversified Fund forms part of a strong period of growth for Valad Europe since becoming a private company two years ago, during which time it has secured approximately €1.6 bn of assets under management through new business funds and mandates.
In the last nine months it has completed the acquisition of the Investment Adviser and Asset Manager operations of GE Capital Real Estate’s Polish Retail Fund, now known as the Valad Polish Retail Fund, with approximately €600 mln in retail assets under management. It has also been appointed to manage the Mansford and Edeka retail CMBS mandates in Germany, the Landmark and Dutch Offices I and II Portfolios in the Netherlands, and secured two new separate account mandates, one for £100 mln with South African investor, Grindrod, and another with an undisclosed institutional investor.
Valad Europe manages €4 bn of assets across Europe, across 20 funds and mandates, comprising 550 assets and 4,700 tenants, managed by local teams totalling 235 people in 21 offices and 12 European countries.
