German asset manager Warburg-HIH Invest has acquired a portfolio of five local convenience centres in Germany from Rockspring Property Investment Managers for a price in excess of €100 mln.
The properties, located in Herten, Bürstadt, Sinzheim, Reppenstedt and Lehrte, are fully let. They cover a gross lettable area of around 43,000 m2.
Warburg-HIH purchased the five properties for its Perspektive Einzelhandel: Fokus Nahversorgung investment fund, from Rockspring's pan-European open-ended vehicle.
‘With the transaction, we managed to secure a sound portfolio of highly profitable properties in German growth regions,’ said Hans-Joachim Lehmann, managing director of Warburg-HIH Invest and in charge of the transaction management Germany unit. ‘We continue to pursue our retail strategy and are bolstering the position of Warburg-HIH Invest as leading provider or investments in Germany retail warehouse parks.’
Stuart Reid, senior director of Rockspring, commented: ‘Following the completion of a number of asset management activities and lease extensions and considering the relative high weighting of the fund towards retail we are pleased to have exited the portfolio at an opportune time in the market to a long-term investor of the quality of Warburg-HIH Invest.’
The ten most important tenants of the five properties (among them EDEKA, Kaufland, REWE, ALDI, OBI, dm and Penny) account for nearly 75% of the annual rental income.
The weighted average lease term is around eight years.
Alexander Eggert, managing director at Warburg-HIH Invest and in charge of the fund management and product management units, added: ‘The acquisition of this portfolio is helping us consolidate the fund’s performance in the best interest of our investors. With the number of properties now already up to ten and the investment total at approximately €200 mln, we have cleared the half-way mark well ahead of schedule and ensured an amazingly fast capital drawdown for our investors in addition to stable returns.
‘We continue to see the food retailing segment as the main anchor of local convenience centres because it is essentially impossible for online retailers to match its assortments,’ Eggert concluded.
