WP Carey swoops on €300m Spanish portfolio

WP Carey has paid €300m for a Spanish office portfolio sold by Andalucia’s regional government.

The Consejería de Hacienda y Administración Pública has signed a 20-year sale and leaseback deal with global REIT fund WP Carey on a portfolio of 70 properties it occupies.

CBRE, which advised Andalucia, said the deal is the largest property portfolio to be brought to market by a regional Spanish government.

WP Carey’s Spanish subsidiary Inversiones Holmes has deposited a €15m down payment. The REIT, which typically targets sale and leaseback transactions, has invested more than $18bn (€14.6bn) in real estate globally.

Andalucia will pay an annual rent of €23.6m on the portfolio, which is spread across eight provinces of Andalucia.

CBRE said 25 properties are in Seville, nine in Huelva, eight in Cadiz and Cordoba respectively and seven in Jaen. Five assets in Almeria and Malaga and three in Granada make up the portfolio.

Andalucia’s regional government committed to the sale and leaseback in 2010 as an additional form of financing.