BMO boosts transaction volume by 40% to €585m

The German unit of BMO Real Estate Partners, the former F&C REIT acquired last year by Canada’s Bank of Montreal group, boosted its transaction volume in Germany in 2015 by 40% to €585m, of which €500m was in the acquisition of 21 separate property assets, while 10 assets were sold for €85m. In all, transaction volume rose by 40% on the previous year 2014's €417m.

At end-of-year, assets under management rose by 16% on 2014 to €1.972bn. Throughout 2015 the Munich-based BMO raised €280m in equity commitments from investors.

According to managing director Iris Schöberl, “The year 2015 was characterised by further growth for us. We expanded our core business and intensified our pan-European investment solutions in co-operation with our colleagues in London and Paris.”

A key launch was the "Best Value Europe I", a Spezialfonds for German institutional investors with target volume of €700m.  The fund invests in high street assets in the largest European cities. It has already acquired four properties in Rome, Barcelona and Paris, while further transactions are in the pipeline.

For its Spezialfonds "Best Value Germany II" and several individual mandates, BMO bought inner city retail and retail warehouses across Germany. Equity placement for the BVG II fund has been completed and it has reached 65% of its target investment volume of €550m. For an individual mandate, the firm acquired several new residential assets last year across Germany, with the portfolio for the German occupational pension scheme valued at €476m at year-end.

BMO described the outlook for 2016 as "growth in an ever-narrowing market". According to Schöberl, “Despite the pressure on prices, we have no intention of broadening out to include assets in inferior locations – even if the market is becoming more difficult and some investors will need to take a reality check on their yield expectations.”

In commercial property, BMO was managing 305 assets with 926,000 sqm of gross lettable area in 191 separate locations across Germany at end-2015. It said it managed to lease out 88% of its vacant space last year.

BMO described the outlook for 2016 as "growth in an ever-narrowing market". According to Schöberl, “Despite the pressure on prices, we have no intention of broadening out to include assets in inferior locations – even if the market is becoming more difficult and some investors will need to take a reality check on their yield expectations.”