Grand City in further surge with €330m of new deals

Frankfurt-listed residential property investor Grand City Properties has bought 10,500 German residential units in several transactions totalling €330m.

The Luxembourg-registered property turnaround specialist said the latest acquisitions generate total net rent of €28.5m and have a (high) vacancy rate of 17%. The assets are mainly located in Leipzig, one of Grand City's core markets.

The company has also begun the sales process for 4,500 non-core assets (without specifying their locations) and the net additions from the latest transaction will expand Grand City's overall holdings to 66,000 German homes and €335m in rental income. Its assets are located in Berlin, North Rhine Westphalia, Dresden, Leipzig, Halle, Nuremberg, Munich, Mannheim, Frankfurt, Bremen and Hamburg. The company also manages a further 22,000 residential units for third parties.

Last year Grand City doubled its FFO to €76m and posted profits of €244m, while boosting its portfolio holdings to 43,000 from 26,000 in the course of 2014, before this year's surge in units held.