UK’s Henley buys ex-Babcock HQ in first German deal

Henley360, part of London-based private equity real estate investor Henley, has completed the company’s second mainland European value-led acquisition to date, and its first venture into the German real estate market, to follow on from its purchase of a 25,000 sqm light industrial asset in Rotterdam in August last year, at a gross initial yield of 16.2%.

The 120,000 sqm former Babcock multi-let site is located 30km north of Dusseldorf and within 4km of Europe’s largest retail and leisure complex known as CentrO, in Oberhausen. The deal also included the former Babcock HQ at Duisburger Strasse. The seller was Dazzle Oberhausen, a specialist investor in distressed properties portfolios.

Henley360 said it plans a significant repositioning of the asset over a five year period, which will involve traditional asset and property management, alongside demolition, refurbishment and new-build developments. Work will begin once a full project team has been appointed, it said.

Launched by the private equity group in March 2014, Henley360 was launched last year with an investment strategy focusing on high-yielding, multi-let office & light-industrial properties, including sale and leaseback deals in northern Europe, with target deal sizes of around €10 million and above.

Henley’s platform is focused on several core strategies - prime London residential development, opportunistic commercial investment, HHI a healthcare fund, HPF (Henley Property Finance) a debt focused business and Private Equity into third party led businesses. In addition, Henley is acting for a number of international family offices through its HFO (Henley Family Office) business, launched in February 2014. It currently owns and manages property worth €550m, but said recently it expects to double in size this year to take advantage of the weak euro.

Henley’s CEO Ian Rickwood commented, “This acquisition reflected exceptional land value and a unique opportunity within a major economic hub in Germany. We view Northern Europe as a highly attractive opportunity in the current climate and exchange rate levels, and the expansion of our Henley360 platform is a reflection of our commitment to targeting further growth on the continent…we will continue to look for further opportunities in Europe which provide strong returns for our investors.”