Corestate buys further €125m of retail, business as usual

Switzerland-based Corestate Capital has shrugged off its recent aborted stock market listing, cancelled due to "a difficult environment for IPOs in Germany's stock market", to carry on with business as usual in the buying and selling of real estate.

Its most recent foray was a €125m investment in Germany’s retail property sector, buying a portfolio of regional assets in Germany's mid-sized cities.

The portfolio of 20 single assets is in prime locations in pedestrian zones of cities including Bremen, Düren and Flensburg. Tenants of the 56,000 sqm portfolio include well-known retailers C&A, H&M, REWE and Saturn.

Sascha Wilhelm, chief executive at Corestate, said the portfolio was a stable investment opportunity for the company’s investors, who expect a regular, distributable cash-flow. “We are able to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns, especially in comparison to similar investments within Germany’s ‘Big Seven’ cities,” he said. “We see high potential in this market and will continue to pursue this strategy.”

At the beginning of November, Corestate cancelled the IPO of its Luxembourg holding, scheduled for within days, citing the market environment for small and mid-cap IPOs which had “deteriorated considerably”. Since its establishmen in 2006 by ex-Cerberus boss Ralph Winter, the investment manager has transacted €5bn, almost all in Germany. Winter remains the largest shareholder with 62%, along with Swiss company Intershop which has a 28.1% share.