Gramercy sees value in German single-tenant net-leased assets
New York-headquartered global investor and asset manager Gramercy Property Trust has added four new big-box assets to its Gramercy Property Europe Fund. The properties are fully-occupied Hornbach DIY stores , two in Germany and two in the Netherlands. Gramercy paid €71.5m for the 55,000 sqm portfolio.
The properties are leased to Hornbach and have a WALT of nine years. Alistair Calvert, Head of Investments and Managing Director of Gramercy Europe Limited, commented, "This transaction demonstrates our investment strategy perfectly, specifically through the acquisition of long-term leased, single tenant assets in two of our target markets. Hornbach Baumarkt AG is a strong tenant for the Fund and the assets are quality retail units in supportable locations."
In August Gramercy closed on another German deal whn it bought a 36,000 sqm logistics, retail and office headquarters in Jüchen, south-west of Düsseldorf, for €33m. Calvert then said, “We are experiencing a highly active market where we are repeatedly able to find value in transactions that fit our investment mandate. The Fund remains focused on single tenant assets with long-term leases across key markets in Europe.”
Gramercy Property Europe targets single-tenant net leased assets and sale-leaseback deals across Europe and has initial equity commitments of €350m to invest in industrial, office and speciality retail assets in Germany, Netherlands, the Nordics, UK and other European markets. Its first deal in Europe came in April when it bought a warehouse in Germany for €21m and indicated it could spend €500m-€700m annually.
Separately, fellow US sale-and-leaseback specialist W.P. Carey said that it had bought a portfolio of three modern truck and bus servicing facilities for about €38.9 million. The facilities — two in Germany and one in Austria — were purchased from the developer, Wohnungsunternehmen Semmelhaack, and are net leased to wholly-owned subsidiaries of truck and busmaker MAN SE, itself a 75%subsidiary of Volkswagen Group.
W.P. Carey said the three facilities, originally built to tenant specifications, are among the largest service stations operated by the MAN Group and serve as an important sales driver for its 24/7 fleet repair and maintenance servicing operations. Located on arterial routes, the facilities benefit from the high commercial traffic flow that connects several major German and Austrian cities and links Europe's eastern and western markets. All three facilities are net leased, with a remaining term of approximately 15 years and CPI-based rent escalations.