KGAL buys Dutch shopping centre, sells German residential project

A fund managed by KGAL Investment Management has bought a Dutch shopping centre from a Tristan Capital Partners opportunity fund and Timeless Investments.

Tristan’s EPISO 4 and Timeless have sold the fully-let 12,100 sqm Raaks shopping centre in Haarlem, near Amsterdam in the Netherlands, to the German fund manager’s KANSA Grundstücksgesellschaft fund for an undisclosed sum.

“The brilliant combination of dynamic urban growth, strong footfall and high household incomes in Haarlem, Amsterdam has allowed us to quickly seize this investment opportunity", says André Zücker, Managing Director of KGAL Investment Management GmbH & Co. KG, who is responsible for the company’s real estate asset class.

Jean-Philippe Blangy, the head of asset management at Tristan Capital Partners, said: “Tenant demand and customer footfall remains strong for well-located shopping centres like Raaks, and Haarlem has performed well over the past few years in terms of increased economic growth and spending power, a trend we continue to see across the Netherlands.”

The shopping centre was originally acquired as part of a wider portfolio from Generali in 2015, Tristan said. The property is situated on top of Haarlem’s largest parking facility. It is fully let to 17 retailers, including international and local brands, and has a weighted average lease term (WALT) of just below eight years. Its anchor tenants are Albert Heijn, Bever, Pathé and Intersport.

“This acquisition by a German fund clearly proves that this asset has been established as a high-quality retail shopping centre over the past few years which is a positive sign for the future and its new owner,” said Tim van Veggel, managing partner at Timeless Investments.

The Munich-headquartered KGAL, a long-term capital investor and asset manager for institutional investors, was also active as a seller during the month. Its KGAL/HI Wohnen Core 2 special fund sold a residential portfolio in Düsseldorf-Rath to Quantum Immobilien of Hamburg, for an undisclosed price. The three buildings, built in 2013, comprise 99 apartments with a total lettable area of 8,500 sqm, almost fully-let. KGAL bought the project in 2012 and has upgraded the units since, by reducing vacancy levels and increasing its value through various asset management measures”, according to KGAL’s André Zücker.