Tristan Fund buys logistics park from Edeka for €31m

An opportunistic fund advised by pan-European real estate investment manager Tristan Capital Partners has bought a 24.3-hectare logistics park in the major German distribution hub of North Rhine-Westphalia from an affiliate of the Edeka Group, one of Germany's largest retailers.

Tristan said the €31 million purchase is the first of three planned German transactions worth a combined total of €327 million that the fund anticipates closing on in this and the second quarter.

Tristan’s European Property Investors Special Opportunities III (EPISO 3) fund bought the 85,000 sqm park on the outskirts of a suburb of Bielefeld. It comprises almost 85,000 sqm of warehousing and offices, 11% of which is currently vacant. Martkauf Holding, a subsidiary of Edeka Group, will lease back 64% of the park's space that it currently occupies. Specialist retail and centre adviser CEV Handelsimmobilien GmbH advised Marktkauf Holding on the deal.

Ali Otmar, managing director of investments at Tristan Capital, commented, “This investment offers an excellent balance between substantial on-going cashflow from strong covenants and the value-add potential through the development of new grade-A logistics space over time.”

Five of Germany's 10 largest logistics operators are located in North Rhine-Westphalia because of its importance as a transit area between the Ruhr industrial region and the ports located in the Netherlands on the North Sea coast via the River Rhine. The asset acquired by the EPISO 3 fund is close to the A2 and A33 motorways serving Dortmund, Hannover and Osnabrück, while also being close to national and regional railway services. The park also has planning permission to develop a further 38,600 sqm of space. The Cologne-based specialist developer and asset manager and long-term Tristan partner Alpha Industrial have been engaged as co-investor and to help develop the site in phases through the holding period.