Belgium's AG Real Estate enters German nursing home market

The real estate division of Belgium’s AG Insurance has bought a portfolio of German nursing homes for €138m in partnership with Cardif Luxe Vie, an insurer in the BNP Paribas Group. The transaction was structured as a share deal, with the seller being Luxembourg-based Threestones Capital Group.

The deal sees AG Real Estate owning 80% of the portfolio, while Cardif Luxe Vie will take the remaining 20%, according to the Belgian insurer. The acquisition follows AG’s foray into German healthcare with a deal for two nursing homes in the Hamburg region at the end of last year. The new acquisitions bring AG Real Estate's portfolio up to 14 nursing homes located across Germany.

The homes have 1,614 beds and 113 assisted living apartments, and are leased to nine leading healthcare operators on a weighted average lease term of more than 17 years. Berlin-based VIAM will be property manager for the portfolio.

AG Real Estate, with more than €5.5bn of property assets under management, is Belgium's largest real estate group, and one of the country's biggest asset managers with more than €4bn under management for AG Insurance and a further €0.5bn for third parties.

The German deal brings AG Real Estate into the managed care home segment, as competition for core offices and retail mounts. The company has traditionally invested primarily in Belgian offices and retail, along with warehouses and residential.

The company also provides public car park services under the Interparking brand, of which it owns 90%. With more than 290,000 parking spaces in 350 cities across 9 different countries, Interparking is a European market leader, serving 85 million customers a year with a staff of nearly 2,000. Its portfolio includes car parks in city centres, airports, train stations, hospitals, commercial and business centres, and tourist attractions.