Valad Europe bought a portfolio of logistics properties from Aviva Investors, including three projects near Bucharest. This is Aviva’s second regional exit of this year.
Valad and Aviva Investors founded in 2005 an investment fund which reached 22 industrial and logistics properties owned in Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic. The real estate assets of the fund Central European Industrial Fund (CEIF) were managed by Valad, while Aviva Investors acted as fund manager. Following the transaction, Valad Europe will continue to manage the properties, also taking over the management of the real estate portfolio from Aviva.
Valad owns therefore in Romania the logistics parks A1 Business Park, A1 Business Park Gamma and Domneşti Business Park, near Bucharest, with an area of nearly 116,000 sq. m., placing the investor on the fourth place in the largest industrial and logistics owners in Romania following CTP, Alinso and P3.
As part of the transaction between Valad Europe and Aviva Investors, the German bank pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has refinanced a loan of EUR 160 million guaranteed by the transacted properties. The loan replaces a credit line of EUR 169 million obtained as three years extension in the beginning of 2013 from the same bank.
The 22 properties, part of CEIF portfolio, have an overall area of 620,000 sq. m. With a team of 28 people, Valad manages in Central Europe assets of EUR 870 million, rented to 730 companies, totaling 985,000 sq. m in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.
Australian company Cromwell bought a year ago Valad Europe from the American giant Blackstone for EUR 145 million.
Aviva’s sales
Britain’s Aviva Investors registers its second regional exit during one year, Beginning of 2015, the company sold a real estate portfolio including mainly office buildings situated in Warsaw and Prague, as well as retail and industrial assets in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. The American investment fund Lone Star paid for the Aviva properties EUR 185 million, sustained by a loan of EUR 120 million granted by a consortium made of pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and UniCredit Bank Austria.
In Romania, Aviva sold the real estate company Centura Property Holdings, the owner of Phoenix Logistics Park, bought in 2004.
Lone Star paid EUR 9 million for Phoenix Logistics Park in Chiajna, near Bucharest. The logistics park includes a building with a total built area of 22,000 sq. m, including 20,650 sq. m storage area and 1,350 sq. m office area. The tenants of the building include DB Schenker Romtrans, occupying 5,200 sq. m, but nearly half of the building is vacant. The property lies on nearly 4.3 ha of land. (Source: capital.ro)
