M&G Real Estate, one of the world’s largest property investors, has invested another circa €190 million in European commercial property in Paris, Barcelona and Copenhagen.
With a focus on prime real estate in core locations with strong long-term income growth prospects, the acquisitions were made on behalf of the global real estate fund manager’s core European property strategy, managed by David Jackson and Simon Ellis.
The acquisitions include:
3 Avenue Hoche, Paris – a 4,646 sq m office acquired for €48 million, located in the prime central business district and fully let to Condé Nast publishing group on a long-term lease.
The NAO Building, Barcelona – an 8,331 sq m office acquired for €30 million, located at the heart of the city’s innovation district ‘22@’ and fully let to the state employment office and Novo Lottery.
Kalvebod Brygge 47, Copenhagen – a 13,434 sq m office acquired for €82 million, located overlooking the Danish capital’s harbour and fully let to financial services group Nykredit.
Vimmelskaftet 30, Copenhagen – a 1,831 sq m high street retail asset acquired for €29 million. Home to the city’s new Zara flagship store, it is located next to an existing M&G Real Estate-owned retail asset that the fund manager acquired in 2015 for €33 million.
Commenting, Simon Ellis says: “These deals are aligned with our strategy to acquire prime assets in core locations across Europe. Investor appetite for prime offices and retail in these locations remains strong as rental growth continues, driving long-term income prospects. We have successfully raised significant capital in 2015 and 2016, and deployed it across several jurisdictions and asset classes, providing further diversification for our investors. With further capital to deploy, we will continue to target core locations in major European cities.”
These new acquisitions follow a circa €164 million deal, announced in February, between M&G Real Estate’s core European strategy and the M&G European Secured Property Income Fund. The deal saw M&G’s first foray into Portuguese real estate through a portfolio of supermarkets, which have been sold by and leased back to Sonae, Portugal’s leading food retailer.
The European core property strategy has deployed circa €663 million of capital since March 2015, with acquisitions made in Italy, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Portugal and France.