Europa Capital secured €750 million of stabilised asset sales from its value-add funds in 2019, with sales volumes highest in the office and residential sectors. Together with investments on behalf of Europa Capital’s value-add and core income strategies, this contributed to total transactions closed during 2019 of €1.25 billion.
The majority of sales were undertaken on behalf of Europa Fund V where Europa Capital also completed the acquisition programme for the fund, acquiring a portfolio of Dutch urban logistics assets towards the end of the year. Total investment in Dutch logistics for the year reached close to €220 million across seven transactions for both of Europa Capital’s value-add and core income strategies.
Europa Capital also added to its diversified core income investment portfolio which is seeded with capital from its principal shareholder, Mitsubishi Estate. The portfolio now has a combined value of close to €300 million comprising 10 assets in the office and logistics sectors.
As Europa Capital continues to diversify its product range for its clients, 2019 also saw increased investment activity in its UK only strategies that include the Europa Generation student accommodation fund and also its growing senior loan funds.
The largest single sale of the year was the €142.5 million disposal of the Semaphore office building in Paris, which Europa Fund V had completely refurbished and fully pre-leased to a single tenant. The sale was completed ahead of business plan and before the tenant had taken occupation. Also in Paris, Europa Fund IV completed the sale of a 14,000 sq m office building to an owner occupier bringing total Paris office sales close to €220 million.
Residential disposals were also strong in 2019 totalling €260 million of which the majority were in Copenhagen as institutional investors continue to build their exposure to the multi-family sector in Europe.
Key 2019 deals included:
Office: Disposal of the 12,000 sq m Semaphore office building in Paris, France, for €142.5 million;
Office: Acquisition of 12,000 sq m office building in central Stockholm, Sweden;
Residential: Disposal of 314 residential units comprising three buildings in Copenhagen, Denmark for €156 million;
Logistics: Acquisition of 310,000 sq m logistics portfolio comprising 38 assets in the Netherlands; and
Hotel: Disposal of a 311 room five-star hotel in Warsaw, Poland.
Jason Oram, Partner at Europa Capital, said: “Our investment strategy focuses on markets and sectors with good occupier demand and limited supply and continues to deliver strong levels of asset sales and healthy returns for our clients. Our high-quality real estate asset management skills have driven accelerated delivery of value creation and resulted in performance ahead of business plans.
“Urbanisation trends in Europe continue to form a central theme for our investment focus and we are pleased to have completed the acquisition programme for Europa Fund V and to have created a portfolio that is already delivering strong realisations. Looking forward, we will continue to identify real estate opportunities that meet our clients’ investment objectives in Europe.”
