International law firm Olswang has advised CCP III and EPISO on the sale of a €472 million portfolio of prime European logistics assets and development land in Germany, Poland and France to a Segro Joint Venture. The recent CCP III Fund is advised by Tristan Capital Partners and 2008 vintage fund EPISO is advised by Tristan and AEW Europe.
The properties in the portfolio, 80 per cent of which were constructed within the last five years, currently generate €31.6 million of contracted annualised net rental income. The transaction included the forward purchase by SELP of a 13,250 sq m logistics centre under construction in Leipzig that is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2014.
The portfolio comprises of 25 modern logistics assets with a total of 666,000 sq m of lettable space, a building under construction and 51 hectares of development land. In Germany the portfolio includes eighteen assets in established logistics positions in Stuttgart, Hanover, Saarbrucken, Hamburg, Leipzig, Berlin, Ingolstadt and Kassel. Tenants include Deutsche Post, Nagel Group, DB Schenker and Geodis. Five assets are located in Poland in the cities of Warsaw, Lodz and Poznan. Two logistic centres are situated in France, in St Martin De Crau, a key node on the Lille-Paris-Lyon-Marseille central logistics spine.
Jean-Philippe Blangy, Portfolio & Asset Management, Tristan commented, “We have successfully repositioned the portfolios to maximise occupancy at close to 100%, maintain an average lease term in excess of 6 years and further add value through the development and leasing of over 100,000 sqm of additional grade A space. Some of the properties in this portfolio were acquired recently, however their divestment was accelerated as a result of their inclusion in a larger portfolio allowing us to secure an attractive premium for the Funds’ investors. The logistics sector has seen a lot of activity during the past 18 months as institutions are focused on the attractive income returns of this property type.”
Partner Josef Hofschroer, who led the transaction from Germany, added: “This has been a great example of Olswang’s ability to work on high value, complex corporate transactions that involve several jurisdictions, multiple stakeholders and a variety of disciplines. The sale of this logistics portfolio saw our Real Estate teams working alongside our Corporate, Finance, and Commercial departments across our European offices.”
A cross-border Olswang team advised the two funds, with German partners Josef Hofschroer and Peter Schorling together with Paris-based Real Estate Partner Emeline Peltier leading the transaction. German partners Martin Hamer and Georg von Wallis also advised on the transaction, together with London-based partners Paul Blackmore, Steve Corney and Charles Kerrigan.
The extended Olswang team included Senior Associates Nicolai Lagoni, Dipan Shah, Gordon Geiser and Anika Mitzkait, and associates Alexander Ahrens, Michael Sonntag, Nicolas Bremer, Natalie Hsiao, Christoph Miske, Lena Kroesen, Luisa Einsporn, Lucilia Grilo, Julie Tchaglass, Thomas Ehrecke and Julian Ciecierski-Burns.
