Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (CEREIT) has completed the sale of 12 industrial/logistics assets in France, Denmark and the Netherlands for €65.7 mln to funds advised by US management group Blackstone.
The sale consideration represents a 4.1% premium over the valuation, and a 15.2% premium over the acquisition price.
The properties had been managed on behalf of the €2.1 bn CEREIT fund by its sponsor, Cromwell Property Group, through Cromwell’s integrated European investment management platform.
The assets are all light industrial/logistics properties: five in the Netherlands, five in France and two in Denmark. The properties total 124,000 m2 of space.
The largest asset sold in France is Parc de l’Esplanade, a property which comprises 13 warehouse, office and light industrial buildings totalling 29,854 m2 of space within an industrial zone of 27 buildings. Parc de l’Esplanade is located in Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes.
Of the five assets that were sold in the Netherlands, the highest-valued asset is the Borhweg property in Spijkenisse, located just outside Rotterdam. The property comprises 40 light industrial units in two separate buildings with a net lettable area (NLA) of 7,289 m2.
In Denmark, the largest of the two assets is the Hjulmagervej 3-19 property in Vejle, located in the Jutland Peninsula in Southern Denmark. The asset comprises nine warehouse/light industrial buildings. Each building consists of warehouse areas with associated offices. The total NLA of the property is 12,807 m2.
Funds from the sales will be available for redeployment into new investments across Europe that better fit CEREIT’s risk-return profile.
Wouter Zwetsloot, head of Real Estate Europe at Cromwell, said: ‘On the back of CEREIT’s divestment of Parc d’Osny in Osny, France, late last year, we are pleased to have been able to support CEREIT in this 12-asset portfolio disposal across three European countries.’
He added: ‘We continue to use our extensive local knowledge and experience in the European logistics/light industrial real estate market to look for opportunities as we execute Cromwell Property Group’s ‘invest-to-manage’ strategy.’
CEREIT owns a portfolio of 103 properties, encompassing 1.5 million m2 with a value of €2.1 bn.
