The portfolio comprising 2,023 residential and 60 other, mainly commercial units, was launched for sale in the fourth quarter of 2019 with the deal being signed last Sunday.

The portfolio is understood to have received bids well over Heimstaden’s one over the past weeks, with sources pointing to offers of up to €400 mln. However, Heimstaden secured the deal with what is believed to have been an unconditional bid, not contingent upon financing or boardroom approval.

The assets are spread across 29 cities in the Netherlands. Sixty percent of the properties are situated in the so-called Randstad megalopolis, the urban area in and around Amsterdam and Rotterdam with strong macro-economic growth prospects.

‘We achieved a comprehensive and solid agreement with Heimstaden, a well-respected and leading residential property company, thanks to our strong local expertise and competence of our agile transactions team on the ground here in the Netherlands. We believe the residential portfolio is in very good hands and the sale underlines our ability to close strategic deals even in the current very challenging times for all of us,’ said Emile Poort, head of Transactions Benelux, at Patrizia.

Peter Helfrich, regional head North-West Europe at Patrizia, added: ‘The residential sector in the Netherlands remains very attractive for investors with strong market fundamentals continuing to underpin it. Growing demand for good and affordable housing is likely to continue into the foreseeable future. Patrizia as a reliable and strong partner is very much in the market to source new residential acquisition opportunities on behalf of its clients in the Netherlands.’

‘We started this process in very different market conditions,’ commented Bas Wilberts, head of Alternative Investment at Savills in the Netherlands, which advised the vendor. ‘Appetite to invest in a stabilised income residential portfolio, with a continuous imbalance of supply and demand throughout the Netherlands, was extremely high. It is exactly that – the structural shortfall in supply and underlying demographics – that make the Dutch residential market relatively resilient in the event of an economic downturn – or even recession. This was confirmed by the high level of interest and the quantity of bids we received during this sales process. It is a positive sign that there are still many parties with equity capital active in the market, looking to acquire product like this.’

Patrizia closed real estate deals worth €9 bn in 2019, up over 30% compared to 2018.

The deal follows the acquisition by Heimstaden earlier this week of 142 apartments for €44 mln from local investor DamBorg.