Meyer Bergman makes acquisition in Norway with a purchase in Central Oslo for €30 mln (NO)

Meyer Bergman’s second value-add retail real estate investment fund has acquired a mixed-use building in central Oslo for approximately €30 mln from a venture between Søylen and Madison International Realty. It is the first acquisition in Norway by funds advised by the London headquartered investment manager.
Meyer Bergman European Retail Partners II has acquired a nine-storey, 6,500 m² building on Grensen, which runs parallel to Karl Johans Gate, Oslo’s prime retail street. The building consists of retail units in the basement, ground and part of the first floor that are occupied by Specsavers, Carlings and Via Victoria, while the upper levels are in office use.
Fredrik Kumlin of Meyer Bergman’s Acquisitions team said: “As one of Western Europe’s fastest growing and wealthiest capital cities Oslo is attracting significant interest from international retailers looking to establish themselves in a market dominated by local or Nordic brands. Competition for prime retail space is helping transform Grensen into an alternative location and with targeted asset management should allow this property to generate attractive returns for our investors. We are actively looking for other investment opportunities of this kind in central Oslo.”
MBERP II raised a total of €750 mln of equity and had its final close in summer 2014. The purchase in Oslo follows the €87.6 mln acquisition of a shopping centre in Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic earlier this month. The fund’s portfolio includes prime retail buildings on Bond Street, Piccadilly and Queensway in London, on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, Kobmagergade in Copenhagen, two Karstadt department stores in Berlin and the forward purchase of the Westfield Broadway shopping center development in Bradford, northern England. Arctic Securities advised MBERP II on the transaction.
Source: Bellierfinancial