Mint Investments (formerly CEC Capital group), an investment and development group operating in Central Europe, is preparing a new closed-end property fund, MINT Central Europe Property Fund (MiCEPF), in cooperation with the international investment group Avestus Capital Partners.
Its objective is to invest in core and core-plus commercial properties, offices and shopping centers in four countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary). The fund will be launched next year and it will be the third fund, after CSIA (CSPF) and Develon (QPPH) funds, that Mint Investments has set up in cooperation with the Avestus Capital Partners group.
According to Sebastien Dejanovski, a partner of Mint Investments, MiCEPF fund will have a seven-year investment horizon. The expected net return for investors will be at least 14% p. a.
"As a result of the economic crisis, real estate market in the Central Europe has bottomed out and is now showing signs of recovery and future growth. Properties with an attractive combination of price, yield and potential for further income growth and capital appreciation are starting to appear on the market. Within the last six months, several new investors have approached us from local and foreign institutions to large local private investors all of which are interested in investing in quality properties generating stable income," stated Sebastien Dejanovski with regard to the motives for establishing a new property fund now.
"One of the main reasons for the timing of the fund is the current spread between the yield that prime commercial properties generate and the financing cost. This spread is close to the highest levels seen in Central Europe over the past decade," Dejanovski added.
Core and core-plus properties in the office and retail segments are the fund's target. The fund does not only want to focus on new properties, but also on properties requiring restructuring, repositioning or redevelopment, with a potential for subsequent rental income growth. Mint also expects to increase capital values through active asset management including intensive work on the portfolio's tenant mix.
Over the last 10 years the Mint Investments team has worked on more than 45 investment and development projects. The most significant transactions or properties the team has managed include several office projects in Prague (Office Park Nove Butovice, Smichov's Palac Andel and Factory Office Center) or the Zahradni ctvrt residential project in Zbraslav, developed together with Wadia. Development projects in other Czech and Slovak cities are also an important part of the portfolio, including, for example, Breda & Weinstein shopping center in Opava which is currently under construction, the successful Laugaricio shopping center in Trencin, which opened in April 2009, and Jegeho alej residential project in Bratislava, which Mint Investments is developing together with Finep. Mint Investments is managed by its five partners: Sebastien Dejanovski and Radim Bajgar (Expansion and Development), Vojtech Kraus (Law and Finance), Katarina Lindbergh (Leasing and Property Management) and Lukas Schirl (Asset Management).
Source: Crest Communications a.s.
