Nieuwe Steen Investments n.v. (NSI) has reached agreement with a subsidiary of Credit Suisse for the acquisition of the SilverGate office building in Thalwil, Switzerland, for the amount of CHF 44.2 million (€27.4m). The acquisition is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2008. Together with the acquisition of the Herti shopping center in Zug, the total international portfolio now amounts to CHF 79.3 million (€48.7m).
The SilverGate office building is situated in Thalwil, a suburb of Zurich. The offices are located on an office site and can be accessed easily by car and public transport. SilverGate was developed in the nineties and consists of more than 11,000 m² of office space with 387 parking spaces.
The offices are leased by international companies, like Cosmorex, Colgate and Credit Suisse. The current annual rent amounts to approx. CHF 3.2 million (€2.0m). Some twenty tenants are paying a rent in accordance with market conditions and the rent contracts has a weighted average lease term of more than four years. The current vacancy rate is 6%. Through optimization of the property management activities an income upside can be realized. The ground rent amounts to approx. CHF 0.5 million. The acquistion will be paid to a large extent by local financing, at an interest rate of about 3.4% for a period of five years.
Anka Reijnen, CEO of Nieuwe Steen Investments, commented as follows: "This acquisition marks the next step for us in the internationalization of our investment portfolio. Our aim is to build up an investment portfolio in about three years time of approximately €1 billion outside the Netherlands, in particular in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. We intend to create a mix that matches our portfolio structure in the Netherlands. The ultimate goal in this endeavour is to be able to guarantee a sustainable value growth of the portfolio, so that we can continue to offer shareholders a sound dividend, now and in the future."
Source: Nieuwe Steen Investments
