Tamar European Industrial Fund today announces that it has sold two assets in France and one in Finland for a combined consideration of £2.52 million (approx. 3.11 million).
In France, the Fund has sold an asset located in Trappes, 24 km south-west of Paris, comprising a 9,396 m² warehouse, built in the 1970's. The property is let in its entirety to Jungheinrich, a German forklift truck manufacturer, on a lease with six years before the first break. The sale was completed at a net price of £1.95 million (2.4 million) to a private investor, representing an 18% premium to the September 2012 valuation and reflecting a net initial yield of 8.6%.
Also in France, the Fund has sold a vacant unit of 283 m² which forms part of a larger industrial estate located in Torcy, 30 km east of Paris comprising a total of 16,324 m² across 20 units. In order to capitalize upon sustained demand from owner-occupiers, the Fund will work to realize value by disposing of a number of vacant units within the estate.
The sale price for this first unit was £0.19 million (0.24 million), representing a significant premium to the September 2012 valuation, and was sold to an owner-occupier.
The Finnish asset is located in Tuusula, 30 km north of Helsinki. It comprises a 1,058 m² warehouse building leased to a single tenant on a two-year lease from February 2012. The sale was completed at a net price of £0.38 million (0.47 million) which represents a 3.6% premium to the September 2012 valuation. The purchaser is a local company.
Rob Brook, Managing Director of Tamar Financial Services Ltd, Investment Manager to TEIF, commented:
"These sales demonstrate the Fund's ability to realize value, against the backdrop of a challenging market for the asset class, all of which were accomplished at a premium to NAV. The sale of the Trappes asset is an excellent example of our asset management skills in which we purchased a vacant property in October 2011, secured a tenant with an excellent covenant, and achieved a sale which crystallizes a significant profit on behalf of our investors in a relatively short period of time.
"The good level of demand from owner-occupiers, despite the difficult financial markets, for well-located and manageably sized industrial assets means we are well placed to generate additional value from our vacant stock at Torcy, with interest being shown in the remaining vacant units. Furthermore, the sale in Finland means that there remains only one more asset to dispose of in the country as the Board continues to execute upon its strategy of exiting the Nordics to focus on its core markets."
BNP Paribas Real Estate (Trappes) and Orchestra Immobilier (Torcy) acted for TEIF in France and Realia acted for TEIF in Finland.
Source: FTI Consulting
