Barings, acting on behalf of a core investment strategy for institutional investors, has acquired a portfolio of ten supermarket assets across five Spanish regions from Kennedy Wilson for €73.4m. The portfolio, which comprises a total of c.38,800m², is fully let to Carrefour, one of the world’s largest food retailers which has traded in these premises for between 22 and 50 years. The majority of the assets benefit from prime city-centre locations and good public transport connections, with two situated in Madrid, four in Barcelona and the others in Bilbao, Salamanca, Cádiz and Almería. Six of the units also offer generous parking provision with a total of c. 1,120 spaces across the portfolio.
Adolfo Favieres, Managing Director, Real Estate Country Head Spain, said: “This acquisition gives us a unique opportunity to access Spain’s resilient grocery retail market with the purchase of a portfolio of well-located assets, let to an established operator with a strong covenant. The fact that Carrefour has operated out of these stores for up to 50 years with long leases in place, demonstrates the security of income this portfolio generates, making it an attractive core investment for investors.”
Gunther Deutsch, Managing Director, Head of Real Estate Transactions – Europe for Barings, added: “Supermarkets remain the preferred channel for food retail, representing 54% of sales compared to online where the share is only 1.4%. We have adopted a highly focused strategy in Spain as we seek to grow the portfolio, targeting high-quality assets with a secure income, underpinned by strong covenants.”
