Barings Real Estate Advisers, part of Barings LLC, has facilitated the acquisition of the so-called "Kettcar" Portfolio by an Anglo-Saxon investor, after identifying it as an investment opportunity. Purchased in an off-market transaction, the portfolio originates from a fund run by the pan-European real estate investor Kildare Partners.
Kildare Partners was advised on the sale by Curzon Advisers, which also manages its property portfolio in Germany and Sweden. The purchase price was over €100m. FPS Rechtsanwälte und Notare, Frankfurt, provided legal advice on the acquisition and the financing. Ashurst acted for the vendor.
Following the acquisition, Barings Real Estate Advisers has taken over the asset management of the properties on behalf of the investor.
The portfolio comprises five mixed-use office and retail buildings, three of which are in Düsseldorf and one each in Hanover and Munich. Constructed between 1984 and 2002, the properties provide a total lettable area of around 78,000 m², including 63,000 m² of office space and around 5,800 m² of retail accommodation. The remainder is residential, café/restaurant and service space. Overall, the portfolio is currently 91% let.
Sascha Becker, head of Barings Real Estate Advisers' Frankfurt office, comments: "The assets in the 'Kettcar' portfolio are Core-Plus. Our objective is to apply active and innovative asset management in order to exploit the hidden potential for increased value. This includes both optimising the letting situation and managing works to modernise the buildings and benefit from the associated cost reduction."
Christoph Wittkop, Head of Germany at Barings Real Estate Advisers, adds: "We are delighted to have received the asset management instruction from this client, with whom we are already collaborating on other properties. This acquisition demonstrates that, in addition to its own investment management activities, Barings is continuing to successfully engage in transactions and asset management activities for other parties.”
