Barings Real Estate Advisers, one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers with circa €45.9bn AUM (assets under management) announces a strong year in 2016 with €14.4bn of transactions undertaken. With a robust pipeline, 2017 is expected to be an equally active year.
The €14,4bn of transactions comprise equity acquisitions and financings totalling €2.2bn, as well as executing and advising on €2bn of equity disposals. In addition, €4bn was in real estate debt in core mortgages and high yield structured investments. Also included is €4.2bn of Global REIT securities investment transactions. Finally, CMBS and REIT Bonds aggregated €1.3bn and residential pools transacted were €0.8bn.
At a corporate level 2016 was a particular milestone for the business, with the announcement and successful integration of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, Babson Capital Management, Baring Asset Management and Wood Creek Capital Management to create the new Barings, a global asset management firm with €254.5bn+ AUM.
In 2016 Barings Real Estate Advisers’ generated over €1.0bn of transactions in Europe and assets under management reached €4.0bn. During the year, there were a number number of key hires, most notably, Göran Bengtsson was appointed Managing Director, Head of the Nordics in October. Transaction highlights for Barings Real Estate Advisers Europe in 2016 include the following:
- Development of Budapester Strasse, a 17.141 m² Grade A speculative office development in the heart of the prime location City-West CBD, Berlin. Barings Real Estate Advisers’ first speculative development acquisition in continental Europe.
- Off-market acquisition of Altes Klöpperhaus, a 8.408 m² Grade A office redevelopment in the CBD of Hamburg.
- Acquisition of Nuovo Borgo, a 16.960m² prime shopping centre located in Asti.
- Off-market forward funding of a prime logistics unit offering over 10.000 m² of Grade A space within the CRT Lesquin industrial and logistics zone, Lille France.
- Off-market acquisition of Velázquez 64, a 1.638 m² retail unit within the Salamanca district, one of Madrid’s most affluent and exclusive neighbourhoods.
- Acquisition of Kasarmikatu 25, a neo-renaissance style office and retail redevelopment project with a total lettable area of circa 4.830m² in the CBD of Helsinki.
- €137.8m (50% LTV) 12 year fixed rate loan to Empiric Student Property plc secured on a UK wide portfolio of student accommodation.
- €99.6m (54% LTV) 10 year fixed rate loan secured by the 299 bedroom Park Plaza Hotel, Victoria, UK.
- €57.3m residential development facility (65% LTC) for multi-unit schemes in Greater London.
Additionally, 2017 has already seen a number of transactions including the following:
- Sale of 50% stake in Kamppi Centre, Helsinki to TH Real Estate, which valued the asset at over €500m.
- Acquisition of Landmark Manchester, a speculative 178.000m² Grade A office development in the heart of Manchester.
- Sale of Sigma, a 15.000m² mixed-use asset located in Central Västerås.
Charles Weeks, Head of Real Estate Europe, said: “2016 saw the further strengthening of our European platform with a number of key hires made during the year. Following the successful merger and re-branding of our business we now operate from a larger and more extensive platform, offering a broader set of investment solutions to our clients. As ever, our focus in 2017 will be to continue to originate promising deals, apply our best-in-class asset management skills and, in turn, deliver solid returns for our clients.”
Scott Brown, Global Head of Real Estate, commented: “We continue to grow Barings’ real estate business by identifying economic, demographic and social trends and developing and executing on innovative investment strategies that provide investors with strong risk-adjusted returns that are accretive to their portfolios globally.”
Barings Real Estate Advisers is one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers. Part of Barings LLC, the group is an active investor in private and public, equity and debt markets, and provides core, value-added, and opportunistic investment and advisory services to institutional and other qualified investors around the globe.
