Gramercy Property Europe plc (the "Fund"), the Europe-focused real estate investment fund, advised by Gramercy Europe Limited (the "Company"), has acquired, through a sale-leaseback, a portfolio of five car showrooms in the Netherlands, for €27.4m. The transaction is the Fund’s 15th acquisition in the past 15 months, and fits with its stated strategy of acquiring single-tenant assets that offer stable, long-term income, in core European countries.
The properties have been let to Van Mossel Automotive Groep, the second largest automotive retailer in the Netherlands, on new 17-year triple net leases. The portfolio comprises modern, high quality car showrooms plus associated office space. Three of the showrooms are located in the city of Tilburg, the others located in Apeldoorn and Zwolle. All of the properties are located in established car dealership agglomerations, with three of the five having been constructed or entirely refurbished in the last 12 months.
To date, the Fund has acquired 30 assets across 15 transactions, building a 928,000m² portfolio for a total consideration of €623m, across Germany, France, the Netherlands, the UK and Poland.
Michael Heal, managing director of Gramercy Europe, commented: “This transaction demonstrates Gramercy’s expertise in sourcing and closing on assets that will generate long-term, stable, inflation protected income for our investors. It is another example of Gramercy being the preferred investor for sale-leaseback transactions in continental Europe. We have a high quality counterparty in Van Mossel, and acquired property in densely developed, sought after locations. Sale-leaseback is a favoured transaction structure for the Fund, and we will continue to look for opportunities in this space during the rest of this year.”
Eric Berkhof, CEO of Van Mossel Automotive Groep, added: “This transaction, with a leading specialised investor in single tenant leased real estate, fits with our strategy, providing capital to redeploy into our further growth. It allows us to focus on maintaining our position as a leading automotive retailer, offering high-quality vehicles and unparalleled customer service. We look forward to a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with Gramercy.”
