Cain International, the privately held real estate investment firm operating in Europe and the United States, has acquired a portfolio of 8 office parks across Spain from Merlin Properties, the Spanish-listed REIT, for €225 million.
The portfolio, which comprises six office parks in Madrid and two in Barcelona, has a total area of 133,000 sq m (1.4 million sq ft). It is around three-quarters let, offering significant opportunities to add value through securing additional tenants, refurbishment and redevelopment.
Cain International’s partner on this transaction is FREO Group, with whom they have an existing joint venture for the development of a 15,000sqm Class A office development in the 22@ district of Barcelona.
“The Spanish office market is experiencing significant growth, with rents increasing and vacancy reducing, and these well-located assets offer substantial scope for value creation through a granular approach.”
said Daniel Harris, Head of European Investments at Cain International.
“We are pleased to be adding to our portfolio through this deal and are actively continuing to seek out further investment opportunities. With this acquisition, our development in 22@ in Barcelona and our current pipeline, we are aggregating a portfolio of close to €500m which demonstrates our confidence in the current cyclical opportunity in Spain,” he added.
In June, the firm announced it had signed six deals valued at €1 billion in the past 18 months. With this closing and the current pipeline of transactions, the firm expects to double its European portfolio to €2 billion by the end of 2020.
Cain International and FREO Group were advised by Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Garrigues and JLL. The vendor was advised by Uría Menéndez. Financing for the transaction was arranged by Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: STWD), Starwood European Finance Partners Limited.
