Castellum sells 53 properties to Blackstone

Castellum to sell 53 properties to Blackstone

Sweden-based real estate company Castellum announced Wednesday that it has agreed to sell a further 53 warehouse/logistics properties to real estate funds managed by Blackstone for net proceeds of SEK 4.8 billion (appr. €476.1m).

The agreed property value represents a premium of 27% against the Q3 2020 valuation and 15% against the Q4 2020 valuation.

Castellum said hand-over will take place on 3 May. The assets will be incorporated into Blackstone’s pan-European last mile logistics platform, Mileway.

“Through this transaction, Castellum is continuing its strategic portfolio shift via the divestment of a mature stabilized portfolio, enabling it to expand in prime growth positions and develop the most modern and flexible logistics/warehouse offering in the Nordic region. The divestment once again demonstrates the value appreciation in our logistics portfolio. We now have a high turnover in our portfolio that facilitates strategic shifts and we expect a continued high level of activity during the year,” said Henrik Saxborn, CEO of Castellum.

In December 2020, Castellum had signed two sale agreements with Blackstone to divest 214 warehouse/logistics properties in Sweden to Arckle Holdco S.à r.l., a company affiliated to funds managed by The Blackstone Group (Blackstone) for net proceeds of SEK 18.1 billion.(appr. €1.8bn)

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”The remaining logistics/warehouse portfolio is valued at SEK 11 billion with approximately 1.2 million square metres in the development pipeline, where new, modern and flexible offerings for the logistics/warehouse segment can be built,” said the company in a statement.

Castellum will invest over SEK 10 billion in the development of new warehouse/logistics in next years: Säve in Gothenburg, Brunna, 30 minutes from Stockholm, as well as locations in Southern Sweden.

“Combined, this will position us as not only the largest, but also the most flexible and modern owner of logistics properties in the Nordic region”, said Henrik Saxborn.