Cromwell European REIT has acquired three light industrial / logistics properties, two of which are in Italy and the third in Germany, for €68.3 million (S$101.5 million).
Of the two Italian properties acquired, one is in Vittuone, Milan(ABB), and the other is in Coccaglio, Brescia(Bialetti). The German property is located in Löbstedter Str. 101-109, Jena (Saalepark Jena).
The three properties are all freehold and span 126,752 sqm in total gross lettable area.
Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Simon Garing, said, “I am pleased to share that CEREIT has acquired three new economy properties that are located in the wellestablished and highly liquid real estate markets of central Germany and northern Italy. Our experienced, onthe-ground team sourced and secured the investments at a favourable average 6.8% NOI yield 12.7% below independent valuation, with a WALE of 5.4 years. The properties are fully-leased to global companies including ABB, Bialetti and Abbott Diagnostics.
”The acquisitions are part of the €100 million advanced pipeline that we announced with CEREIT’s FY 2021 results, and further build CEREIT’s light industrial / logistics scale in core Western European countries. The addition of these properties brings CEREIT’s portfolio to a 43% light industrial / logistics weighting, in line with the Manager’s stated strategy to pivot towards a majority weighting in this sector.
”The acquisitions have been funded through a combination of CEREIT’s existing cash balances and funds drawn down from CEREIT’s indirect and wholly-owned securitization vehicle’s revolving credit facility, allowing us to capitalise on the exceptional fundamentals of this sector in a timely manner while advancing the pipeline of opportunities we have identified for CEREIT in Western Europe.
Located only 25 kilometres west of the city centre Milan, ABB is a freehold, light industrial / logistics property. It was recently refurbished in 2021 and occupies a 99,760 sqm site, presenting a potential redevelopment opportunity for urban logistics. The property has a total gross lettable area of 63,221 sqm and consists of a principal main building for industrial activities, as well as several associated attached and detached office buildings.
The property is let to a single tenant-customer, under a “full repair” lease and with no break option till the lease expires on 31 December 2023. The asset’s sole tenant-customer ABB is a Fortune 500 company traded on three stock exchanges – Zurich, Stockholm and New York.
Bialetti is a freehold, light industrial / logistics property built on a 74,533 sqm site. The property consists of two buildings with a total lettable area of 44,644 sqm. The main building is an L-shaped warehouse, while the other is a two-storey building which houses office, showroom and staff amenities and occupies approximately 16.5% of the total lettable area.
Bialetti is located in a well-developed industrial area in Lombardy, approximately 72 km east of Milan and adjacent to the Brescia and Bergamo international airports, with a six-million population within a one-hour drive.
At the time of acquisition, CEREIT has also entered into a new 12-year long-term lease agreement (with no break option) with Bialetti Industrie SpA, a leading Italian coffee and houseware products manufacturer and the owner of well-known premium brands like Bialetti, Aeternum, Rondine and CEM, amongst others.
Saalepark Jena is a freehold, light industrial business park occupying a site area of 23,328 sqm. With the gross lettable area of 18,887 sqm, the asset consists of two four-storey buildings, one of which has six warehouse units and three office units, while the other is subdivided into four warehouse units and one office unit.
Saalepark Jena is currently fully-let to 13 tenant-customers, most of whom are well-established names who operate in the life sciences, medical and industrial equipment industries, and the precision engineering and biotechnology space. The largest tenant-customer in Saalepark Jena.
