Garbe Institutional Capital has acquired GRR Real Estate, a German investment platform in the food-anchored retail real estate segment, from GRR AG.
The transaction agreement was formally signed yesterday. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Through this transaction, the Garbe platform will grow the assets under management (AuM) for institutional funds and mandates by approx. €2 billion.
The 52 on-balance-sheet properties held by GRR will be acquired by Garbe Institutional Capital on behalf of an institutional fund. The business will continue to operate as an independent company within Garbe under the established GRR brand.
Christopher Garbe, Managing Partner of Garbe, explains: “With the acquisition of GRR, we are taking another key strategic step towards establishing our leading and vertically integrated platform based upon a 360-degree management approach. As an active real estate manager, we are expanding our organisation’s resources and expertise into the retail real estate segment, spanning the entire value chain all the way to the end customer. By doing this, we will create significant added value not only for our investors but also for our tenants. The food retail sector fulfils a systemically important role in Germany and throughout Europe. It is highly attractive due to its stable tenant structure, which is why it has already been a strategic focus for Garbe in recent years. GRR is a recognised leader in this market segment, where it has built an excellent reputation. In addition, GRR’s fully integrated organisation with capabilities and service offerings ranging from portfolio level to property and project management fits perfectly with Garbe’s entrepreneurial philosophy. GRR’s proven expertise in implementing ESG measures and in renovating existing properties make it an ideal partner. The management and the entire team at GRR have delivered superb performance in the past years and we look forward to shaping the future together with our new colleagues.”
Andreas Freier and Martin Führlein, members of the Executive Board of GRR AG, add: “By bringing GRR Real Estate Management into the Garbe family of companies, we are setting the course for strong future growth. As an owner-managed company, Garbe fits ideally with our own business philosophy. In recent years, we have steadily expanded our market position as one of the leading players in the food-anchored retail segment and successfully launched five of our own open-ended AIFs for institutional investors. With our sustainability strategy, we have successfully begun the ESG transition. At the same time, we are driving forward the sustainable development of our portfolio. By combining our operational business with Garbe, we are now taking the next step with the shared goal of market and innovation leadership within the German retail property segment.”
GRR Real Estate Management GmbH was founded in 2006 as an operating subsidiary of GRR AG. In 2009, a group of institutional investors from the insurance industry invested in GRR AG by way of Provinzial Asset Management, thereby accelerating GRR on its path to becoming one of Germany’s leading investment and asset managers specialising in food-anchored retail real estate.
Within the Garbe group of companies, Garbe Institutional Capital focuses on asset classes beyond logistics. The company is active in food-anchored retail as well as the residential and science & technology real estate sectors. The launch of the ENGA retail property fund back in 2020 laid the foundation for a platform for local retail properties, which is now being expanded into a significant market player through the integration of GRR Real Estate Management. This will create one of the largest players in Germany, with more than a million square meters of rental space and will be managed as an independent company within the area of responsibility of Thomas Kallenbrunnen, Managing Director of Garbe Institutional Capital.
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