With the sale of its 51% holding in the Aerozone logistics park to M7 CEREF I in Budapest, CA Immo has completed the strategic withdrawal from the logistics segment that began in 2012. Over the past few years, almost 500,000 sqm of logistical space in total has been sold in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Germany.
CA Immo held a 51% stake in the recently sold Aerozone logistics park in Budapest, which spans approximately 65,000 sqm, through a joint venture with Union Investment Real Estate. The buyer of the logistical property was M7 CEREF I, an M7 managed fund. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price, which is understood to be in the mid-double-digit millions; closing has been confirmed. Law firm CHSH advised the seller in the sale of the Aerozone logistics park.
Photo: MTI / H. Szabó Sándor
According to Frank Nickel, CEO of CA Immo, “We have sold our logistics portfolio to underpin profitable growth in our core business of offices. At the same time we are reducing minority holdings with a view to raising the efficiency of our portfolio management. This largely concludes our programme of non-core sales, which has been in progress since 2012. Alongside logistics, the programme covers the residential segment, smaller office buildings and properties outside of our core cities with a total market value of approximately €1 bn.”
CA Immo is investing the revenue from non-strategic sales in expansion, and particularly the construction of new, modern office properties in Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt.
With the acquisition of 49% minority holdings in one office building in Prague and another in Budapest (finalised in January 2016), the Aerozone logistics park in Budapest became the last remaining property in the C1 portfolio held with joint venture partner Union. The joint venture launched in 2005 was disbanded with the closing of this transaction.
The buyer of the Aerozone logistics park, M7 Real Estate entered the Hungarian market at the end of last year when its CEREF I fund acquired a real estate portfolio from Recovery Zrt., the asset management company for CIB Bank in Hungary. The portfolio consists of two retail centres, the Atom Center in Paks and Csillagvár in Budapest, and the Acélforma industrial hall in Dunaharaszti.
Vastint Romania secured its first tenant for Bucharest-based Timpuri Noi Square Phase 2, signing SCOR for 3,250 sqm. The transaction, brokered by CBRE, facilitates SCOR’s expansion within Vastint’s local portfolio. The company has previously leased 2,320 sqm in Business Garden Bucharest.
EVO Properties has named Alexandru Marin as the new Property Manager for the London and Oslo office buildings in Bucharest. He brings over 15 years of property management experience.
IF&B Mille Sapori, the importer and distributor of Italian food products in Poland, has leased 4,118 sqm in the MLP Pruszków II complex. The lease deal was brokered by Coldwell Banker Commercial.
New appointments
Katarzyna Myjak has joined Axi Immo as Senior Business Advisory Manager, tasked with strengthening the company’s Industrial & Logistics business line.
Czech investment group SCF has expanded its team by appointing Jan Simandl as Senior Leasing Team Leader. In this role, Simandl will oversee leasing activities across the company’s commercial property portfolio. He previously worked for CPI Property Group and CBRE.
Michał Kochanowski-Laren has joined Avison Young Poland’s Technical Advisory and Project Management team as Project Manager. In his new role, he is responsible for delivering a variety of consultancy projects across all segments of the commercial real estate market in Poland. Kochanowski-Laren is an electrical engineer and a graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology.
JSK Investments, Notino Limited and other partners have completed the sale of a full stake in Lusima AD Property, which owns development land on Spojovací Street in Prague's wider city center.
The Polish office market is entering a new phase where fit-out costs are rising while move-in-ready space becomes scarce, according to an Axi Immo analysis.
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