LaSalle Investment Management and Morley Fund Management announced that they have acquired or have drawn up contracts to acquire five properties in Paris, Madrid, Stockholm and Germany, with the objective of creating a solid base for the portfolio of the Encore+ Fund.
LaSalle Investment Management and Morley Fund Management announced that they have acquired or have drawn up contracts to acquire five properties in Paris, Madrid, Stockholm and Germany, with the objective of creating a solid base for the portfolio of the Encore+ Fund.
Gil Bar, manager for the Encore+ Fund at Morley Fund Management, said: "Since May 2006, Encore+ has raised nearly 250m EUR in equity, creating a gross buying power of almost €500 million. We have progressed forward in terms of investing this capital and the five properties that we have acquired represent a net acquisition price of over €325 million.
"Furthermore, in the eight months from the launch of the fund to the end of December 2006, Encore+ has guaranteed investors net returns of 7.5%, against a target of 8.5% per annum."
Andy Watson, head of LaSalle's acquisition programme for Encore+ said: "The portfolio created over the past year faithfully reflects what we are seeking to do, or rather create, which is sustainable income in good locations in the major growth markets of mainland Europe where we can add to our strengths by increasing value through LaSalle's asset management teams. Given the continued interest from investors in Encore+, we are looking forward to maintaining this pace for acquisitions, with a target in terms of GAV of around €650 million by the end of 2007."
The properties include:
1. Building for office purposes: Liljeholmen, Stockholm, Sweden
Purchased for around €85 million, in a great location adjacent to the CDB, this 40,000 m2 building is an important investment generator in one of the Fund's major target markets for the office sector.
2. Shopping centre: Allencenter, Trier, Germany
Purchased for around €42 million, this 22,600 m2 property is in a prime location next to the main station and most important car park in Trier. Effective asset management, as well as an anticipated downturn of yield due to a restructuring of the market in Germany create good prospective in terms of income and capital growth.
3. Building for office purposes: La Vaguada - Alcampo HQ Building, Madrid, Spain
Acquired for a sum of around €40 million, this 10,300 m2 building for office use is the headquarters of the Alcampo hypermarket group (part of the Auchan chain), and is located next to the largest regional shopping centre in Spain. This property offers an extremely solid income stream in the short term, as well as further benefits in terms of planned long-term initiatives.
4. Mixed use office/commercial building: Astorg-Boétie, 8th Arr, Paris, France
Acquired for a sum of around €53 million, this 6,265m2 property is a classic multi-function Haussmannian style building in the heart of the Paris CBD, providing an important source of income, with indexation and real growth in terms of business. Strong market foundations are expected to lead to continual future increase in terms of future rental growth.
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