Henley360 — a property investment fund managed by one of the UK’s fastest growing private real estate companies — has paid €8.65m (£6.41m) for a Rotterdam business park. The deal is the fund’s third acquisition on mainland Europe since its launch 16 months ago.
Established in 2006 Henley, a private equity real estate investor focusing on development, investment and asset management, has doubled in size every year and is expected to do the same again in 2015. The company currently manages around £500m worth of assets.
In March last year the property group launched Henley360, a platform focused on European industrial investment. Four months later the fund purchased a 260,000 sq ft light industrial asset in Rotterdam followed, in April this year, with the acquisition of a 1.3m sq ft mixed-use industrial estate at Oberhausen in Germany.
Now the fund has returned to The Netherlands to take control of a 216,000 sq ft multi-let Rotterdam business park. “The site is an established estate of considerable quality and we believe there are fantastic opportunities to add significant value to the asset,” commented Henley chief executive, Ian Rickwood.
“Our plan is to increase occupancy back to around 95 per cent and asset manage the property and current tenant relationships extremely proactively.”
The park – located north of the city and close to one of the world’s biggest ports – is made up of high quality office and light industrial accommodation across 30 units, contained in five separate blocks.
As part of its “proactive management strategy” for the asset, Henley360 has appointed an experienced centre manager who will primarily be responsible for sales, general estate management, tenant relationships and viewings. A specific business park brand will also be created.
“This acquisition reflected excellent land value and a further opportunity to invest within a major economic hub. We will continue to look for further opportunities in Europe which provide strong returns for our investors,” Rickwood continued.
“We view northern Europe as a highly attractive opportunity considering the current climate and exchange rate levels, and this acquisition is a clear demonstration of our commitment to targeting strong growth in Europe.”
Henley360, led by managing director Kevin Oppenheim, is focused on several core strategies: prime London residential development; opportunistic commercial investment; HHI a healthcare fund, Henley Property Finance, a debt focused business, and private equity into third party led businesses.
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