Project Olymp

Background

After a strong pitch between the market leading German and EMEA Capital Markets teams, JLL was appointed by Nuveen Real Estate and their GRIF fund to sell 12 dominant retail parks located across Germany. The portfolio comprised grocery anchored retail schemes with a total lettable area of approximately 150,000 sq m and an annual rent of €20 million. The anchor tenants included Kaufland, Real, Edeka and Rewe, accounting for more than 45% of the net income.

The portfolio provided a rare opportunity to acquire a significant share in the much sought-after German grocery anchored retail market.

Strategy

Following detailed analysis of the 12 assets and the holding structure, JLL advised that a portfolio disposal targeting core domestic and international investors would yield best pricing whilst limiting execution risk, especially given current strong demand for food anchored retail parks in Germany.

The structured bidding process generated a large number of offers for the portfolio. Given the strength of demand and competitive offers JLL ran a three-staged process resulting in further price tension at premiums to original offers between a number of international and domestic investors.

Results

JLL's positioning of the portfolio as a ready-made strategic platform, giving the buyer instant scale into a much sought-after Retail warehouse sector, enabled Nuveen to obtain premium pricing.