24 June 2015 – Expansión
GreenOak hereby completes its second major deal in Spain. Over the last few months, the US fund has closed the purchased of five logistics assets in the Community of Madrid, which cover a surface area of 200,000 m2 (100,000 m2 of facilities and 100,000 m2 of land).
Based on the prices of these assets in the market, GreenOak must have paid between €60 million and €75 million for the five assets, according to various real estate sources.
The US fund is planning to continue its growth in this segment and has already agreed to purchase another three logistics assets, also in the Community of Madrid, which will add a further 100,000 m2 to GreenOak’s portfolio in Spain.
The fund plans to continue acquiring assets – in Barcelona, Zaragoza and Valencia as well – to reach (a surface area of) half a million square metres over the next 12 months.
All of the assets purchased by GreenOak are located in Getafe and in the Corredor del Henares and are currently leased out to companies such as Seur, Montfrisa and TransXtar. The vendors have been banks, other funds and family-owned companies.
“Logistics is an asset class where scale and experience make a difference. We are focusing on Spain, where we have the strongest interest”, says John Carrafiell, founding partner at GreenOak.
“Given our resources to undertake investments in the sector, our team on the ground and our real estate due diligence skills, GreenOak can close deals quickly, with investments of between €5 million and €100 million”, says Carrafiell.
The chief executive at GreenOak is leading the fund’s strategy in Spain first hand. Carrafiell is regarded as one of the gurus of global real estate investment. He used to lead Morgan Stanley’s business in this segment and in 2004 he closed one of the largest deals ever in the UK, the purchase of Canary Wharf.
Fund history
After leaving Morgan Stanley, Carrafiell created GreenOak in 2010. Since then, the fund has raised assets under management amounting to €4,751 million and has opened offices in USA, London, Seoul, Munich, Tokyo and Madrid.
GreenOak signed its first major purchase in Spain last year, with the acquisition of seven shopping centres from the Dutch group Vastned Retail for €160 million.
Moreover, in recent months, GreenOak has tried to enter the office market. It was in the running for the purchase of Castellana, 77, which was eventually sold to GMP; and Castellana, 89, which was acquired by Corporación Financiera Alba, owned by the March family. The fund expects to close the purchase of offices and shopping centres within the next few weeks.
Original story: Expansión (by Jorge Zuloaga)
Translation: Carmel Drake