Cromwell E-Reit buys 3 industrial properties in Italy, Germany for 68.3m euros

CROMWELL European Real Estate Investment Trust ( Cromwell E-Reit ) has acquired 2 industrial properties in Italy and 1 business park in Germany for 68.3 million euros (S$101.5 million).

The acquisitions are part of the Europe-focused Reit’s 100 million euro advanced pipeline announced during the release of its FY2021 results, the manager said in a bourse filing on Friday (Apr 22). 

They were funded through Cromwell E-Reit’s existing cash balances and funds drawn down from the Reit’s indirect and wholly-owned securitisation vehicle’s revolving credit facility.

All 3 properties are freehold and span 126,752 square metres (sq m) in total gross lettable area (GLA). They are also leased to global companies such as ABB, Bialetti and Abbott Diagnostics.

One of the Italy properties, ABB, is located in Milan, 25 kilometres west of the city centre. It comprises a principal main building for industrial activities and several associated attached and detached office buildings.

ABB has a total GLA of 63,221 sq m and sits on a 99,760 sq m site, presenting a potential redevelopment opportunity for urban logistics, Cromwell E-Reit’s manager said.

It is leased to a single tenant – ABB – under a “full repair” lease with no break option till Dec 31, 2023 – when it expires. ABB is a manufacturer of factory robots and industrial drives traded on the Zurich, Stockholm and New York stock exchanges.

The other Italy building – Bialetti Headquarters – is located in Brescia. It consists of 2 buildings with a total lettable area of 44,644 sq m. The main building is an L-shaped warehouse, while the other is a 2-storey building housing an office, a showroom and staff amenities.

At the time of acquisition, Cromwell E-Reit entered into a new 12-year long-term lease agreement with no break option with Italian coffee and housewares products manufacturer Bialetti Industrie.

The last property acquired – Saalepark Jena – is a light industrial business park located at Lobstedter Str 101-109 in Germany. It occupies a land plot spanning 23,328 sq m and has a GLA of 18,887 sq m.

The development comprises 2 4-storey buildings – 1 of which has 6 warehouse units and 3 office units. The other building is subdivided into 4 warehouse units and 1 office unit.

The business park is fully-leased to 13 tenants who mostly operate in the life sciences, medical and industrial equipment industries, and the precision engineering and biotechnology space.

The largest tenant is Cross Match Technologies, a US-based manufacturer of biometric identifiers and related biosecurity equipment and a subsidiary of Assa Abloy AB, a major Swedish Access control security company with a US$28 billion market cap.

Cromwell E-Reit units closed flat at 2.30 euros on Thursday.