Benson Elliot, the UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, has announced the sale of 55 Princess Street in Manchester for £22.4 million to Ignis UK Property Fund, managed by Standard Life Investments, and Templeback in Bristol to Orchard Street Investment Management for £58.5 million, reflecting net initial yields of 5.65% and 5.34% respectively. The two disposals, which have been concluded in off-market transactions, bring Benson Elliot’s total proceeds from seven UK exits during the past 12 months to over £275 million. The success of the Benson Elliot UK regional investment programme highlights the firm’s ability to identify and capitalise on value-add opportunities across the UK.

Marc Mogull, Benson Elliot Managing Partner, commented:
“We have successfully marketed a number of our mature UK regional assets in BEREP II during the past 12 months, and have also had some unsolicited approaches on our BEREP III portfolio, reflecting the strong appetite amongst investors for institutional quality properties like Templeback and Princess Street.

The returns we have secured from these seven investments support our conviction to be an early mover into the regions, and underscore the success we have had in implementing our value-add programmes.”

Templeback is a 122,000 sq ft office development behind a retained Victorian façade, located in the heart of Bristol’s commercial area on the waterfront of the Floating Harbour canal. Since acquiring the building in October 2014, Benson Elliot has upgraded the shared areas, improved its viewing experience and increased the building’s lettable area. Blue Speck Financial and Mott MacDonald recently leased 13,000 sq ft and 10,400 sq ft respectively.

55 Princess Street provides 51,700 sq ft of grade A office space in Manchester’s prime business core, arranged over six floors, along with 4,100 sq ft of ground floor retail space. Since the acquisition of the building in September 2013, Benson Elliot has overseen the refurbishment of the reception and common areas, and upgraded vacant space, helping to secure a number of recent lettings to tenants including international law firm, Trowers & Hamlins on a 10 year lease, bringing the building’s occupancy to 77%.

George Shaw, Fund Manager of the Ignis UK Property Fund added:
“We’re delighted to have completed the acquisition of 55 Princess Street from Benson Elliot in this off market transaction, which provides the Fund with exposure to the core Manchester office market with good prospects for rental growth.”

Benson Elliot was supported on the asset management of both Templeback and Princess Street by Cube Real Estate. Farmer Capital advised Benson Elliot on the sale of Templeback. Orchard Street Investment Management was advised by Savills and Standard Life Investments was advised by JLL.

UK regional sales over the last 12 months include: Ealing Cross, Cambourne Business Park, CBX II in Milton Keynes, Novotel Edinburgh Park and The Arcadia Centre in Ealing.

ENDS

For further information:
Benson Elliot
Marc Mogull, Managing Partner
Matilda Lane
Matilda.lane@bensonelliot.com
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com
+44(0) 20 37271000

PERE

Benson Elliot, the UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, has agreed the sale of its landmark Cornerstone office development in Poblenou, Barcelona to a fund managed and a European mandate advised by UBS Global Asset Management’s Global Real Estate (GRE) business, for €80 million.

Benson Elliot agreed to forward purchase the 20,700 sqm office development from Banco Sabadell subsidiary Solvia in March 2011, in a joint venture with Bream Real Estate. At the time, few were willing to make such a considerable – let alone speculative – commitment to Spain’s real estate sector.

One of Barcelona’s most design-efficient buildings, Cornerstone was opened in November 2013 and awarded the city’s first ever LEED Gold Certificate for an office development. Cornerstone’s design distinction has been a key driver of the building’s successful leasing efforts, with Cornerstone now 77% let little more than a year post-delivery. Tenants include ADP, a global leader in outsourced services and human resources management, and German manufacturer Henkel.

Trish Barrigan, Benson Elliot Senior Partner, said:
“When we committed to purchase Cornerstone in 2011, Benson Elliot was one of a small handful of international real estate companies who would even consider Spain as an investment target. We believed in the sustainability of Barcelona as a magnet for international business, and saw a dearth of competitive supply in the pipeline. Cornerstone is now one of Barcelona’s leading office developments, and the strong institutional interest we saw emerge during the sale process has validated our decision to move early into the Spanish market.”

Poblenou is Barcelona’s largest and most dynamic office sub-market, home to quality occupiers such as Ogilvy & Mather, Hyatt and Cuatrecasas. In September 2014, Benson Elliot demonstrated the firm’s ongoing commitment to Poblenou – and conviction in Spain’s economic recovery – with the acquisition of a 23,400 sqm land plot in the Las Glorias area (c. 1 km from Cornerstone). This site is earmarked for another trophy office development.

Manuel Hidalgo, GRE’s Head of Transactions Spain, said:
“Cornerstone is a grade A urban office park of outstanding quality. It really ticks all the most important boxes for modern occupiers such as efficiency, sustainability, quality, excellent access to public transport and with plenty of restaurants and shops embedded in the very lively district of Poblenou. This investment demonstrates our commitment to Barcelona, which ranks among the top business locations within Europe. It also strengthens our position in this market, where GRE’s funds have been present for many years and which already own six office buildings.”

Benson Elliot was advised by Cushman & Wakefield and Ashurst, while the buy-side legal advice was provided by Dentons.

ENDS

For further information:

Benson Elliot
Trish Barrigan, Senior Partner
Matilda Lane
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900
Matilda.lane@bensonelliot.com

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com

PERE, Cornerstone Sale

BBC, Vicarage Field

Ealing Times, The Broadway

Lancashire Evening Post, Fishergate Centre

The assets have been acquired from Legal & General Property (“LGP”) on behalf of its first UK Property Income Fund, following a tailored marketing process, with contracts exchanging last week. The Portfolio comprises one of the South-East’s leading business parks, Guildford Business Park, in Guildford, Surrey, and a covered retail and restaurant centre, The Meadows, in Chelmsford, Essex.

Originally developed in 1988, Guildford Business Park was held by the Crown Estate for 23 years before L&G’s acquisition in 2010. The asset provides 260,000 sqft of grade A / B+ office space in one of the UK’s most institutionally sought after and tightly supplied office markets. The asset is multi-let to national and international tenants including Philips, Colgate and Ericsson.

The Meadows is a 200,000 sqft covered city centre retail and A3 scheme which is 91% occupied and anchored by Wilko and BHS. Situated over eight acres with significant waterside frontage, the scheme will benefit from proximity to the 300,000 sqft mixed use Bond Street development anchored by John Lewis and Cineworld.

James Jakeman, Principal at Benson Elliot, said: “Over the past five years Benson Elliot has established substantial office and retail investment and development programmes across London’s commuter belt. This acquisition is well aligned with the firm’s core competencies and we believe the two assets offer further value as the ripple effect of growth in Central London spreads outward and gathers momentum.”

Charlie Walker, Fund Manager to LGP’s UK Property Income Fund, comments: “Having acquired the Guildford and Chelmsford investments earlier in the cycle, we have reached early conclusion of the active business plans and secured an opportune and timely exit that allows us to return strong value to our investors.”

L&G was advised by JLL and Tudor Toone, and Benson Elliot was advised by Montagu Evans and Jackson Criss. Cube Real Estate has been appointed asset manager by Benson Elliot.

ENDS

For further information:

Benson Elliot
James Jakeman, Principal
Matilda Lane
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900
Matilda.lane@bensonelliot.com

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com

PERE – Bentley

North West Place, Fishergate Planning

The eight freehold properties total 2,308 rooms in Venice, Paris, Milan, Rome, Warsaw, Nuremberg and Brussels, located adjacent to key demand generators, either in metropolitan city centres, high-growth commercial corridors or leisure destinations. Assembled between 2006 and 2011, the Portfolio has a profitable trading profile and strong cashflow.

The Portfolio comprises the following assets:
• The Pullman, Paris Bercy
• The Westin Europa and Regina, Venice
• The Westin Palace, Milan
• The Sheraton, Rome
• The Sheraton, Warsaw
• Le Méridien Grand Hotel, Nuremberg
• The Marriot Executive Apartments, Brussels
• Renaissance Hotel, Brussels

The assets have benefited from substantial investment in recent years, and significant opportunities remain for the JV to create further value through the implementation of targeted asset management initiatives.

Trish Barrigan, Benson Elliot Senior Partner, said:
“This is a significant transaction for Benson Elliot, concluded with trusted partners like Algonquin, who we worked closely with on our Novotel Edinburgh Park investment. The portfolio is of exceptionally high quality, with opportunities to grow income and value in a sector attracting increasing attention from investors.”

Robert Bloom, Senior Principal at Walton Street, said:
“This Portfolio represents a high-quality collection of full-service branded assets that is being acquired at both an attractive yield and significant discount to replacement cost‎, at what we believe is an opportunistic point in the investment cycle. We are excited about this transaction and look forward to working with our JV partners, Benson Elliot and Algonquin, to maximize value.”

Jean-Philippe Chomette, CEO at Algonquin, said:
“We are very pleased to be associated in this acquisition with two major international investment partners, such as Benson Elliot and Walton Street. The inherent quality of each asset in this portfolio, their prime locations and the first class operators of these hotels will help us further optimize their value through material refurbishment programs and enhanced operational efficiencies.”

The JV was advised on the transaction by Paul Hastings and Deloitte.

ENDS

For further information:

Benson Elliot
Trish Barrigan, Senior Partner
Matilda Lane
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900
Matilda.lane@bensonelliot.com

Walton Street
Robert Bloom, Senior Principal
+1 312 915 2803
BloomR@waltonst.com

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com

Benson Elliot Real Estate Partners IV acquired Kurfürstenstraße 87, an eight storey, 6,192 sqm office building, in March 2015, alongside a second Berlin property, Budapester Straβe 35. The two buildings were acquired in joint venture with Klingsöhr Projektentwicklung and Rockstone Real Estate, in a sale leaseback transaction with Berliner Volksbank eG.

Kurfürstenstraße 87 has been sold at a 4.0% rental yield to a fund backed by a German professional pension scheme, advised by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors. The sale will deliver BEREP IV a 2.4x multiple on its investment.

Constructed in 1929 as the headquarters of Lenz & Co (“Lenz-Haus”), the listed building – which features a shell limestone façade and entrance lobby – was designed by famed German architect Heinrich Straumer. Straumer, who also designed the iconic Berlin Radio Tower, was a student of Paul Wallot, designer of the Berlin Reichstag. The property was extensively refurbished in 2002 by Berliner Volksbank.

Marc Mogull, Benson Elliot Managing Partner, said:
“We stock-pick our investments for growth, but we need to be nimble enough to shift strategy when opportunity comes knocking. At the end of the day we’re performance driven, not AUM driven. This disposal will enable us to make an early distribution to investors, and to recycle the profits into other opportunities.”

ENDS

For further information:

Benson Elliot
Marc Mogull, Managing Partner
Matilda Lane
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900
Matilda.lane@bensonelliot.com

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com

Benson Elliot, the UK based private equity real estate manager, has acquired a 2.5 hectare mixed-use site in central Berlin, fronting the Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal, from listed Austrian property company CA Immo. The off-market acquisition in Europacity – Berlin’s largest urban renewal project – allows for the development of 70,000 sqm of residential, retail, restaurant and office space.

The Europacity project has transformed c. 40 hectares to the north of Berlin’s main railway station – an area which lay derelict for decades – into a new, mixed-use city quarter. The area lies a short walk from the Bundestag, various federal ministries, the Charité (Europe’s biggest university hospital) and Humboldt University.

Europacity has become a magnet for large office users, hotels, retailers and cultural facilities (including the iconic Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart). With over two hectares of Europacity devoted to parks, and a kilometre of waterfront along the Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal, Europacity has also seen the development of some of Berlin’s most desirable housing.

Benson Elliot and joint venture partner Kauri CAB Development, a specialist Berlin residential asset manager, intend to create a lively and attractive urban residential quarter, fully integrated into Europacity’s working, living, cultural and recreational network. Current plans are for the construction of c. 500 multi-family apartment units, on top of ground floor restaurants and cafes. The project will also incorporate c. 10,000 sqm of commercial and mixed-use space together with a day-care centre.

Philipp Braschel, Benson Elliot Partner, said: “The Europacity site provides Benson Elliot with a unique opportunity to create high-quality rental housing right in the heart of Berlin, whilst making a significant contribution to the city’s sustainable development. Berlin is going from strength to strength; together with our acquisition last year of Berliner Volksbank’s City-West headquarters, our Europacity purchase demonstrates our ongoing commitment to Berlin as an investment destination.”

Hagen Kahmann, Managing Partner KauriCAB Development, said: “This area is one of the city’s most interesting new living quarters. Our goal is to contribute to the reshaping of Berlin, to emphasise the city’s international appeal and to provide attractive rental apartments that will help meet Berlin’s growing housing needs.”

Guido Schütte, Director at CA Immo Berlin, said: “CA Immo has successfully executed its operations at Europacity, not only as an urban developer, but also as an investor, with projects such as the Tour Total, the John F. Kennedy House and the Intercity Hotel. We plan on continuing this strategy with other initiatives including the development of the new KPMG building. The sale of this plot to a major investment partner such as Benson Elliot is significant, as it validates the area as a dynamic development destination.”

ENDS

For further information:

Benson Elliot
Philipp Braschel, Partner
Matilda Lane
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900
Matilda.lane@bensonelliot.com

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com

Benson Elliot, the UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, has acquired Centro Commerciale La Meridiana (“Meridiana”), a shopping centre in Bologna, Italy, through the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Raptor Srl, the owning SPV. Meridiana was purchased from TMW Immobilien Weltfonds, an open-end global real estate fund controlled by CACEIS Bank Deutschland GmbH (depository bank).

Meridiana is a 35,000 sqm shopping centre anchored by an Esselunga hypermarket (which is not included in the transaction), Virgin Active fitness centre, 9-screen UCI Multiplex cinema, OVS and Unieuro. Other high profile tenants include Benetton, Sephora and Sisley. The centre, one of the largest in the Bologna area, lies five kilometres west of the city centre in an affluent and densely populated area. It comprises 42 units over two levels, with c. 1,650 parking spaces. Bologna is the capital of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, which is one of the wealthiest regions in Europe.

The acquisition of Meridiana marks the latest transaction in a busy period in Italy for Benson Elliot, which publicly called the turn of the Italian market in early 2014. Since then, the firm has acquired six properties across the country’s four largest economic regions (Lombardy, Lazio, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna), which collectively generate over half of Italy’s GDP. Benson Elliot’s Italian investments to date represent value of over €500 million, and comprise: the Westin Palace Hotel in Milan; the Westin Europa & Regina Hotel on the Grand Canal in Venice; the Sheraton Hotel in Rome; Monticello, a luxury residential development overlooking the Vatican in Rome; and the Terminal Nord retail park in Udine.

Joseph de Leo, Benson Elliot Senior Partner, said: “In April 2014 we announced our intention to be an early mover into a recovering Italian market, and we’re pleased with the progress we’ve made since then. Over the past 24 months we’ve secured a high quality portfolio in the four regions that underpin Italy’s investment markets and drive the Italian economy.

“Centro Commerciale Meridiana is the dominant shopping centre in an affluent, but under-served, retail trade area. We’ve identified a number of initiatives to add value, much as we have at Terminal Nord in Udine, and look forward to working with the centre’s retailers to deliver an enhanced shopping experience for customers and an attractive return for Benson Elliot’s investors.”

Europa Risorse, the Italian asset, development and fund management business, has assisted Benson Elliot throughout the due diligence and acquisition process.

ENDS

For further information:

Benson Elliot
Joseph de Leo, Partner
Matilda Lane
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900
Matilda.lane@bensonelliot.com

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com

Benson Elliot Managing Partner Marc Mogull has been appointed Chairman of the Bank of England Commercial Property Forum, succeeding Ian Marcus. Mr. Mogull will be the Forum’s fourth chairman since its establishment in 1993.

The Commercial Property Forum was created to bring all sides of the property industry together in the aftermath of the commercial property crash of the early 1990s. It provides a valuable source of market intelligence to the Bank of England by convening senior industry figures to discuss market conditions and developments.

Commenting on his appointment, Marc Mogull, Managing Partner of Benson Elliot said: “I’m honoured to have been asked to take up this appointment, on behalf of an industry I’ve devoted my career to, and a collection of industry leaders I think so highly of. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that risks are well-understood, policymaking well-informed, and the effects of regulation carefully thought through. My goal is to sustain the dialogue between the industry and the Bank of England that was established over twenty years ago, building on the great work of my predecessor, Ian Marcus.”

– Parc Glories sold to Inmobiliaria Colonial prior to construction start –

Benson Elliot, the UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, has agreed the sale of Parc Glories, its landmark office development in the Diagonal-Glories sub-market of Barcelona, to listed Spanish property company Inmobiliaria Colonial. Following Benson Elliot’s July 2015 sale of its Cornerstone development (in Poblenou) to UBS Asset Management’s Global Real Estate business, the sale of Parc Glories takes the total end value of Benson Elliot’s Barcelona disposals to c. €200 million over the course of 12 months.
Parc Glories is fully designed and permitted, and the project is expected to break ground imminently. Delivery of the 17 floor, 24,543 sqm, Battle & Roig designed building is expected in late 2018. On completion it will provide column-free floors of up to 1,800 sqm in the heart of Barcelona’s newest and most modern business district, adjacent to Plaza de las Glorias and abutting Barcelona’s famed Diagonal.

Trish Barrigan, Benson Elliot Senior Partner, said: “Benson Elliot made an early move into the recovering Barcelona market, with a focus on prime offices in Poblenou. That move continues to pay off for our investors. We have an ongoing investment programme in Barcelona, but aren’t averse to crystalising the value we’ve created when the opportunity presents itself. We couldn’t think of a better organisation to take this project forward than Colonial.”

During its ownership, Benson Elliot worked with local partner Urban Input to design and permit the building. In addition to providing what is expected to be the highest quality office space in Barcelona, Parc Glories will set new standards in sustainability, targeting the first LEED Platinum qualification in Barcelona.
Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE advised on the transaction.

ENDS

For further information:

Benson Elliot
Trish Barrigan, Senior Partner
Matilda Lane
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900
Matilda.lane@bensonelliot.com

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com

About Benson Elliot:
Benson Elliot Capital Management LLP (Benson Elliot), founded in 2005, is a leading independent private equity real estate fund manager, with c. €1.5 billion of equity under management. The UK-based, FCA regulated firm has a pan-European investment platform and has transacted in the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Central Europe and Scandinavia. The firm is led by Marc Mogull, Trish Barrigan and Joseph De Leo.

Benson Elliot holds a diversified real estate portfolio, currently comprised of office, retail, hotel and residential assets. The Benson Elliot team has experience in delivering superior risk-adjusted returns through active and innovative investment management, investing successfully through market cycles.

In an industry which saw US$1.2 trillion in real estate transactions during 2015 – a significant percentage of which reflects the pension’s savings of millions – the importance of effective investment risk management cannot be overstated.

The Global Investment Risk Management Forum (RMF) is the first of its kind, gathering CEOs, chief investment and risk officers from major institutional real estate investors, with the aim of developing the sector’s approach to risk management. In total, the RMF represents more than US$1 trillion in assets under management (AUM).

Convened by independent professional body RICS, the RMF meets regularly in London, New York and Singapore. In addition to sharing best practice and insights on trends shaping the real estate landscape, the RMF also engages leading risk management experts from other sectors, including insurance, equities and pensions markets.

“With the global financial crisis still fresh in the public psyche, the RMF demonstrates that the industry is taking its fiduciary duty seriously”, says RICS President & Managing Director at German fund manager Union Investment Real Estate, Martin Brühl. “We want to share knowledge on risk management, to develop our thinking as a sector and to lead by example when it comes to managing investment in a responsible and sustainable way.” He adds: “The RMF initiative is our response to today’s anomalies in the interest of greater financial stability: An artificially low interest rate environment engineered by central banks, competitive devaluation of currencies and a magnitude of asymmetric geopolitical risks, including the British EU Referendum, may lead to misallocation of funds and mispricing of risk.”

Philip Barrett, forum member and global chief investment risk officer at PGIM Real Estate, formerly known as Pramerica Real Estate Investors, commented: “A strong focus on investment risk management is an integral part of our investment process at PGIM Real Estate. We are pleased to support RICS in the launch of this global forum which will enable us to share investment risk management best practices with our peers”.

The long-term aim of the initiative is to embed an industry-wide dialogue on risk management and to ensure investment leaders and their clients, including the public at large, benefit from the collective insight.

Organisations involved in the initiative include:

Aberdeen Asset Management
Alpha Investment Partners
AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets
Benson Elliot Capital Management
CBRE Global Investors
GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH
LaSalle Investment Management
M&G Real Estate
Morgan Stanley Capital
PGIM Real Estate, formerly Pramerica Real Estate Investors
Schroder Real Estate Investment Management
UBS Asset Management
Union Investment Real Estate
WealthCap
WT Fund Management Pte Ltd

Notes to Editors

For more information, please contact:
Richard Stokes, RICS: +44 (0)20 7695 1602 / rstokes@rics.org

About RICS:
RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards – bringing confidence to the markets we serve. We accredit 118 000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.

The fundraise was over-subscribed, exceeding an initial target for the Fund of €600 million. Including over €75 million of co-investment earmarked for BEREP IV (of which c. €50 million has already been deployed), the total available equity for the Fund will be above €700 million.

BEREP IV’s investment programme is well-advanced, with nine transactions in six countries already completed at final close. Investors in the Fund have also benefitted from two realisations: the sale of Kurfürstenstraße 87 in Berlin to a fund backed by a German professional pension scheme, and the sale of the Renaissance Hotel and Marriot Executive Apartments in Brussels to a European institutional hotel fund. These two early disposals delivered an equity multiple above 2.5x.

Marc Mogull, Benson Elliot Managing Partner, said: “Benson Elliot continues to find value and deliver performance for a broad range of investors in European real estate. We’ve worked hard to build a dynamic, high-performing operation where our interests and those of our investors are closely aligned. The market’s response to this latest fundraise validates our differentiated model, best in class talent and focused investment approach.

“As the events of the last week highlight, market uncertainty and change are constants in our world. Our investors expect us to exploit the opportunities volatile markets present, whilst keeping a careful eye on risk exposure. I’m confident that, as long as we keep the right team on the pitch, maintain our investment discipline and stay true to the mission we’ve been tasked with, we’ll continue to thrive.”

The capital for BEREP IV has been raised from a global group of c. 30 primarily institutional investors, including public and private pension funds, university endowments, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and family offices. Approximately 50% of the capital raised came from US investors, with 40% from European investors and the balance from the Middle East and Asia. Over 60% of the capital was from investors who had invested in a prior fund.

In the UK, BEREP IV has acquired Vicarage Field Shopping Centre in Barking, the Meadows Shopping Centre in Chelmsford and Guildford Business Park. On the Continent, the Fund has acquired prime hotels in Paris, Milan and other gateway cities, as well as several office and residential assets in Berlin and a shopping centre in Bologna.

ENDS

PERE, BEREP IV

The purchaser is a joint venture between French institutional investor, Cardif Insurance Company (a subsidiary of BNP Paribas) and Algonquin SA, who will remain operating partner and asset manager of the hotel. The sale was concluded in an off-market transaction.

The JV originally acquired the asset in October 2015 as part of an eight asset pan-European hotel portfolio located across Venice, Paris, Milan, Rome, Warsaw, Nuremberg and Brussels. Since then, the JV has also disposed of the Brussels asset from the portfolio, to an institutional hotel fund.

The 396-bed Pullman hotel is situated in an excellent location near the AccorHotels Arena. Following a full refurbishment in 2013, the asset has seen strong operational performance as a beneficiary of Bercy’s increasing prominence as a corporate destination.

Benson Elliot acquired the asset for an affiliate of BEREP IV (the “Fund”), its recently closed pan-European private equity real estate fund which was oversubscribed with approximately €700 million of capital at its disposal. The sale of the Pullman represents an early realisation for the Fund, the proceeds of which will be invested into new opportunities.

Trish Barrigan, Benson Elliot Senior Partner, said:
“This transaction offered a compelling opportunity to quickly realise returns on behalf of BEREP IV. We are already making good progress in terms of both investments and divestments, with this representing our third sale on behalf of the Fund, and we remain alert to new opportunities across European markets that will benefit from our strong underwriting capability and asset management expertise.”

ENDS

For further information:

Benson Elliot
Trish Barrigan, Senior Partner
Matilda Williams
+44 (0) 20 7808 8900
Matilda.williams@bensonelliot.com

FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore / Claire Turvey
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Dido.laurimore@fticonsulting.com
Claire.turvey@fticonsulting.com