M7 agrees sale of pan-European light industrial portfolio for c.€486 million

London, 26th November 2018 – M7 Real Estate (“M7”), the pan-European investor and asset manager, announces that it has reached an agreement along with its joint venture partner, Starwood Capital (“Starwood”), for the sale of MStar Europe for c.€486 million to a global asset management and financial services business. The sale comprises a portfolio of 50 light industrial assets, which will continue to be managed by M7.

The portfolio, which has a total lettable area of 655,000 sq m, is strategically located along key distribution networks in the major economic hubs of the Netherlands and Germany. This encompasses urban centres including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, Utrecht, Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart.

MStar Europe was founded in 2014 and assembled by M7 on behalf of Starwood with the intention to acquire a significant portfolio of multi-let light industrial and urban logistics assets in sought after locations in Germany and the Netherlands with growth potential.

The portfolio was acquired with over 20% vacancy and generated €29 million of rental income. Through targeted asset management initiatives, the portfolio’s occupancy and income have been improved significantly over the hold period to over 90% occupancy, with approximately 440 tenants, and c.€34 million of rental income.

Richard Croft, Chief Executive of M7, commented: “Since launching MStar Europe we have assembled a portfolio of high-quality light industrial assets which offer an attractive and stable income stream. These assets are situated in established logistics corridors and are meeting the high demand for space used for last mile delivery. We look forward to continuing to actively asset manage these properties and creating further value from this portfolio.”

Eastdil Secured acted on behalf of Starwood.