SIRIUS TO ACQUIRE ESSEN BUSINESS PARK

RNS Number : 3299S

Sirius Real Estate Limited

16 March 2021

 

SIRIUS REAL ESTATE LIMITED

(Incorporated in Guernsey)

Company Number: 46442

JSE Share Code: SRE

LSE (GBP) Share Code: SRE

LSE (EUR) Share Code: ESRE

LEI: 213800NURUF5W8QSK566

ISIN Code: GG00B1W3VF54

16 March 2021 

Sirius Real Estate Limited

("Sirius Real Estate", "Sirius" or the "Company")

SIRIUS TO ACQUIRE ESSEN BUSINESS PARK

Sirius Real Estate, the leading owner and operator of branded business and industrial parks providing conventional space and flexible workspace in Germany, announces that it has notarised the acquisition of a business park in Essen for €10,710,000. The transaction is by way of a sale and leaseback with thyssenkrupp, the international industrial engineering and technology group, and reflects an EPRA net initial yield of 6.5%. The purchase was sourced by the Sirius acquisitions team off-market and will be funded from existing cash resources, with completion expected in Q2 2021.

Built between 1962 and 1963, the mixed-use business and industrial park offers 14,711 sqm of gross lettable area, of which 45% is warehouse, 42% is office and 13% production space. The park is situated on a 34,844 sqm plot, which includes a 4,450 sqm parcel of land that offers the potential for development into additional warehouse and office space. The site currently has 190 parking spaces.

The business park is currently 80% let to six entities within thyssenkrupp, and produces total annualised rental income of approximately €830,000, reflecting an average rent of €5.85 per sqm (including car parking). 

The weighted average unexpired lease length is 1.4 years, presenting Sirius with a range of asset management options and the opportunity to increase income through the re-letting of vacated space and selective investment into the asset.

Located in the south west of Essen, around 2km from the city centre, the park is highly accessible by rail and car. Essen is the second largest city in the Ruhr, Germany's most populous region and industrial heartland, which is home to many of the country's largest companies. Sirius already manages office space at Ruhrturm Essen, also located in the south of the city. 

Commenting on the acquisition, Andrew Coombs, Chief Executive Officer of Sirius Real Estate, said: "The business park we are acquiring at Essen offers a good mix of warehouse and office space, as well as great potential for Sirius to use our asset management capability and local expertise to add value, improve rental tone and explore development of part of the site. Essen is a city we know well and one we believe has strong long-term growth prospects. The asset is well positioned for the Autobahn and public transport, and will also complement the space we manage at Ruhrturm Essen.

"We were able to proactively secure this high-yielding asset on an off-market basis from thyssenkrupp directly, demonstrating the power of our local knowledge and network, and we see further opportunities to acquire assets from Germany's manufacturing and industrial firms looking to free up capital. This presents a positive opportunity to strengthen our pipeline and source the most attractive deals.

"This will be the fifth asset acquired by Sirius Real Estate in the second half of our financial year, bringing our total acquisitions to €46.2m. Alongside our Titanium joint venture, Sirius has executed €125m of transactions over this period, underlining our significant presence in the German industrial market."

For further information:

Sirius Real Estate

Andrew Coombs, CEO / Alistair Marks, CFO

[phone] 

FTI Consulting  (Financial PR)

Richard Sunderland / Claire Turvey / James McEwan / Talia Jessener

[phone]

[e-mail] 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Sirius Real Estate

Sirius is a property company listed on the main market and premium segment of the London Stock Exchange and the main board of the JSE Limited.  It is a leading operator of branded business parks providing conventional space and flexible workspace in Germany. The Company's purpose is to create and manage optimal workspaces that empower small and medium-sized businesses to grow, evolve and thrive. Sirius seeks to unlock the potential of its people, its properties, and the communities in which it operates, so that together we can create sustainable impact, and long-term financial and social value.

The Company's core strategy is the acquisition of business parks at attractive yields, the integration of these business parks into its network of sites under the Company's own name as well as offering a range of branded products within those sites, and the reconfiguration and upgrade of existing and vacant space to appeal to the local market, through intensive asset management and investment. The Company's strategy aims to deliver attractive returns for shareholders by increasing rental income and improving cost recoveries and capital values, as well as by enhancing those returns through financing its assets on favourable terms. Once sites are mature and net income and values have been optimised, the Company may take the opportunity to refinance the sites to release capital for investment in new sites or consider the disposal of sites in order to recycle equity into assets which present greater opportunity for the asset management skills of the Company's team.

Sirius also has a venture with clients represented by AXA IM Alts. Titanium was formed through the acquisition by AXA IM Alts, on behalf of its clients, from Sirius, of a 65% stake in five business parks across Germany. Sirius retained the remaining 35%. The venture seeks to grow primarily through the acquisition of larger stabilised business park assets and portfolios of assets with strong tenant profiles and occupancy. As well as its equity interest, Sirius acts as operator of the assets in the venture, on a fee basis. Sirius will continue to grow its wholly owned portfolio through acquisitions of more opportunistic assets, where it can capitalise on its asset management expertise to maximise utilisation of the space, grow occupancy and improve quality of the tenants. The strategies have been clearly defined so that the venture does not conflict with Sirius's existing business.

For more information, please visit: www.sirius-real-estate.com

Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/siriusrealestate/

Follow us on Twitter at @SiriusRE

JSE Sponsor

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