(AMSTERDAM) – Hines, the global real estate investment, development, and property manager, has advised its Hines European Core Fund (HECF) on the acquisition of six fully occupied logistics assets in the Randstad area in Aalsmeer, Honselersdijk and Rijnsburg in The Netherlands.
The business parks, on which the assets are located, are majority owned and managed by Royal FloraHolland (RFH), the world’s largest floricultural marketplace and a major contributor to The Netherlands’ world-renowned role within the flower industry. In 2021, the value of The Netherlands’ flower and plant import and export market reached €7.3 billion, with a further €865 million of flowers imported and distributed through business parks such as those operated by RFH1.
The acquired buildings, spanning 92,000 square meters, are fully leased to six occupiers operating within The Netherlands’ floricultural trade market, each on a long-term lease. The properties are in the heart of the densely populated Randstad area, the economic heartland of The Netherlands, which accounts for a significant proportion of the country’s GDP and has a population of over 8.4 million. The assets are clustered near the three major Dutch flower auction sites, giving occupiers excellent access to high concentrations of wholesale and retail flower vendors and purchasers.
Andy Smith, managing director and country head – The Netherlands at Hines, commented: “The portfolio aggregation of these fully leased properties builds on our investment, development and management platform in Dutch logistics. The agricultural and floricultural logistics market is undergoing substantial consolidation, transformation and modernization while remaining among the most resilient segments of a turbulent economy. We are proud to support our tenants in their continued success and we look forward to maintaining and improving the quality of these business critical assets through long term value creation via our property management initiatives.”
Simone Pozzato, managing director and HECF fund manager, added: “Our European core-fund, HECF, completed the first phase of its aggregation of six fully occupied last-mile logistics assets in the highly sought-after Randstad area in The Netherlands, via four off-market and one direct market acquisitions, achieving a considerable portfolio size, at an attractive entry yield. Our ability to source and aggregate opportunities off market through our strong local teams has enabled us to decisively spot value and quickly close in prime occupier locations. To add further value on behalf of our investors, we will also seek to provide property management services and implement strategic ESG improvements aiming to reduce carbon emissions and increase efficiency.”
In 2022, Hines has completed €797 million of logistics transactions across Europe, in markets including Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, The UK and The Netherlands. Hines’ European logistics AUM now stands at €3 billion2.
Advisors for HECF on the transaction include: Colliers, Dentons, Hollis, Howden and PwC, and for the vendors: BNP Paribas, Cushman & Wakefield, Greenberg Traurig, Taylor Wessing and Uijthoven Vastgoedadvies.
1 Source export figure: Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. Source import figure: VGB (Vereniging van Groothandelaren in Bloemkwekerijproducten)
2 Data correct as of 30th September 2022
Marketing Communication
About Hines
Hines is a global real estate investment, development, and property manager. The firm was founded by Gerald D. Hines in 1957 and now operates in 28 countries. We manage a $92.3B portfolio of high-performing assets across residential, logistics, retail, office, and mixed-use strategies. Our local teams serve 634 properties totaling over 225 million square feet globally. We are committed to a net zero carbon target by 2040 without buying offsets.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include offices in 17 cities as well as a presence in 79 cities in 14 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management valued at approximately €25.3 billion and provides third-party property-level services totaling 4.7 million square meters in Europe, in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
To learn more about Hines, visit www.hines.com and follow @Hines on social media.
ÂąIncludes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of June 30, 2022.
About Hines European Core Fund (HECF)
The HECF was set up in 2006 with the aim of providing investors with a resilient income profile and benchmark’s outperformance, derived from a diversified portfolio of high-quality assets located in prime locations across major European cities. As of Q3 2022 the HECF portfolio was 97% occupied with an aggregate fund value of c.€3.2bn. The portfolio of the Fund comprised 37 investments and 65 properties including forward commitments, invested in 16 city markets across ten different European countries. In addition, HECF achieved the highest possible rating of five Green stars out of five for an unprecedented sixth year in a row by GRESB, once again coming first in its peer group and being awarded Sector Leader for a sixth consecutive year in October 2022.
