Bahrain's alternative asset manager Investcorp acquired the Coca-Cola Company's Belgian headquarters for €88 million (Dh362m), marking its foray into the European country and its first sale and leaseback deal on the continent.
Investcorp's European real estate business bought The Bridge – a single-let office building in Brussels from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola through a sale and 10-year leaseback transaction.
“Our latest acquisition is in line with our recent focus on expanding our real estate portfolio across the Benelux region, which we believe is poised to benefit from solid economic and underlying property fundamentals,” said Yusef Al Yusef, head of Investcorp's Gulf institutional clients group. “The Benelux region has growing and active real estate markets and is currently experiencing high levels of demand for office assets.”
The property in south-west Brussels houses Coca-Cola's marketing and research and development functions and few subtenants, Investcorp said.
Built in 2001, The Bridge has three interconnected buildings with 35,300 square meters of office and R&D space. The local area is also set to benefit from the Belgian government’s new Canal Plan, which is the largest urban development plan in the Brussels region where a new mixed-use neighbourhood of commercial and residential properties is proposed.
The Manama asset manager’s latest deal brings the value of its European real estate assets under management to €750m. The company has previously purchased a multi-let office complex in Munich, Germany, for €73m and a grade A office property in the Dutch city of Rotterdam for €50m.
Investcorp, which counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, has made more than 800 commercial and residential real estate investments in the US and Europe, with a total transaction value of $61bn.
Established in 1982, Investcorp is one of the oldest Middle East alternative asset managers with $31.1bn in value under management as of December 31, according to its half-year accounts.
Earlier this year, Investcorp reported net income of $48m in the first half of its financial year to December 31, a 17 per cent year-on-year decline.
