Real estate investor and manager Cromwell Property Group (ASX: CMW) has extended its exposure within the European commercial property market, supporting acquisitions made by its own Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (CEREIT) that it manages.
CEREIT is listed on the Singapore Exchange and has announced the proposed acquisition of 16 office assets in the Netherlands, Finland and Poland for €312.5M, along with the acquisition of seven office, logistics and retail assets in Italy and France for a further €71.9M. The deals are expected to be funded both by debt and a raising of €224.1M through a rights issue. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Cromwell current holds interest equivalent to 35.3% in CEREIT and, if the proposed rights issue is approved by CEREIT unitholders, Cromwell will invest around A$120M into the deals. Cromwell intends to fund the investment through its cash reserves and other existing sources. The proposed transactions will increase CEREIT’s total portfolio value from around €1.4B to €1.8B.