CAPREIT announced it will be acquiring 19 properties, totaling 849 residential suites, in eight cities and towns throughout The Netherlands. Included in the purchase are 102 single-family homes, 747 apartment suites and two commercial units.
Approximately 29 per cent of the suites are located in Amsterdam, 30 per cent in Utrecht, 17 per cent in The Hague, with the remaining 24 per cent in five towns in the central and northern parts of the country. The purchase price of EUR170.4 million will be financed with new mortgage financing of approximately EUR100.8 million with a weighted average term of approximately 7.5 years bearing a weighted average interest rate of approximately 1.9 per cent and the remaining with a euro-based loan under CAPREIT’s credit facility, which currently has a two-year hedged fixed interest rate of approximately 1.2 per cent. Occupancy for the acquired properties is currently 97 per cent. Closing of the transaction is expected on or about July 12, 2017.
CAPREIT will be responsible for providing property management services for the new properties, exporting its proven programs to The Netherlands. CAPREIT has partnered with Rubens Capital Partners, its partner on its first acquisition in The Netherlands, a highly experienced local real estate investment and asset management firm, which will own a nominal interest in the portfolio and will provide ongoing acquisition and asset management services to assist in growing CAPREIT’s portfolio in the country.
With this acquisition, CAPREIT’s Netherlands portfolio more than doubles, increasing to 1,417 rental suites well-located in most major population centres in the country. With this increase in size and scale, CAPREIT will be establishing its own regional office in The Netherlands to manage the portfolio. A senior CAPREIT employee has been located in The Netherlands since April 2017, and he will oversee the set-up and staffing of the new regional office. The new office will generate additional operating efficiencies and help to facilitate further growth in the region.
“We are very pleased with the contribution our initial Netherlands properties have made, and look for this significant increase in size and scale to make a strong and sustainable contribution to our performance going forward,” commented Thomas Schwartz, President and CEO.
As one of Canada’s largest residential landlords, CAPREIT is a growth-oriented investment trust owning interests in 49,074 residential units, comprising 42,622 residential suites and 31 manufactured home communities comprising 6,452 land lease sites located in and near major urban centres across Canada and the Netherlands. For more information about CAPREIT, its business and its investment highlights, visit www.caprent.com.
