Case Study

Wijchen

This asset demonstrates the significant value creation by our Netherlands acquisition and asset management teams. Through their local networks, we sourced at an attractive price this well-located, income-producing property, which is fully occupied by two customers with excellent covenants. 

We have ensured the property will generate a stable, long-term rental income and enhanced the value of the property through sustainable asset management initiatives.

The property is a 36,600 square metre warehouse in the Bijsterhuizen industrial park in Wijchen, in the strategic Arnhem-Nijmegen corridor in the east of the Netherlands. The building is occupied by ALSO International, Europe’s largest distributor of original printing supplies, and Bikeurope, a subsidiary of global brand Trek Bicycle Corp. Trek Bikes uses this warehouse as a key location for receiving goods from Asia through the Port of Rotterdam for distribution within Europe and UK.

We completed the purchase on behalf of Delin Dutch Logistics Partners Fund in March 2023. At the time, pricing of industrial assets in the Netherlands was still adjusting to the higher interest rate environment. This allowed us to negotiate an attractive going-in price with a motivated seller, a German institutional fund disposing of assets it considered peripheral to its main investment strategy. 

When we completed the acquisition, the Weighted Average Lease Term (WALT) was 2.3 years and presented a robust reversion potential. Shortly after acquisition, we engaged in extensive negotiations for lease extensions. This resulted in a long-term lease extension with ALSO International (13,800 sq.m.) in the last quarter of 2023, featuring a significant rent increase that outperformed the market. With Trek Bikes (22,800 sq.m.), we subsequently engaged detailed negotiations for a long-term lease extension at identical rental levels. Following these negotiations and a successful lease extension in the first quarter of 2024, the WALT for the asset rose to 6 years.

Our asset management initiatives include key ESG upgrades to improve the building’s current rating.

Wijchen is a strategic distribution hub close to the heavily industrialised and most densely populated region of western Germany. Bijsterhuizen business park has easy access onto the A73 motorway towards Venlo and the European hinterland, linking it westwards to the main transportation corridors from the Port of Rotterdam and Amsterdam Schiphol airport.