LONDON & FRANKFURT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Slate Asset Management ("Slate”), a global alternative investment platform targeting real assets, announced today the acquisition of a portfolio of 36 essential real estate assets in Norway for over NOK 1.5 billion. This transaction closely follows the firm’s first two portfolio acquisitions in the region in December 2021 and March 2022, expanding Slate’s footprint in Norway to a collective 63 essential real estate assets.
The portfolio’s two main tenants are grocers Reitan Group and Coop Norge, which collectively anchor all of the 36 properties. These Class-A operators are two of the largest consumer goods distributors globally, together holding over 50% of grocery market share in Norway.
The majority of the assets being acquired by Slate are concentrated in and around Norway’s two most densely populated cities, Oslo and Bergen. With over 96% of the portfolio’s income generated by essential goods and service providers, the portfolio is well-positioned to provide long-term secured cash flows, as well as protection against inflation with CPI linked leases.
Slate has identified a number of optimization and modernization opportunities in partnership with the portfolio’s tenants to realize additional upside and increase turnover potential at these property locations, including installing more sustainable infrastructure, making facade improvements and more.
“Essential real estate is one of our highest conviction investment themes, and we continue to accelerate our exposure to this asset class and scale our platform in Europe,” said Brady Welch, Founding Partner at Slate. “This transaction significantly grows our footprint in one of Europe’s strongest and most stable economies with a portfolio of properties that are modern, high-quality and underpinned by best in-class tenant covenants. Our hands-on approach to asset management will enable us to identify and unlock the full potential of these assets to provide our investors with attractive long-term returns.”
Slate has completed over €1.7 billion in transactions across Europe to date. The firm’s European Essential Real Estate Strategy is focused on high-quality, income producing assets critical to the supply chain with high credit quality tenants, such as grocery and other essential consumer goods providers, healthcare assets, and affiliated warehouses and logistics centers. Slate’s European platform is supported by four offices across the UK and continental Europe. The firm intends to establish a fifth office in Norway in the first half of 2022.
Slate worked with Norne Securities, Schjødt, CMS Kluge, Union, BER as well as KPMG Norway on this transaction, which closed on March 31, 2022.
About Slate Asset Management
Slate Asset Management is a global alternative investment platform targeting real assets. We focus on fundamentals with the objective of creating long-term value for our investors and partners. Slate’s platform has a range of real estate and infrastructure investment strategies, including opportunistic, value add, core plus, and debt investments. We are supported by exceptional people and flexible capital, which enable us to originate and execute on a wide range of compelling investment opportunities. Visit slateam.com to learn more.
