AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. real estate investment and management company Jamestown, most notably known for projects like Chelsea Market in New York, today announced it has acquired Rotterdam’s historic Groot Handelsgebouw, its first large format acquisition in Europe.
The 122,000-square meter (approximately 1.3 million square foot) historic structure, located in the heart of Rotterdam next to the Central Station and 20 minutes from Schiphol airport, is emblematic of the city’s redevelopment after World War II. The building will now become a symbol of the innovation economy. Built in 1953 to help fulfil an acute need for office space Groot Handelsgebouw has become one of the largest mixed-use buildings in the Netherlands housing more than 450 businesses. Jamestown acquired the building from an investment vehicle managed by real estate private equity firm HighBrook Investors for a purchase price of €289 million. HighBrook had previously acquired the asset in July 2018 for approximately €169 million through an off-market public-to-private transaction involving the legacy Dutch listed company (EuroNext: GROHA).
“Groot Handelsgebouw is at the heart of Rotterdam’s history of growth and regeneration; we hope to continue that legacy with a new chapter through creating a hub for the new innovation economy,” said Michael Phillips, President of Jamestown.
Jamestown is a design-focused real estate company whose mission is to transform iconic spaces into innovation hubs and community centers. Its retail, local community, and mixed-use projects include Chelsea Market and Industry City in New York, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, Ponce City Market in Atlanta, and The Innovation and Design Building in Boston. Groot Handelsgebouw fits this diverse portfolio of adaptive reuse projects and is the first transaction led by the company’s new European team. Their Netherland’s asset management group is based in Amsterdam out of the historic bicycle factory A Factorij, which Jamestown entered into a partnership on in 2018.
HighBrook was advised on the transaction by Jones Day and Loyens & Loeff as well as its Asset Manager, Equity Estate. Jamestown was advised by Greenberg Traurig.
About Jamestown
Jamestown, LP was established in 1983 as an investment and management company focused on income-producing real estate in the United States. Jamestown companies employ approximately 450 people worldwide with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and Cologne, Germany. The company has offices in Amsterdam, Bogotá, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
Since its founding, Jamestown has executed transactions in excess of $35 billion. As of 30 September 2019, the company has assets under management of $11.5 billion. Capital sources with a long term investment horizon are institutional investors, retail investors, and separate accounts.
As well as the traditional functions of a real estate management company, Jamestown possesses internal expertise that adds value to all aspects of the real estate business. Its in-house capabilities in Development & Construction, Architecture & Design, Sustainability, Retail Leasing, Creative & Marketing, and Food & Beverage curation, Jamestown maximizes value throughout an asset’s ownership period. See also www.jamestownlp.com.
About HighBrook Investors
HighBrook Investors is a private equity real estate manager that specializes in sourcing and identifying unique opportunities for value investing across market cycles. We utilize our collective experience investing in private, public, domestic, and developed international markets to identify situational opportunities across property types at optimal stages of the investment cycle. The firm was founded in 2010 and operates through its main offices in New York and London.
