Real estate investor and manager, Cromwell Property Group (Cromwell) has confirmed that M&G Plc has signed a 20-year sole occupancy lease on a proposed new office building at Kildean Business Park in Scotland.

The building will be developed by the Stirling Development Agency (SDA), Cromwell’s joint venture with Stirling Council. With an estimated completion date of mid-2022, the 77,000 sqft building is part of a series of planned developments at the 340,000 sqft Business Park located near Stirling, an area traditionally popular with financial services and life sciences companies in Scotland’s Central Belt.

The building has been designed to meet stringent ESG objectives and is targeting an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating, in part through the use of a number of zero and low carbon technologies. The Business Park links into the local cycle network and ample covered cycle spaces, lockers and shower facilities will be provided within the building.

Prior to this lease being signed, SDA had already secured the development of a Marston’s pub and restaurant, a hotel, Starbucks drive-thru and a petrol station at the Business Park.

Matthew Bird, Head of UK at Cromwell Property Group, commented, “To have pre-let the first office building is a testament to SDA’s vision for Kildean Business Park. A focus on creating space with strong ESG credentials and which also serves the health and wellbeing needs of its occupiers aligns with how we see the future of the office post COVID-19.

“We are also pleased to be continuing our 20-year partnership with Stirling Council to bring further jobs and opportunities to the local region.”

David Lawrence, Head of UK Project Management at Cromwell Property Group and SDA Director, added, “We are delighted to be able to welcome M&G Plc as our first office tenant at Kildean Business Park. This is a fantastic example of how public / private partnerships such as the one between Cromwell and Stirling Council can successfully boost the prosperity of a local economy over a prolonged period of time, and on multiple projects.

“We look forward to welcoming further occupiers to the Park,” he concluded.

Stirling Council Leader, Councillor Scott Farmer said, “This is fantastic news which underlines Stirling’s reputation as a prime location to attract and retain business investment.

“M&G Plc has been a cherished part of the fabric of this city since 1997 and this commitment to another 20 years will open up even greater employment opportunities for the people of Stirling.

“With COVID-19 creating business and employment uncertainty, this decision will come as a massive relief to local families and we are delighted to see SDA securing additional investment for the region.”

Real estate investor and manager, Cromwell Property Group (Cromwell) and York Capital Management (York) have sold the final asset from the Cromwell Netherlands Diversified Partnership (CNDP). The asset, Woonboulevard Westpoort, which comprises 26,000 sqm of retail space let to a variety of homeware and DIY tenants, has been sold to Lenferink Groep Zwolle.

CNDP was launched in 2014 with a mandate to build a diversified portfolio of Dutch assets. The Fund invested in office, industrial and out-of-town retail sectors and acquired high quality, well located real estate across The Netherlands, targeting both single assets and portfolios.

The Fund has deployed in excess of €350 million of capital since its launch, acquiring Woonboulevard Westpoort and several large office buildings, including the landmark office ‘The Mark’ in Rotterdam.

Wouter Zwetsloot, Cromwell’s Head of Real Estate, Europe said: “The sale of Woonboulevard Westpoort marks the successful completion of the sell-down of all assets in the CNDP portfolio.”

“CNDP has provided outstanding returns since its launch in 2014 and its success is a testament to the ability of our local investment team to source the right opportunities and work alongside our property team to increase the value of assets through active asset management initiatives.”

“We look forward to continuing to deliver more of these types of results for our investors and capital partners,” he concluded.

Real estate investor and manager, Cromwell Property Group (ASX:CMW) (Cromwell), through its local in-country and pan-European teams, completed an off-market acquisition of CLOM (Centro Logistico Orlando Marconi), an intermodal logistics park located in Italy, for Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT) on Wednesday 23 December 2020. The park has been acquired by Cromwell EREIT Management Pte. Ltd., the Manager of CEREIT.

The park contains net lettable area (NLA) totalling 156,888 sqm and is located on a 421,703 sqm site. Constructed in stages between 1995 and 2006, the site is comprised of nine warehouses, of which 18,000 sqm is cold storage, and an office building.

The site also contains a railway line with four tracks, each approximately 1 km long, with direct loading platforms and a freight terminal connected to the national railway service.

“Logistics is a sector we think has strong and enduring characteristics and we are seeing opportunities in most of the countries in which we operate,” said Cromwell’s Head of Investment, Europe, Robert Cotterell.

“COVID-19 has impacted consumer behaviour and we believe it has pulled future e-commerce and online growth forward, giving impetus to the broader sector.”

“Our on-the-ground country teams ably supported by our multi-jurisdictional platform experts can source and structure opportunities to meet the bespoke requirements of any investor,” he concluded.

Lorenzo Caroleo, Cromwell’s Head of Italy, added, “The general uncertainty we are experiencing favours those investors which are agile and have a flexible capital structure. CEREIT has a track record in Italy and is familiar with the environment and was able to move swiftly and make a compelling offer to the seller.”

“The park is well let to strong tenants while the location offers growth prospects thanks to the great accessibility and the presence of many manufacturing companies in that area of Central Italy.”

“Just a couple of months after the successful acquisition of the DHL portfolio, this transaction confirms the ability of our local team to identify the right investments for our capital partners. We will continue to deploy capital as the opportunities arise,” Mr Caroleo concluded.

The park is in the municipality of Ascoli Piceno, in Monteprandone in central Italy, along the eastern coast. It is in close proximity to the A14/E55 motorway which connects Bologna to Bari and, more broadly, is the main highway connecting Greece to Denmark. The asset is over 99% leased to a diverse tenant-customer base consisting of 24 different occupiers and is the largest logistics hub in one of Italy’s key trade corridors.

Orlando Sciocchetti, asset manager of the park, and part of the owning family, commented, “CLOM’s roots go deep into our family’s entrepreneurial history, specifically of my grandfather Orlando Marconi, of whom the park bears the name. We are very glad to have encountered such a top flight and very experienced counterpart such as Cromwell, who we are confident will ensure continuity and at the same time will be able to further develop the park to prepare it for future challenges in the national logistics environment.”

CEO of the Manager of CEREIT, Simon Garing, added, “The deal was secured off-market, once again bearing testament to the sourcing capabilities of our sponsor’s extensive on-the-ground European team.”

“The logistics park is expected to generate stable and recurring cash flows with scope for further rental upside and will increase CEREIT’s exposure to the resilient logistics sector, which is consistent with our stated purpose of delivering long-term distribution and net asset value per unit growth to unitholders.”

Real estate investor and manager, Cromwell Property Group (Cromwell) announces the appointment of Gijs Vissers as Head of Investment Management Benelux, based in Cromwell’s Amsterdam office.

Prior to joining Cromwell, Gijs gained significant transaction experience as Associate Director at Cushman & Wakefield’s Office Capital Markets team. He has also spent over eight years with JLL in a number of different roles, the latest being Director in their Capital Markets division. Gijs holds a master’s degree in law from Leiden University.

As Head of Investment Management, Gijs will be responsible for leading the growth strategy in the Benelux, including the disposal and acquisition of assets in the region.

Wouter Zwetsloot, Head of Benelux and Real Estate Europe at Cromwell Property Group, commented,“I am looking forward to work alongside Gijs. With his expertise in the Benelux market Gijs will be working with our team to deliver our ambitious growth plans and ‘Invest-to Manage’ strategy.”

Cromwell has announced the Cromwell Polish Retail Fund (CPRF) received a 2020 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) score of 72, an increase of 29 points since first reporting in 2014.

Cromwell’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Phil Cowling, commented, “Cromwell’s ongoing commitment is to reduce the environmental impact of our funds and operations and continually improve the sustainability performance of our owned and managed assets.”

“A 29-point increase in CPRF’s GRESB score since 2014 is a great testament to the hard work of our Polish team,” he added.

CPRF contains seven catchment-dominating shopping centres. In August 2019, Cromwell opened the newest section of Janki Shopping Centre in Warsaw, following the completion of a major €65 million (A$110 million) refurbishment which added 21,000 sqm of gross lettable area.

Karol Pilniewicz, Head of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) added, “It is wonderful to see CPRF continue to receive recognition for its ESG performance, after recently celebrating Janki Shopping Centre’s transformation winning the gold award at the ‘Retail Scheme’s Redevelopment / Extension / Modernisation of the Year’ category at the 11th Annual Polish Council of Shopping Centres Retail Awards.”

In CEE, Cromwell has 45 real estate professionals on the ground, managing 21 assets with 639 tenant-customers and over 749,000 sqm of space.

For more information on CPRF performance please visit www.cromwellpropertygroup.com/sustainability/performance to access the 2020 GRESB scorecard.

About GRESB

Launched in 2009, GRESB is an investor-driven global ESG benchmark and reporting framework for listed property companies, private property funds, developers and investors that invest directly in real estate.

Participation in the 2020 assessment grew 22% amid accelerating investor demand for ESG data, now covering 1,229 portfolios (2019: 1,005) worth more than US$4.8 trillion AUM. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, this increase in participation demonstrates the real estate industry continues to respond decisively to the accelerating investor demand for quality and comparable ESG data.

GRESB measures and ranks public disclosure practices of participating listed entities on an annual basis. Categories assessed include sustainability governance, sustainability implementation, operational performance and stakeholder engagement practices.

Real estate investor and manager, Cromwell Property Group (Cromwell) has today officially confirmed Pontus Flemme Gärdsell in the role of Head of Nordics, having been Interim Head since the beginning of 2020.

During the year, Pontus successfully managed Cromwell’s initial COVID-19 response in the region while also further increasing the depth and experience of the local team. This has included the recent arrivals of Sofia Sandh and Rickard Slagbrand to the roles of Investment Manager and Transaction Manager respectively.

Pontus joined Cromwell in 2011 as Group Accountant for Sweden and became Head of Finance for Sweden just over two years later. He was then appointed Head of Finance for the entire Nordics region in early-2017.

Mark McLaughlin, Managing Director, Europe, commented, “Pontus has an in-depth knowledge of the Nordic real estate industry combined with nearly ten years’ worth of experience with Cromwell.”

“His promotion, and the other additional hires we have made, are all in direct accordance with our broader ambitions to grow assets under management in the region.”

Pontus Flemme Gärdsell added, “Cromwell has managed a significant number of assets in the Nordic region for a variety of different investors over the last decade. We have also since demonstrated our ability to execute our investment and asset management initiatives, even during difficult circumstances like the current COVID-19 pandemic.”

“I’m excited about the role, new additions to the already strong team and the opportunities that lie ahead,” he concluded.

Pontus holds a Master of Business and Economics from Lund University. Prior to joining Cromwell, he worked at Deloitte for five years.

In the Nordics region, Cromwell has offices in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Malmo and Stockholm and, as at 30 June 2020, managed 46 office, retail and industrial/logistics assets let to 873 tenant-customers and covering over 329,000 sqm.

Real estate investor and manager, Cromwell Property Group, has appointed Candice Villa as Head of Asset Management, France, on a permanent basis. She has held the role on an interim basis since April of this year.

Candice will be responsible for all of Cromwell’s Asset Management activities in France covering 23 assets, comprising more than 313,000 sqm and nearly 250 tenant-customers.

Andrew Stacey, President of Cromwell France commented, “I am delighted that Candice has agreed to take on the role, after stepping in seamlessly on an interim basis, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Candice has utilised her skills, expertise and resilience to work closely with our tenant-customers during these challenging times. We have been active, recently signing a lease renewal for a major postal and logistic company and will shortly be on-boarding a Parisian CBD office building, acquired for a new capital partner.”

“We have a busy pipeline of activity ahead and it’s great to have Candice in the role permanently,” he added.

Candice joined Cromwell in 2018 as a Senior Asset Manager and has a decade of experience in the asset management of office, light industrial and logistics assets. She has been responsible for delivering and implementing business plans for the properties within her portfolio, securing and improving incoming flows, overseeing small and large scale end-to-end refurbishment works as well as managing acquisition and disposals.

Candice holds a Masters’ degree in Finance and Engineering of Real Estate.

Real estate investor and manager, Cromwell Property Group (ASX:CMW) (Cromwell), has assisted Cromwell EREIT Management Pte. Ltd., the Manager of Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT), to price an offering of €300 million five-year senior unsecured notes due November 2025 at a coupon of 2.125% and a reoffer yield of 2.161% via CEREIT’s wholly-owned subsidiary Cromwell EREIT Lux Finco S.à r.l.

Cromwell’s Head of Treasury, Brett Hinton, commented, “It is great to see Cromwell’s integrated, full service platform drive a major capital transformation for the benefit of CEREIT’s unitholders.”

“Following the successful raise of €625 million in unsecured debt in November 2019, this is another example of the tailored treasury solutions we can provide with experienced colleagues working across three continents and multiple jurisdictions.”

“The London-based European Treasury team, led by Gwendal Kalkofen, continues to leverage Cromwell’s strong global banking and investor relationships to bring true value-adding solutions to our customers,” he concluded.

Issued under CEREIT’s recently-established €1.5 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme, the Notes are expected to be issued on 19 November 2020 and dual listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

Following the transaction, CEREIT’s weighted average debt maturity profile will be extended from 2.6 years to 3.9 years, with no major maturities due until November 2022. CEREIT will, in turn, have 90% of its debt unsecured.

The Manager’s CEO, Simon Garing, added, “I am very pleased with the strong demand from global credit investors in our inaugural debt capital market transaction. The positive investor feedback and widespread support we have received is an endorsement of Cromwell’s integrated European platform, treasury management capabilities, as well as recognised corporate governance and risk management processes.”

“As a result of our responsible capital management approach, CEREIT is now in a stronger financial position, with no further debt expiring for two years and a much-improved weighted average debt maturity profile, all underpinned by CEREIT’s recent ‘BBB’ investment-grade Fitch¹ rating.”

The notes issuance follows the recent establishment of a four year, €135-million unsecured revolving credit facility with an accordion increase option of a further €65 million, providing undrawn facilities amounting to €235 million.

Morgan Stanley acted as the sole bookrunner for the notes. Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited acted as the Ratings Advisor.

_{1. Fitch Ratings Singapore Pte Ltd.}