KKR &Co, the popular commercial real estate firm, is reportedly building a retail park portfolio spread across various areas in the U.K. marking its debut in the commercial property market of the country.
According to a press release, KKR has agreed to purchase a retail portfolio of 430,000 square feet from commercial property firm, Resolution Properties, for an undisclosed amount. The portfolio consists of retail warehouses, restaurants and shopping outlets in locations like Glasgow, Oxford and Sunderland. Quadrant Estates will be managing the portfolio for KKR while Jones Lang LaSalle will be advising the transaction.
"We are excited to be announcing KKR's first European property acquisition, and are delighted that it is in a strong portfolio which combines excellent locations and attractive opportunities for asset management," Guillaume Cassou, head of KKR Europe Real Estate team, said in the statement. "KKR is perfectly placed to develop the portfolio given the company's experience and expertise in the retail sector with leading companies such as Pets at Home and Alliance Boots. We look forward to doing more such deals in the UK and Europe."
The deal is expected to be completed in the coming few weeks, reports Bloomberg.
KKR has been expanding its real estate portfolio for quite some time now. Recently, it purchased the Colonie Center Mall in Albany, New York. Earlier in March, various media reports stated that KKR was starting a real estate fund with $500 million and also looking to invest largely in Europe and Asia.
Meanwhile, in a commercial property market report by Deloitte, experts have forecast that 2013 will see the end of a downturn in commercial property values and prices will rise in the coming months.
According to the report:
"Last year we predicted falling prices driven by a moribund secondary market. This year we expect that prices will start to rise again in the second half of the year."
This might be the best time for KKR to invest in the U.K. commercial property market.
