German property investor Sirius Real Estate has entered the UK market after agreeing a £245m deal to buy Helix Investments, the holding company of UK operator BizSpace.
BizSpace offers light industrial, workshop, studio and out of town office units to a wide range of businesses across the UK.
Sirius believes the acquisition of BizSpace represents “a highly attractive and strategically important opportunity” that allows Sirius to enter UK market in a single acquisition.
The group told investors: “The board believes that the acquisition presents an opportunity for the company to replicate the success of the Sirius model in another European geography, providing Sirius’ shareholders with an opportunity for significant value creation and further long-term growth potential.”
The acquisition will be funded by a combination of new and existing debt together with the proceeds of a proposed fundraising which is expected, in aggregate, to around 135m.
The deal is based on an enterprise value of £380m as Sirius has agreed to assume BizSpace’s existing gross financial debt of of around £146m. It will increase Sirius’ gross asset value to around €1.9bn (£1.63bn) and its rent roll to in excess of €153m.
Andrew Coombs, chief executive of Sirius, said: “The acquisition of BizSpace brings with it an experienced and enthusiastic management team that we believe will be a good fit with the culture of Sirius’ current management team and I look forward to building on the existing relationships between our businesses. The transaction provides an opportunity to enter a new geography at scale and extends our successful strategy to target highly strategic locations and assets in order to generate sustainable and growing returns on behalf of investors.”
Since launching in 2000, BizSpace has grown its network to 72 sites, with a value of £377m. Its portfolio is regionally diverse and, split on a per square foot basis, is 74% light industrial and 26% out of town office.
Property Week (David Parsley) - https://www.propertyweek.com/finance/sirius-enters-uk-market-with-245m-bizspace-takeover/5117252.article