The Korea Herald

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KTB backs acquisition of logistics facility in Ireland

By Son Ji-hyoung

Published : Dec. 23, 2019 - 16:01

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Seoul-based KTB Investment & Securities and KTB Asset Management have backed a 160 million euros ($177.2 million) acquisition of Tesco’s Distribution Center in Dublin, Ireland, by DTZ Investors, its adviser Cushman & Wakefield said Monday.

It was the largest single-asset logistics transaction in Ireland by volume.

The 73,000 square meter-wide warehouse is a logistics facility for dry goods distribution to some 150 Tesco stores across Ireland within three hours. 

An exterior view of Tesco’s Irish Distribution Centre in Dublin. (Cushman & Wakefield) An exterior view of Tesco’s Irish Distribution Centre in Dublin. (Cushman & Wakefield)
KTB partnered with DTZ Investors, a local investment vehicle dedicated to European commercial real estate assets. The cross-border deal was advised by C&W, a global property consultancy and parent company of DTZ Investors, along with accounting firm KPMG and law firms Ashurst and Walkers Global.

“The transaction profile is further enhanced against the backdrop of the very restricted supply of logistics assets of scale in Ireland and the building’s importance to Tesco’s Irish operations,” DTZ Investors Associate Director David Peacock said in a statement. KTB declined to comment on the matter.

Investors can benefit from a lease guaranteed by Tesco until 2032, C&W said, without elaborating on the yield to investors.

“It is another example of Cushman & Wakefield capital markets teams sourcing long lease off-markets assets in Europe on behalf of Korean investors,” said Kim Jong-han, partner at C&W EMEA.

This marks the third time this year for DTZ Investors to acquire properties on behalf of Korean investors, following a 130 million euro acquisition of Main Point Pankrac in Prague in July, and another 130 million euro acquisition of Queen’s Towers in Amsterdam in September.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)