• GTC has signed agreement to sell Nefryt and Topaz buildings in Warsaw
• The transaction values the assets at EUR 79m, reflecting an average yield of 7.2%
• The sale will generate about EUR 21m of free cash flow for GTC
Globe Trade Centre S.A. (GTC S.A.) has finalised the sale agreement of two of its Class A office buildings in Warsaw: Nefryt and Topaz. The assets were purchased by a fund managed by RREEF Investment.
“This transaction is the first asset disposal for GTC since September 2007,” said Eli Alroy, Chairman of the GTC Supervisory Board. “We believe that the real estate investment market will continue to improve, which may encourage us to proceed with recycling of capital, as in the past GTC used to sell one or two assets per year.”
Nefryt and Topaz are prime office buildings located in the heart of Mokotów, the largest business district in Poland, next to the Galeria Mokotów shopping mall. The Topaz and Nefryt buildings has a total combined area of approx 27,000 sqm. The tenant list includes such renowned firms as Roche, Allianz, Cisco Systems, Motorola, Honeywell and Noble Bank.
The transaction provides for the buyer to purchase the assets based on a valuation of about EUR 79m. The final closing is subject to certain administrative decisions.
Upon selling the two buildings, GTC’s net cash position will increase by about EUR 21m.
“The pricing of the transaction reflects the yield compression trend that started early this year,” said Erez Boniel, GTC CFO and Management Board member. “Lower investment yields should have a positive impact on the valuation of GTC’s office portfolio in Warsaw. The cash proceeds from the transaction will further strengthen GTC’s financial capacity to capture new opportunities on the market.”
In Q3 2010 GTC is delivering office buildings at University Business Park in Łódź and at Francuska Office Centre in Katowice.
In July 2010 GTC pre-let the entire fourth building at Platinium Business Park in Warsaw (a 13,000 sqm NRA building) to Aviva Group, for delivery in mid-2011. The start of construction of the fifth building in the complex is to begin in Q3 2010.
GTC also plans to commence construction of Corius, the third building at Okęcie Business Park, adjacent to the Warsaw Chopin Airport.
GLOBE TRADE CENTRE S.A. (GTC S.A.) is one of the leading developers in the New Europe and was established in 1994 in Warsaw. Currently it operates in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine.
GTC develops projects and manages completed properties in three key sectors of real estate: office buildings and parks, retail and entertainment centers and residential sector.
GTC has developed about 750 000 sqm of net space and currently is the owner of completed commercial property with a combined net area of about 455 000 sqm. GTC also holds an impressive portfolio of investment at various stages of development which will facilitate the construction of 1.8 million sqm of commercial and residential space. GTC’s total assets exceed EUR 2.6 billion.
GTC’s shares are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on the prestigious WIG20 index. The company’s assets are also included in the international MSCI index and Dow Jones STOXX Eastern Europe 300 index, as well as the GPR250 index which comprises the 250 biggest and most liquid real estate companies of the world. Among GTC’s shareholders are many of the biggest Polish and international institutional investors.