The real estate fund UAB Eika Real Estate Fund (EREF), managed by the fund management company UAB Eika Asset Management (EAM), has completed a transaction with Moller Real Estate Baltic AS, under which it acquired Audi and Volkswagen representative offices in Vilnius. The seller was represented by international real estate consulting company Newsec, and the transaction was financed by Luminor Bank. The transaction amount is not disclosed.
The buildings acquired by EREF are under long-term lease agreements. The first building, with an area of more than 2 thousand sq. m, located at Ukmergės g. 252, Vilnius, is Audi representative office; the long-term tenant of the facility is UAB “Moller Auto Keturi žiedai”. The second, almost 3 thousand sq. m. building, located at Laisvės pr. 127, Vilnius, is Volkswagen agency, whose long-term tenant is UAB Moller Auto. The seller was advised on legal issues by TGS Baltic, and the buyer by Fort Legal.
According to EAM CEO Viktorija Orkinė, this investment is considered extremely safe, as the purchased buildings have been developed by Moller Auto according to its own needs and have long-term lease agreements, which have the option of extension. If the agreements are not extended, new projects would be developed on the plots, as their location in the city is extremely valuable.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with EAM on the sale of these two properties, which is a strategic step in our portfolio management. The sale of these properties will allow us to continue to focus on our core business and use the freed up capital for further business development,” says M.øThomas Sletten, head of ller Real Estate Baltic.
According to Andrius Švolka, Head of Investment Transactions Group at Newsec in the Baltics, this transaction perfectly reflects the new trend of sales leaseback. Companies are increasingly deciding to sell their own real estate and remain tenants of the objects, and direct the free capital to their core activities. We expect to see more such transactions in Lithuania.
Luminor Bank real estate financing expert Gediminas Kesminas noted that despite the uncertainty and constantly changing forecasts, the Lithuanian commercial real estate market remains resilient to the challenges of the pandemic. “Although car showrooms are a specific real estate asset, the long-term and successful experience of its participants in their field of activity, the attractive location of the objects and additional opportunities to develop these land plots give confidence to this transaction,” noted G. Kesminas.
The acquisitions of Moller Auto assets became the third and fourth investments of EREF, thus completing the formation of the portfolio from the funds raised during the first distribution. The fund has previously acquired the Highway business center in Vilnius and signed a deal with UAB DHL Lietuva to build an express delivery terminal near Vilnius Airport.
EREF is the second real estate fund managed by EAM and invests in commercial operating and developing flow-through objects. EREF invests in classic commercial assets – office buildings, shopping centers and logistics in the Baltic States. The fund is intended for informed investors, and together with external investors, the capital of the EIKOS group is also invested.