Aegila Capital Management, a new investment and advisory group backed by top Bahraini financial institutions - Osool and BBK - has acquired the global headquarters of Unilever, a landmark office property in Rotterdam’s business district for €86.5 million ($100.8 million).

The property is considered one of the most prestigious corporate offices in the Netherlands and comprises two separate buildings with a combined net lettable area of 24,500 sq m: the main building facing Weena Boulevard is 11 storeys high and is occupied by Unilever, while the adjacent building (about 10 per cent of total area) is occupied by a leading Dutch educational group.

The transaction marks the debut investment for Aegila in a pipeline of real estate deals across Europe and the UK characterized by attractive locations, stable income from high-quality tenants and long-term value-creation potential.

Aegila is a new investment and advisory platform that originates, executes and manages investments on behalf of global institutional investors targeting the Continental European and UK real estate markets. Launched in 2017, Aegila is headquartered in London and is led by Giovanni Gregoratti, the former co-head of Real Estate Investment Banking in Europe Middle-East and Africa at Citigroup.

“Acquiring the Unilever building in Rotterdam is an extraordinary inaugural deal for Aegila. The combination of attractive market conditions in the Netherlands, Rotterdam’s vibrant economy, the quality of the location and the fact that one of the largest and most respected companies in the world is the main tenant made this opportunity a compelling investment case for our investors,” Gregoratti said.

“In addition to this investment, we have identified a superb pipeline of opportunities across Europe and are looking forward to building our portfolio over the months to come.”

Over the next three years Aegila plans to acquire assets worth in excess of $1 billion on behalf its investors.

Aegila is backed by two of the most respected financial institutions in the GCC, Osool Asset Management BSC and BBK BSC, who are both joint-shareholders and seed investors.

Gregoratti added: “The current real estate market environment demands world-class investment and asset management skills and the expert team at Aegila is committed to delivering an innovative, tailor-made and transparent approach catering to a sophisticated investor base.”

Savills, GT Law, BCLP, SGS Search, Arup and PwC acted as advisers of the investor in the transaction. – TradeArabia News Service