Bankinter Investment and Sonae Sierra launch their REIT ORES Alemania on the BME Scaleup market

Bankinter Investment SGEIC, Bankinter's alternative investment management company, and Sierra, a multinational integrated real estate group, have set up ORES Alemania, a new alternative investment vehicle dedicated to retail spaces in the German market, which will be listed on BME Scaleup.

 ORES Alemania will start trading under the listing option. This means it will initially include the current owners of the capital of ORES Alemania. This vehicle is a REIT (a Spanish SOCIMI or listed public limited company involved in real estate investment). It was launched by Bankinter Investment SGEIC and Sierra in November 2023. Bankinter Investment owns 15% of the company and Sierra holds 3%. The remaining 82% is held by Bankinter customers. 

After evaluating other options in Spain and Europe, Bankinter Investment and Sierra have chosen to list on Spain's BME Scaleup market. This choice was based, among other factors, on the innovation of this market, the support of the prestigious BME group (SIX), costs, and the lack of a minimum limit for initial capitalisation and floating capital in the market.

ORES Alemania has an investment volume of approximately 200 million euros, with an investment horizon that expires in five years. It has eight retail assets - four supermarkets and four DIY stores - representing a defensive and resilient portfolio of assets across different economic cycles. All of the assets are under mandatory long-term leases and are with leading operators in the food and home improvement segments in Germany, including EDEKA, REWE and OBI:

- EDEKA is the leading supermarket chain in Germany, with over 11,000 stores;
- REWE has a wide international presence, with over 6,000 stores;
- OBI, the lessee of all four of the DIY assets, has over 50 years experience and is the leading company in Germany in the sector.

The food sector has traditionally been regarded as a defensive sector, as it supplies essential products and services. Consumption is associated with a physical store, enabling personal product selection, immediacy and better access to fresh produce.

Germany is one of the leading European countries for DIY, which has been boosted in recent years by increasing interest in home refurbishment and renovation due to increasing home ownership and rising labour costs.

In addition to having first-class lessees, the assets are in well-established urban centres with significant populations and attractive leasing rates.

ORES Alemania enables investors to invest in high-quality commercial properties in the German market, with recurring and sustained coupons from the first year. Bankinter Investment will manage the vehicle, while Sonae Sierra, which is already active in the German market, will be responsible for managing the portfolio.


Diversification

The diversification of the investment in the German market gives investors access to one of the most robust, stable and resilient economies in the world. Germany is Europe's largest economy and the third largest in the world, behind only the United States and China. It is one of the most stable countries in the European Union and one of the least volatile in the face of the economic cycle, with among the highest per capita GDP and lowest unemployment rates. It has a highly qualified workforce and high-quality industry.

The assets were already operating when they were acquired and, despite some minor investment in repositioning, the alternative investment vehicle distributed an issue premium of 3.25% of the capital invested in less than six months.

Through this REIT, Bankinter Investment has entered the German market, which is also strategic for Sierra in the real-estate investment sector.

Over 820 million invested by the two partners

Since 2016, Bankinter Investment has used Sonae Sierra to structure and manage five investment vehicles:

- ORES (2016), a REIT of commercial assets in Spain and Portugal (supermarkets, retail parks and premises)
- ORES Portugal (2019), a REIT (SIGI, in Portuguese) focusing on supermarkets and retail parks in Portugal.
- BIRE Serrano (2019), high-street commercial premises for lease on Madrid's Calle Serrano.
- BIRE Fortis (2021), iconic high-street commercial premises for lease in Madrid's Puerta del Sol.
- Atrium Saldanha (2022), an iconic building in Portugal (mixed use of offices, retail premises and parking).

 

Together, Bankinter Investment and Sonae Sierra have recorded investment of more than 820 million euros in more than 50 assets in Spain and Portugal.

 

About Bankinter Investment

Bankinter Investment, which has been building up its investment banking business since 2011, has developed a major alternative investment platform since 2016, which has become a leader in the Iberian market, with a total of 25 vehicles. Investors have invested almost 5,000 million euros in these vehicles, resulting, when project financing is included, in a portfolio of assets under management of close to 8,000 million euros, which will rise to nearly 10,000 million euros once all the vehicles are fully invested.

More than 10,000 Spanish and Portuguese families have co-invested with Bankinter Investment and its partners (anchor investors of the various vehicles), with a clear vocation for promoting long-term savings, diversifying in real assets, optimising risk-return ratios and generating long-lasting value for society.

In all its vehicles, Bankinter Investment's has followed the model of forming an exclusive alliance with an expert partner in each investment segment, such as renewable energies, sustainability, student housing, the hotel sector, real estate, infrastructures, technology, commercial and residential properties, venture capital and the environment.

 

About Sonae Sierra

 Sierra is a multinational company that operates across the real estate sector, focussing on urban transformation and innovation. It currently has more than 7,000 million euros of assets under management and has been involved in projects in more than 35 countries. Sierra's sustainability strategy has always set it apart and is one of the pillars of its positioning in all business areas. 

Sierra has a strong reputation as a leading specialist in real estate solutions that add value to society as a whole. It focusses on long-term relationships with leading investors, with its integrated offering including the creation of customised investment vehicles, development and modernisation of sustainable mixed-use urban spaces (residential, office, retail and leisure), a complete and integrated real estate services platform and management of a portfolio of resilient, future-ready assets.