The third fund of the ARETE Group acquired a modern, highly specialized production facility with research and development center and with the potential for further development in Kežmarok, Slovakia. The investment exceeded EUR 10 million.
The third fund of the ARETE Group focused on quality industrial and logistics assets in the region of Central and Eastern Europe completed the acquisition of a production facility in Kežmarok, Slovakia, in December 2020. It is the purchase of a complex used not only for production and storage, but also as a global research and development center of the German company Hengstler with a 150-year history, which is part of the globally operating American industrial and technological group FORTIVE. The financial volume of the transaction exceeded EUR 10 million.
“Current completion of this transaction is a clear signal that we are able to fulfil the fund’s strategy regardless of the complications of the covid-19 pandemic. We are able to find interesting investment opportunities with further development potential. The strategic goal is to purchase quality industrial properties into the fund and to acquire creditworthy international tenants with a high rating. The acquisition thus fully fulfils both of just mentioned attributes. An important factor for us is that the tenant is interested in expanding and investing in sophisticated research and development technologies in the locality. Other vacant plots of land that are part of the acquisition allow us to create conditions for long-term and stable growth of the tenant. We are pleased to welcome company Hengstler to our portfolio of premium tenants,” said Lubor Svoboda, co-founder of the ARETE Group.
“It is a premium class industrial complex built in 2017, which has over 10.000 sqm of leasable area with the possibility of expansion by another almost 5.000 sqm, while in the course of 2021 it is planned to start new construction. The property is for 100% leased to the German company Hengstler. FORTIVE, a global industrial and technology holding company to which Hengstler belongs, is a company listed on The New York Stock Exchange, is part of the Nasdaq index and had sales of USD 7.3 billion in 2019. The high credibility of the tenant is proven by the fact that in 2019 alone, the FORTIVE group achieved a profit of more than USD 1 billion,” explains Robert Ides, co-founder of the ARETE group, and continues: “Hengstler’s interests in Kežmarok are strategic and long-term. It currently employs approximately 400 highly skilled employees not only in manufacturing but also in its global research and development center. The advantage of the region is the good availability of skilled labour. The tenant has a long-term lease contract. Its production program is highly diversified – the key components of the production program are various specialized electromechanical components, control panels and relays, which are supplied across all markets without specific industry or customer dependence,” concludes Robert Ides the positive evaluation of the transaction.
