Corestate acquires €160m portfolio

The Switzerland-based private equity real estate firm has purchased a residential and commercial portfolio comprising 40 properties and more than 2,000 apartments.

Corestate Capital has acquired a residential and commercial portfolio comprising 40 properties in a transaction worth roughly €160 million.

The firm, founded by former Cerberus Germany real estate head Ralph Winter, said the majority of the assets are located in Berlin, including a €35 million project development in the city centre. The portfolio offers slightly lower than market rents and includes more than 2,000 apartments.

The properties were originally acquired by a foreign investor during the peak of the German real estate market, with Corestate acquiring the assets as part of a securitised loan conduit.

“The complex assumption of securitised CMBS debt is an extreme challenge for all parties involved and offers a good preview for the upcoming years,” said Winter in a statement.

The transaction Corestate’s fourth deal in 2010. In January, the firm purchased 4,700 apartments in Western Germany from Luxembourg-based BGP Investment, a spin-out of a joint venture between Australian companies Babcock & Brown and GPT Group.

In April, Corestate appointed real estate veteran and former head of institutional funds at IVG Group Georg Reul to run its fund business. Reul will join the firm on 1 August and will be part of its management board.