Commercial - 25. February 2022

W. P. Carey Announces Follow-on Investment with Coop Danmark A/S

#Coop #Sale&Leaseback #W.P. Carey

W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), a leading net lease REIT specialising in corporate sale-leasebacks, build-to-suits and the acquisition of single-tenant net lease properties, is pleased to announce a sale-leaseback of eight grocery stores, net leased to leading Danish food retailer, Coop Danmark A/S (“Coop”). The transaction includes a commitment by W. P. Carey to acquire three additional stores upon completion of refurbishments in 2022 and follows the sale-leaseback of an 11-store portfolio with Coop in December 2021. EDC International Poul Erik Bech has been advisor to W. P. Carey.

Key Facts:

Market-leading tenant: With a history dating back to 1866, Coop is one of Denmark’s leading grocery retailers with a market share of over 30%. Coop has a well-diversified portfolio of brands accommodating all grocery retail sectors including, discount, supermarket, hypermarket and premium. The company has continued to evolve alongside the growth of e-commerce through innovation and significant investment in technology, including its Coop app and two online businesses: Coop.dk MAD and Coop.dk Shopping.
Attractive retail locations: The portfolio comprises established food retail properties located in dense urban locations. Strict Danish planning laws and licensing requirements make opening new retail stores difficult, thereby providing inherent value to established food retail sites.
Defensive industry: Proximity food retailers have benefited from increased consumer interest in at-home cooking, a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and discount retail in particular has been a growing sub-sector in Denmark, taking market share from other forms of retail.
Strengthening relationship with tenant: The transaction follows a prior sale-leaseback of 11 of Coop’s food retail stores completed in December 2021. As a result, W. P. Carey currently owns 19 of Coop’s stores across Denmark.
Long-term leases with built-in rent growth: The newly acquired stores are net leased for a term of 15 years with Danish NPI-based rent increases.

Karolis Adlis, Executive Director, Investments, W. P. Carey said: “Underscoring our commitment to developing long-term relationships with our tenants, we are delighted to build on our partnership with Coop and add eight high-quality, food retail assets to our portfolio. This transaction will enable Coop to unlock the full value of its real estate, redeploying proceeds back into the business to fuel its strategic growth plan. We are pleased to continue expanding our presence in Denmark and look forward to working with Coop in the future.”

Flemming Møller Hansen, Real Estate Director at Coop Danmark, said: “We are pleased to have a long-term partner in W. P. Carey who believes in our approach to European retail and the future of our new discount store chain, Coop 365discount. The sale-leaseback agreement is a natural way for us to adapt part of our portfolio so that we can continue our expansion across Denmark with more discount store properties that we have in our pipeline.”

Helle Nielsen Ziersen, Head of EDC International Poul Erik Bech, advisor to W. P. Carey, said: “W. P. Carey remains an excellent partner for corporates looking to realise the value of their real estate. Bringing together a deep sector knowledge coupled with a detailed understanding of the market, the team at W. P. Carey are a pleasure to work with and we look forward to growing our relationship with the firm moving forward.”

W.P. Carey purchased a portfolio of buildings in 2018, with carrier Danske Fragtmænd as the tenant – and with EDC Poul Erik Beck as the adviser. Read more: Danish début with DKK 1.2 billion at hand.

W. P. Carey Announces €41 Million Sale-Leaseback of Grocery Store Portfolio of Coop in Denmark