Heitman Completes Acquisition of Two Dutch Residential Portfolios

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Amsterdam—Completing its first purchase in the Dutch residential market, global real estate investment management firm Heitman LLC recently acquired two separate apartment portfolios. Located in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, the two residential portfolios were acquired by Heitman for a fee of $94 million. The properties benefit from great placement in Central Amsterdam’s supply-constrained submarkets. The acquisition was a result of Heitman’s newly formed joint venture with Orange Capital Partners, an employee-owned local rented residential specialist created by former Goldman Sachs employees for Dutch residential sector investors. NYC-based Silverfern Real Estate Partners was a co-investor in the transaction.

Totaling around 305,000 square feet of space, the two portfolios comprise a total of 24 buildings that include 400 rental units and 12 retail units. The Amsterdam apartment market is currently experiencing challenges in providing an appropriate housing stock, leading to great opportunities for investment in the rental market. For the buyer, this acquisition is the first stage of an aggregation program in a sector that offers great opportunities. According to analysts, the residential sector in the Netherlands is set for a unique blend of cyclical turnaround potential, reform and great supply/demand fundamentals.

Rob Reiskin, Heitman managing director and co-head of Europe, says that the company is “delighted to undertake this investment and see significant opportunity to expand this platform”. Reiskin also notes that the company also has work experience across Europe, a logical continuation of the entity’s current European rented residential platform. Although this is Heitman’s first foray in The Netherlands, the company heavily drew from its global experience. An example is the company’s 2012 acquisition of a German residential portfolio totaling 3,000 units, when the company partnered with Grainger PLC. That portfolio features properties in the high barrier-to-entry markets of Western and Southern Germany. Heitman has deployed around $10.8 billion into rented residential assets globally up to this point.