W.P. Carey Inc., a New York-based corporate real estate investment trust firm, has expanded its footprint in Europe with the acquisition of a logistics distribution facility and retail hypermarket and garden center in Austria. The logistics distribution facility—located at Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port and logistics hub—was acquired for $43 million and is being leased for 10 years to the European subsidiary of Nippon Express Co. Ltd., the fourth-largest third-party logistics (3PL) provider in the world. The state-of-the-art facility was completed in October 2014 as part of Rotterdam’s 10-year port expansion plan.

“The Port of Rotterdam is Europe’s largest port, linking cargo ship arrivals from around the world to the road and rail networks of Europe,” says Jeffrey LeFleur, managing director at W.P. Carey. Acquisition of the 760,000-square-foot facility, he continues, “reflects our focus on acquiring critical, high-quality assets in strategic locations that can generate stable current income and add long-term value to W. P. Carey’s portfolio.”

RETAIL FACILITY ACQUISITION MARKS COMPANY’S FIRST IN AUSTRIA

The Austrian retail center was acquired for $25 million and is located roughly 30 miles south of Vienna in the suburban town of Bad Fischau. The facility sits on the A2 Autobahn, the major highway that runs south from Vienna to the border of Italy and has been net-leased for 15 years to the Austrian subsidiary of German do-it-yourself (DIY) retailer, Hornbach Baumarkt AG.

Publicly-traded Hornbach is Europe’s fifth-largest DIY retailer, operating 143 stores and garden centers in nine countries “with an excellent track record of growth and profitability,’ says LaFleur.

The acquisition is W.P. Carey’s first in the Austrian property market. “With Hornbach as a quality tenant, the length of the net lease and the annual inflation escalation,” adds LaFleur, “the investment is consistent with our criteria and furthers our diversification strategy.”