South Africa’s Mas RE, Prime Kapital’s partner in many Romanian projects, has sold a hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland to Pandox Thistle Limited, a special purpose vehicle owned by Pandox AB, an owner of hotels in Northern Europe with a focus on major hotels in key leisure and corporate destinations, for €45.2 million.
The company will redeploy capital to more attractive investments in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in Romania, where it has 64% of investments by leasable area and collects 55% of rents.
Expected net cash proceeds from the transaction are approximately EUR 27 million. As of 30 June 2021, the weighted average monthly rent per square metre of the property was EUR 19.5, and the gross leasable area was 8,500 sqm.
Mas Re owns 40% of 14 Romanian properties (60% owned by Prima Kapital), including Marmura Estate or Avalon Residence in Bucharest, Silk District and Mall Moldova in Iasi.
Mas Re also controls 40% of Elba Residential Timișoara, with 1,252 apartments or Ploiești 498 apartments and Dn1 Value Centre, of 27,000 sqm, recently opened in Balotești and Dâmbovița Mall, of 31,200 sqm, located near the prison in Târgoviște where Nicolae Ceaușescu was shot.
The company also owns 100% of the Atrium shopping malls in Arad (26,800 sqm), Militari Shopping (54,100 sqm), Roman Value Centre and Baia Mare Value Centre, as well as a number of strip malls with a total area of 27,800 sqm.
Incidentally, the South Africans have decided to exit the Western European market to focus on the central and eastern part of the continent, especially Romania as early as 2019. According to the strategy, the money from the exit from the Western market will be injected into the Eastern markets where MAS RE and Prime Kapital own almost 20 real estate projects.