Arete Park Nové Mesto is expanding; the fund is investing 11 million EUR into it

Arete Invest, the fast-growing Czech fund specialising in property investments, launched the construction of another hall at its Slovak industrial and logistics site in Nové Mesto nad Váhom in July. Its investment into the new central warehouse for Central and Eastern Europe for the Factcool group, an international chain of internet fashion shops, amounts to 11 million EUR. It will provide jobs for more than 100 people. The new warehouse will be opened in April next year and, covering an area of 16 500 m2, will offer over 60 000 m2 of storage space due to its multi-level storage system. Preparations are also under way to further expand the Nové Mesto site.

“For our fund and our investors, who expect above-standard yields, the Slovak market is a favourable investment destination. Besides expanding the Arete Park Nové Mesto, we are also negotiating concerning the construction of two completely new sites worth 15 million EUR and are planning further acquisitions here, too,” said Lubor Svoboda, co-founder and chairman of the Arete Invest fund management board.

“Our agreement with the Factcool group confirms the strategic position of Arete Park Nové Mesto nad Váhom. Factcool will be operating from this highly important site for a minimum of ten years. We are glad to be able to support the growth of the group,” said Tomáš Novotný, member of the Arete Invest investment committee responsible for asset management. “Talks are also under way with other tenants who could occupy the remaining vacant construction plots next year, thus enabling us to increase our current high investment of 11 million EUR.”

The construction of the new Factcool central warehouse for the region of Central and Eastern Europe will commence in July. The new warehouse will open in April next year and, covering an area of 16 500 m2, will offer over 60 000 m2 of storage space thanks to its fully automated multi-level storage system. The lease contract has been concluded for 10 years from the completion of the hall. The new tenant will thus create more than 100 jobs in the park.

The Arete Invest fund purchased the site in Nové Mesto nad Váhom from Prologis last year. In terms of the size of the investment the deal was one of the biggest real estate transactions in the industrial sector in Slovakia last year. The completed part of the site is 100% leased to the companies C&A, Raben Logistics and Vetropak Nemšová, with an average lease length of 5.3 years, a unique figure in what is a purely logistics area.

Demand for storage and production premises is rising steadily in Slovakia. Besides the increase in rent prices, this is also apparent in the very low vacancy rates in leasable premises, currently at a mere four percent, and as low as approximately one percent in the Nové Mesto nad Váhom microregion. Besides its existing work, Arete Invest is preparing to further expand its Arete Park by approximately 31 000 m2.

The aim of the Arete Invest fund is to actively manage all the properties in its portfolio and also to increase their value, through expanding tenants, extending lease contracts, strengthening relations with tenants and using previously vacant land for future construction projects. The Nové Mesto site is part of the portfolio of the currently open Arete Invest CEE II sub-fund. The estimated value of the assets managed by this sub-fund during the anticipated five-year investment cycle is 200 million EUR. The sub-fund strives to ensure that investors’ funds enjoy an appreciation rate of up to 11 % per year, while as much as 6 % per year comprises money paid out on a quarterly basis. Current profitability far exceeds these stated figures.