MN acquires high-street portfolio from Ronstreet Properties

On behalf of its client, pension fund PMT, MN has purchased four high-street retail premises from Ronstreet Properties. The retail outlets are let to fashion firm WE. They are all successful stores at prime locations in Groningen, Den Bosch, Eindhoven and Maastricht.

Good retail mix

The four cities are all regional ‘go-to destinations’ for shopping, food & beverage outlets and entertainment. They feature a good mix of retailers, such as WE, The Sting and some strong newcomers, including Decathlon, TKMaxx and New Yorker. They also include such concepts and retail outlets as Hutspot, Dit is Waar, Baskin Robbins, Joe & the Juice and Tauphe.

Locations

In all of the cities, the newly purchased retail premises are in prime locations. The WE in Groningen is located in the best part of Herestraat. The new H&M is also set to open here in the summer. Last week, research revealed that the vacancy rate for retail properties in Groningen is significantly below the national average.

In Den Bosch, the WE has a prominent location in the Markt area. Den Bosch has an active consumer market and a range of new retailers have opened retail outlets here, including By-Bar, Van den Assem, Penn & Ink NY and Xandres.

The WE in Eindhoven is located on the Demer high street, where both MN and Redevco are in the process of redeveloping their existing properties. MN is converting the former V&D department store into a multi-tenant building, much of which is already let.

The WE in Maastricht is located on Kleine Staat. Maastricht is one of the Netherlands’ most popular tourist destinations, attracting more than three million visitors every year. This is reflected in the increase in the number of overnight stays at hotels, up by 44% in the period 2010-2018.

Advice

MN was advised in the purchase by Arcadis (technical), Houthoff (legal) and Brickstone (commercial). The vendor received technical and commercial assistance from CBRE and legal advice from Loyens & Loeff.