October 19 2007 – GE Real Estate today announces it has made its first real estate investment in Russia through an investment of US$50 million in Heitman Russia Property Partners (“HRUPP”), a new fund which will have US$150 million of equity. Along with GE Real Estate and two other institutional investors, Heitman LLC, who is acting as manager, is also taking a sponsor equity stake, aligning its interests with those of the other investors.
HRUPP will aim to acquire development and refurbishment projects in the retail, office, warehouse and residential sectors, throughout Russia. It is expected that HRUPP will commit circa 60% of its capital to development projects, in which it will co-invest with local Russian developers. It will commit the remainder of its capital to completed quality investment projects that offer suitable returns. HRUPP will be leveraged and will have a seven-year life.
This new investment vehicle represents the renewal of a successful working relationship between GE Real Estate and Heitman, having previously co-invested in the €50m HCEPP I and €50m HCEPP II funds, which owns real estate investments in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Commenting on the investment, Olivier Piani, President of GE Real Estate Europe said:
“This investment provides GE Real Estate with a strong first entry into the Russian real estate market. Not only are we investing alongside good partners but we also have a very experienced manager in the form of Heitman, whose experience with capital and network of contacts will be invaluable to HRUPP and with whom we already have a successful history.”
Karim Habra, Managing Director of GE Real Estate Central & Eastern Europe, added:
“We are very excited to be entering the market through this fund which will align our interests along with those of local Russian developers on individual projects. In an equity and debt hungry market we believe this will provide us with an important point of difference to other investors operating within the market. We believe the Russian market to be very promising and hope that we can replicate the success we have had by being an early entrant in the Central European market in this new market.”
Press Contact:
Financial Dynamics
Stephanie Highett/Dido Laurimore/Jamie Robertson
Tel: +44 20 7831 3113
stephanie.highett@fd.com,
dido.laurimore@fd.com,
jamie.robertson@fd.com
About GE Real Estate
GE Real Estate currently has over €1 billion invested in Central and Eastern Europe. The Company has invested or developed in the retail, office, residential and logistics sectors in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The Company made its first investment in Turkey in 2006.
GE Real Estate (
www.gerealestate.com) is one of the world's most important commercial real estate companies with US$62 billion in assets and a presence in 28 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. Backed by GE's AAA rating, GE Real Estate offers a comprehensive range of capital and investment solutions including equity capital for acquisition or development, as well as fixed and floating rate mortgages for new acquisitions or re-capitalizations of commercial real estate. With a 28% compound annual growth rate since 1993, GE Real Estate is one of the world's fastest growing and most profitable real estate enterprises. This extraordinary record of success grows out of a reputation for collaboration and partnership; a depth of knowledge and experience and a history of building relationships, finding opportunities and opening doors for more than 5,000 owners, builders, borrowers and brokers worldwide.
GE Commercial Finance (
www.gecommercialfinance.com) offers businesses around the globe an extensive array of financial products and services. With over US$246 billion in assets and expertise in the middle-market, GE Commercial Finance provides loans, operating leases, financing programs and innovative structured capital to help customers grow. Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, GE Commercial Finance is a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide.
