Savills Granite, a locally based investment banking firm, who represented the buyer, would not comment on the identity of the investment group. However, Kenneth Zakin, senior managing director of NKF, who headed the sales team, and worked in cooperation with Citigroup Global Markets, Citigroup's investment banking division, confirms to GlobeSt.com that the buyer is Dublin-based Markland Holdings Ltd., a company backed by Irish developers Paddy Kelly and Sean Mulryan.
 Citibank |
As GlobeSt.com previously reported, there was no asking price for the portfolio. Initial bids were collected in early October. Zakin previously told GlobeSt.com that the buildings were offered as a package, as individual properties, or broken up into several smaller portfolios.
"Foreign investors like the attractive yields that US properties can achieve for them," Borja Sierra, executive managing director of Savills Granite, tells GlobeSt.com. "In addition, Citi plans to stay in these branches for a long time so the buyer of this portfolio will generate a steady stream of rental income within strong retail locations." Sierra says that the US property market is a big draw for foreign capital and that this deal "reinforces how offshore investors are still eying large-scale deals here."
Zakin previously told GlobeSt.com that Citigroup was committed to long-term occupancy of the locations but did not have the need to continue to own the locations. He also explained that this was the second such offering Citigroup and NKF has brought to the market in 2007. In June 2007, the team closed on the sale of a 23-branch, 217,000-sf Citibank portfolio, with properties centered in the New York City metro area.
Zakin tells GlobeSt.com that there was a lot of interest from "those who didn't win the first time around." He says that back in June, there was significant local interest in that package, and this time, the portfolio attracted foreign interest. "It was sort of a mixed-bag of interest," he explains, noting that there were 1031 buyers, net lease buyer, foreign buyers and many others. "This is part of Citibank's long-term plan to reduce their real estate holdings," he tells GlobeSt.com.
Zakin previously told GlobeSt.com that the portfolio has "great credit, great locations, long-term leases and stable cash flow with annual increases. In a market that is seeing clear flight to quality, the diversification and credit nature of these transactions has made this a very desirable transaction," he said.
Other members of the NKF sales team for the Citibank portfolio were Neil Goldmacher, EVP; Geoffrey Rockhill, senior managing director; Randall Liberman, associate, and Justin DiMare, associate. Richard O'Day, director in Investment Banking, leads the Citigroup Global Markets team.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
