METRO Leases Back Property

METRO PROPERTIES, the real estate company of METRO AG, sold the real estate of 11 Cash & Carry stores in Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic in a sale-and-leaseback transaction. The portfolio has been acquired by FLE GmbH, Vienna, a subsidiary of the French LFPI Group, investing on behalf of an AIF regulated fund.

The transaction was finalized in August 2019, with a total volume exceeding EUR 250 million. METRO and MAKRO Cash & Carry will continue to operate all wholesale locations on the basis of long-term lease contracts.

A press release by Colliers International says that the total portfolio of 11 established properties comprises five MAKRO Cash & Carry stores in Poland (Warsaw, Wroclaw, Krakow and Lublin), three METRO Cash & Carry properties in Hungary (Budapest) and three MAKRO Cash & Carry markets in Czech Republic (Prague). METRO PROPERTIES retains the ownership of several adjacent plots in Poland and Czech Republic to develop mixed-use projects.
For Hungary, METRO PROPERTIES was advised by Colliers International Hungary represented by Luke Dawson, Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets, CEE and Bence Vécsey, Director, Head of Investment, Hungary.
The latter commented that “with the uniqueness and size of these portfolios, it was important for us to not only understand the real estate but, more importantly, the operating business of METRO. This transaction required facilitating a long-term partnership that goes beyond this initial transaction. We are proud to have played a part in bringing these two partners together”.