The EBRD and Revetas, a specialist real estate investment advisor focusing on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), are joining forces for the acquisition and development of a portfolio of prime business properties in the region. The EBRD is investing €28.6 million in Project Keystone, a portfolio of premium real estate assets located across CEE representing a total gross leasable area of over 173,000 sqm. The total asset value, including gross development value, exceeds €450 million.
The portfolio, which was acquired earlier in 2018 by Revetas, comprises seven fully leased Class A office buildings in Krakow, three Class A permitted office development projects in Poland and Hungary, and two development land plots in the Slovak Republic and Croatia.
The EBRD investment will be allocated towards the acquisition and development of portfolio assets in Hungary, the Slovak Republic and Croatia. One of the projects, the Class A office development Millennium Gardens in Budapest, is already under construction.
The developments are undertaken by TriGranit, one of the leading development and construction management companies in CEE. Revetas and TriGranit are committed to sustainability and will seek to obtain high levels of green certifications across all developments. The aim is to increase awareness of energy saving and waste management measures.
Additionally, Revetas and the EBRD will work together on supporting youth inclusion, with the aim of improving the longer-term economic prospects for the younger population. This will be achieved through cooperation with local technical universities to develop and improve property and facility management courses in line with industry best practices.
Revetas intends to complement this by offering students internship opportunities across assets in Revetas’ portfolio. The initial focus of this cooperation will be Budapest, with the intention to gradually roll-out the initiative in other key cities where the company is present.
Vlaho Kojakovic, EBRD Director, Property and Tourism, said: “We are pleased to join forces with Revetas and once again make a significant contribution to the development of the real estate market in Central and Eastern Europe. It is here where we started in the early days of the Bank and it is here where it is most obvious how much progress these countries have made. Today the challenges are often similar to those we see in mature economies, where green and sustainable development has to be the priority no 1.”
Eric Assimakopoulos, Managing Partner at Revetas, added, “The EBRD is one of the most established and longstanding investors in the CEE region. We are proud to welcome the Bank as a new partner for Revetas and as an investor in Project Keystone. We are looking forward to the implementation of the agreed sustainability measures, which are in line with our mission to create value for our investors, tenants and the communities we operate in.”
To date, the EBRD has made cumulative investments in excess of €3 billion in the property and tourism sector. The Bank’s activities in the sector promote sustainable and inclusive investments.
