Strong Outperformance of Nordic Logistics and Industrial Portfolio during 12 month period since acquisition

UK / Nordics, 13 December 2017 – Round Hill Capital (“Round Hill” or the “Group”), a leading specialist real estate investment, development and asset management firm, today announces strong progress in strengthening and repositioning its Nordic logistics and industrial portfolio (the “Portfolio”) and the appointment of Jacob Goldmann and Jakob Paljak as local Asset Managers dedicated to the Portfolio.

Round Hill acquired the Portfolio, to which it is the manager, in September 2016 in partnership with StepStone Group Real Estate LP (“StepStone Real Estate”) for a total purchase price of approximately USD 200 million. The original portfolio comprised 18 assets spanning approximately 326,000 sqm across Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Round Hill has been evaluating the Nordic markets for several years and the acquisition of this Portfolio marks its entry into the Nordic region.

In the twelve months since the acquisition of the Portfolio, Round Hill has been actively managing the Portfolio and adding value, in many cases ahead of its original expectations, and key highlights include:

• Planning secured for a 7,750 sqm expansion of a 30,438 sqm light industrial facility in Pagen, Central Sweden. Skanska began work on site in September, which will be achieved in two phases, with practical completion of the extention project due in December 2018. Delivered a significant increase in the market value of the asset through the successful negotiation by the Group of a new 15 year lease with International Automotive Components (IAC), a leading global supplier of automotive components and systems.
• Increased the weighted average lease term of the Portfolio to 4.6 years from 3.5 years, with two recent lease agreements of 15 and 12 years, setting new market precedents for rents for their respective areas. 
• During the 12 month period, signed thirteen new leases totalling 23,000 sqm, which has increased occupancy by 10% to 85%.
• Round Hill’s active approach has been received well by tenants who have been looking for security of tenure. 
• Value-add initiatives on six assets, which include feasibility studies to optimise the use of the land and re-zoning the land to higher value uses, with the potential of securing the sale of specific assets in the near term. 
• Sold four non-core assets for attractive returns, continuing to consolidate and optimise the Portfolio. 
• Appointment of Jacob Goldmann and Jakob Paljak as local Asset Managers responsible for managing, optimising and growing the current industrial and logistics portfolio, further strengthening Round Hill’s presence in the Nordic region:
• Jacob Goldmann joins Round Hill from AXA Real Estate Investment Managers in Stockholm, where he was Asset Manager from June 2016, responsible for the management of a EUR 400 million Nordic commercial property portfolio and leading the execution of the business plan and divestments. Prior to this, Jacob was at at Unibail-Rodamco in Stockholm for three years, latterly as Investment Manager, where his responsibilities included identifying new investment opportunities, preparing assets for divestment and managing a EUR 1 billion commercial real estate portfolio.
• Jakob Paljak joins Round Hill from Unibail-Rodamco’s Nordic office in Stockholm, which he joined in August 2013. In his most recent position as a Development Manager, Jakob sourced, evaluated and led development opportunities across the Nordic region. Previously at the firm, he was an Asset Manager for a Swedish commercial real estate portfolio with a value exceeding EUR 1 billion where he focused on developing and implementing both long and short term strategies. Prior to that, as a Development Anaylst, he sourced and evalutated new extension and refurbishment projects, and developed optimisation programmes on exisiting Unibail-Rodamco assets.

Commenting on the Nordic portfolio, Michael Bickford, founder and CEO of Round Hill Capital, said:

“After only twelve months of ownership, we are very pleased to be ahead of our original expectations on the Portfolio, which is providing both stable rental income and higher performing repositioning and development opportunities. The Round Hill team’s experience and expertise continues to drive our overall investment strategy on the Portfolio with many identified opportunities to add further value already being delivered on.

We are delighted to welcome Jacob and Jakob as asset managers to the Round Hill team. Their knowledge and experience of asset and investment management, as well as development in the region, complements our existing management capabilities, helping Round Hill maximise the value of our existing assets and identify new attractive investment opportunities.

We continue to look in the market for other portfolios and assets with similar value characteristics as we further strengthen our team and our Portfolio in the Nordic region and across Europe.”

PR Adviser to Round Hill Capital
Newgate Communications
James Benjamin / Anna Geffert / Lydia Thompson
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7680 6550
Email: roundhill@newgatecomms.com

About Round Hill Capital:
Round Hill Capital is a leading specialist real estate investment, development and asset management firm. Round Hill Capital has a long and proven reputation for successfully identifying and acquiring high quality European real estate.

Round Hill Capital is a highly-focused investor and is experienced in establishing and running first class operating companies, having invested more than €6.0 billion of capital in European real estate assets since its inception in 2002. Round Hill Capital has successfully acquired and managed more than 100,000 residential units across Europe and currently is one of the largest private landlords in multiple countries. Round Hill has a significant and growing residential development pipeline across the UK and Continental Europe.

Round Hill Capital has an established track record of generating high risk adjusted returns and invests and asset manages real estate with some of the world’s leading institutions and private investors.

Further information on Round Hill Capital is available at: www.roundhillcapital.com

About StepStone:
StepStone Real Estate is an affiliate of StepStone Group LP, a leading private markets firm that oversees approximately US$120 billion of private capital allocations, including US$32 billion of assets under management. StepStone creates customized and targeted portfolios for the world’s most sophisticated investors using a highly disciplined research-focused approach across real estate, private equity, real assets, hedge funds, infrastructure and private debt. It is a global firm with 14 offices in 10 countries around the world including in New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Toronto, London, Zurich, Dublin, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Perth and São Paulo.