Blackrock in €46.5m Dutch office deal

Blackrock, the property group spun off from Fyffes earlier this year, has bought six office buildings in the Netherlands for €46.5 million.

This is the largest investment for the group since it first sold shares in May and brings Blackrock's total investment since that date to €142 million - exceeding the original guidance of €100 million worth of property investment a year.

Blackrock chairman Carl McCann welcomed the acquisitions, saying that the attractive office portfolio in the Netherlands fitted well with the group's strategy to diversify geographically and would also help it to achieve an appropriate balance between its investment and development projects.

The properties, comprising 24,270sq m (261,250sq ft) of office space, are located in several large Dutch cities, including The Hague, Tilburg and Maastricht, and are currently more than 85 per cent let. The portfolio generates annual rent, net of landlord's costs, of €2.68 million, giving a net initial yield of 5.75 per cent.

Provided the buildings are fully occupied, the yield is expected to rise to 7.5 per cent within five years. This latest deal comes hot on the heels of two property acquisitions last month, which saw Blackrock make its first foray into the European market with the purchase of 90 per cent of a company that owns a substantial warehouse and office portfolio in Brussels in Belgium.

Shares in Blackrock, which have risen substantially in the past few weeks on speculation that a property developer was building a stake with a view to taking it over, added 1 cent yesterday, or 2.2 per cent, to close at 47 cent.