• The apartments will be managed by KKR’s portfolio company Velero
• Vast majority of units located in North Rhine-Westphalia; transaction will
strengthen Velero’s
presence in Germany’s most populous state
• Units are a strategic and complementary addition to existing portfolio
Berlin, 5 May 2022 – KKR, a leading global investment firm, and Velero today announced the completion of the acquisition of 1,625 apartments, the vast majority of which are in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). KKR and its portfolio company Velero, a fully integrated platform for residential real estate and asset management, have bought the portfolio from a family enterprise in NRW. The transaction follows KKR and Velero’s announcement in mid-January of the acquisition of a portfolio of more than 14,400 real estate units, as part of the continued strategic expansion of Velero’s residential real estate platform in Germany. The units are primarily located in the cities of Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, Krefeld and Ahlen, with further units located in Bochum, Recklinghausen, Witten, Wuppertal and Hagen. This composition makes the acquired portfolio highly complementary to Velero’s significant existing footprint in NRW, Germany’s most populous state which has a particularly attractive real estate market with stable rents based on a robust job market and a strong overall economic environment. The acquisition of the portfolio will further increase Velero’s scale in this region, allowing for efficiency gains in asset, property and facility management and ensuring efficient and high-quality services for tenants.
Thomas Lange, Co-CEO of Velero: “Following the acquisition of the portfolio from Adler Group, we have now executed another strategic investment in Germany in partnership with KKR. As specialists for repositioning residential real estate, we will improve the quality of the newly acquired apartments and reduce vacancy rates. The apartments fit perfectly into our portfolio because we know the majority of the locations and sites due to an existing local presence.”
With this transaction, Velero’s portfolio now comprises more than 25,000 apartments in Germany, with more than 9,000 of these apartments located in North Rhine-Westphalia. Lease contracts for all tenants will remain unchanged by the transaction and Velero is committed to continue providing high-quality housing at affordable rates.
About Velero
Founded in 2015, Velero is a Berlin-based asset manager specializing in the acquisition and management of German residential real estate with a focus on affordable housing. With the acquisition of a majority stake by leading global private equity firm KKR in 2020 the company has evolved into a fully integrated residential real estate platform. Together with its partners, Velero invests in residential portfolios in emerging cities and regions across Germany. In addition to transactions and financing, the range of services includes the complete value chain of asset management, property management and facility management. The portfolio managed by Velero consists of more than 25,000 residential units with a current focus on the eastern German states and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Media Contacts
Jürgen Herres
Feldhoff & Cie.
Tel.: +49 176 60 73 86 82
E-Mail: jh@feldhoff-cie.de
Anke Sostmann
Feldhoff & Cie.
Tel.: +49 159 04 02 85 05
E-Mail: as@feldhoff-cie.de