KD Funds and Peakside Capital acquire Stekleni dvor south tower for EUR 13 million real estate

Situated on Dunajska street in the Bežigrad district of northern Ljubljana. Stekleni dvor comprises two separate office buildings connected by a joint underground car park. The south tower provides 8,700 sqm of leasable space over ground, mezzanine and eight floors together with a three-level underground car park. The anchor tenant in the property is Addiko Bank. With its prime location on Ljubljana’s main arterial route, the asset also benefits from excellent traffic connections.
The transaction represents the Fund’s second investment in Ljubljana, following the EUR 13 million purchase of Tivoli Center, an office building in Ljubljana, which closed in April. KD Adriatic Value Fund, Special Investment Fund, is an alternative investment fund managed by KD Funds, with Peakside Capital acting as investment advisor. Its investment objective is to generate returns for investors from rental income and capital growth through investments in real estate in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, with a special focus on office and retail properties. The three target countries represent a region with a relatively undeveloped real estate sector and attractive returns, whilst the long-term success of the fund is further supported by strong economic growth.

Commenting on behalf of the KD Funds, Luka Podlogar, said: ”We are pleased to have concluded our second transaction so quickly and look forward to growing the Fund with further compelling investment opportunities over the coming months. We are on track to create a high quality real estate portfolio that offers attractive returns to our investors.

Commenting on behalf of the Peakside, Tomasz Niezgodzki, said: ”This is an excellent, high quality office building, located in an area of Ljubljana which benefits from strong transport links and proximity to the city center. The office market in Ljubljana is very attractive for investors thanks to growing tenant demand and limited supply of institutional quality space.

Notes to editors:


KD Adriatic Value Fund is a special investment fund established by KD Funds, one of the largest and oldest asset managers in South-East Europe (SEE), in partnership with Peakside Capital, an independent real estate investment manager firm. The fund is the first regulated real estate alternative investment fund in Slovenia. To date, it has raised commitments from regional institutional investors, giving it a buying power in excess of EUR 50 million.

Founded in 1994, KD Funds is one of the largest and oldest asset managers in SEE. Together with its subsidiaries, it manages around EUR 800 million in 34 funds and 13 investment mandates across the SEE region, including the oldest mutual funds in Slovenia and Croatia.

Peakside Capital was founded in 2010 as a spin-off of the Merrill Lynch investment bank and currently employs 40 people (including subsidiaries). It is mainly active in Germany and Eastern European countries, managing funds and asset management mandates. It currently has about EUR 1 billion of gross assets under management.

KD Funds and Peakside Capital launch Slovenia’s First Regulated Alternative Investment Fund with Maiden Acquisition

 

The new fund will leverage the unique combination of Peakside’s real estate market knowledge coupled with KD Funds’ global expertise and experience in managing institutional real estate investments offered by the two firms joining forces.

To date, the Fund has raised commitments from regional institutional investors giving it a buyingpower in excess of €50m. Investors are attracted to the opportunities offered by the region which is currently delivering economic growth well in excess of the EU average whilst near-term prospects are expected to benefit from the yield gap relative to other European real estate markets.

The Fund has already made its first acquisition, with the purchase of the Tivoli Center, an office building in Ljubljana for €13m, reflecting a net initial yield well in excess of 8%. The Class A property located in prime downtown Ljubljana provides a Gross Lettable Area (GLA) of around 8,000 sqm across two connected buildings. 97% of the space is occupied by long-term tenants with strong covenants. Current tenants include international law firms, as well as a diversity of various successful SME companies. The property offers excellent transport connections including good access to public transport links.

Luka Podlogar, the President of the Management Board of KD Funds, said: “We are pleased to have closed the first acquisition of a commercial real estate asset for our new real estate fund, proving ourselves as the pioneers of development in the real estate fund sector in Slovenia, too. By way of this venture, we are fulfilling the KD Funds’ strategy in practice, namely to expand our product range of successfully managed funds for retail investors, by adding alternative investment funds for institutions.”

Stefan Aumann, Managing Partner and Founder of Peakside Capital added: “The acquisition of Tivoli Center is an excellent start for the Adriatic Value Fund. We are very happy to have acquired a prominent building that is in demand from occupiers and is located in a prime location within the growing Ljubljana office market. This is a stepping stone in establishing a larger portfolio in the region that will offer attractive returns to the Fund’s investors.”

KD Adriatic Value Fund, Special Investment Fund, is an alternative investment fund managed by KD Funds, with Peakside Capital acting as investment advisor. Its investment objective is to generate returns for investors from rental income and capital growth through investments in real estate in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, with a special focus on office and retail properties. The three target countries represent a region with a relatively undeveloped real estate sector and attractive returns, whilst the long-term success of the fund is further supported by strong economic growth.

 

Notes

Founded in 1994, KD Funds is one of the largest and oldest asset managers in South East Europe. It manages around EUR 800 million in 34 funds and 13 investment mandates (together with its subsidiaries) across the SEE region, including the oldest mutual funds in Slovenia and Croatia.

Peakside Capital was founded in 2010 as a spin-off from the Merrill Lynch investment bank and currently employs ca. 30 people. It is mainly active in Germany and Eastern European countries, managing funds and asset management mandates. It currently has more than EUR 1 billion of gross assets under management.

For the third consecutive year, we are proud to be recognized as the Asset Management Company with the Best Fund Manager in Slovenia

 

The Best Mutual Fund Manager award has been bestowed by a Slovenian financial magazine for the last eight years. This year, too, it went to a KD Funds team member, Primož Cencelj. A three-time winner of the Best Fund Manager title in Slovenia (2017, 2015 and 2013), Primož Cencelj (CFA) is in charge of managing KD MM and KD Bond, subfunds of the KD Umbrella Fund, as well as KD Corporate Bonds with a total asset value of EUR 54 million. The awards and star-based ratings given to these funds for three- and five-year periods represent the highest recognition in the industry, and are proof of the supreme quality of management of the funds in their respective categories.

 

 

KD Funds, the first management company in Slovenia, established in 1994, also manages the first Slovenian mutual fund, KD Galileo. From its very beginnings, KD Funds has been committed to the highest standards of excellence, which is confirmed by the awards presented both in Slovenia and abroad.

 

This year, five stars – the highest award – for three- and five-year periods went to the following funds:

• KD Rastko, Europe Equity Fund,
• KD Bond, EUR.

 

 

Luka Podlogar, President of the Management Board of KD Funds, is genuinely happy about the new awards: “Winning the Best Fund Manager award for the third consecutive year, we have proven once more that we can be proud of a team of top qualified managers with immense expertise. We have achieved this thanks to our professional and high-quality management, which is the true basis of all our endeavours. This is recognised by our investors, too.”