The acquisition in Belgium is a Jumbo-store in the Province of Limburg at an underlying property value of 4.6 MEUR. The store has a lettable area of approx. 1,300 sqm and will be expanded by 400 sqm. The property is fully leased to Jumbo on a new 18-year lease agreement with statutory breaks every three years in accordance with the Belgian retail lease legislation. The transfer occurred on March 17, 2025, and the property was acquired through an asset deal and will long term be financed with a loan-to-value ratio of approx. 50% from a local bank.
The acquisition in Finland involves a sale-and-leaseback transaction with a major grocery chain in Iisalmi, at an underlying property value of 4.7 MEUR. The property has a lettable area of approx. 2,500 sqm and is fully leased on an 18-year lease agreement without break options. The acquisition was signed on April 16 and is expected to be closed in July 2025, after the final completion of the construction of the store. The property will be acquired through an asset deal and the acquisition will be financed with a loan-to-value ratio of approx. 50 % from a local bank.
In Belgium, Cibus has divested three non-strategic assets being DIY stores to a private investor for an underlying property value of 10.2 MEUR. The properties are located in Diest, Peer and Pelt in the region of Flanders, have in total approx. 7,600 sqm of lettable area and are leased out to GAMMA, a Dutch DIY chain. The divestment was signed on March 17 and is expected to close by April 30, 2025. The sale is made as a property deal with an underlying property value above book value.
In Finland, Cibus has sold two grocery stores in Helsinki to a grocery store chain for an underlying property value of 9.1 MEUR. The properties have in total approx. 3,900 sqm of lettable area. One of the assets is leased to the buyer and the other has been vacated at the end of 2024 by another grocery chain. The divestment was signed and closed on February 28, 2025. The sale was made as a share deal, and the underlying property value significantly exceeded book value. No deductions were made for deferred tax.
In Sweden Cibus divested a former Coop grocery store in Eslöv to the Municipality of Eslöv for an underlying property value of 1.1 MEUR which is slightly above book value. The property has a lettable area of ca. 900 sqm and Coop currently has no operations on the premises. The Municipality is planning to use the property for urban development. The sale will be made as a property deal, and the closing of the transaction is planned to take place by April 30, 2025.
On April 15, Cibus completed a refinancing of 232.5 MEUR of bank loans, which is 19 % of Cibus' total bank loans. The new loans have a 3-year tenor and parts of the loans also include extension options for a further two years. The average new credit margin is more the 50 bps lower compared to previous loan agreements. Cibus has also worked proactively with its hedge portfolio during 2025. In early April a new 22 MEUR 2.75-year swap with a fixed rate at 1.97% was put in place and an existing 2.3-year swap of 435 MSEK was extended to a new 7-year swap, lowering the fixed rate with approximately 40 bps.
"I am pleased that, shortly after the completion of our Benelux acquisition, we are both making acquisitions and streamlining the portfolio by divesting non-strategic properties at attractive prices. The divestments in Finland and Sweden also highlight the alternative uses and value of our properties, and all divestments are a way for us to recycle capital. In terms of financing, it is encouraging to see lower bank margins, and we thank the banks for their continued support." says Christian Fredrixon, CEO Cibus Nordic Real Estate AB.
For further information, please contact:
Christian Fredrixon, CEO
christian.fredrixon@cibusnordic.com
+46 (0)8 12 439 100
Pia-Lena Olofsson, CFO
pia-lena.olofsson@cibusnordic.com
+46 (0)8 12 439 100
Cibus is a real estate company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Mid Cap. The company's business idea is to acquire, develop and manage high-quality properties in Europe with grocery retail chains as anchor tenants. The company currently owns approximately 640 properties in Europe. The largest tenants are Kesko, Tokmanni, Coop Sweden, S Group, Rema 1000, Dagrofa, Carrefour and Lidl.
