Grocery retail stands out as the top-performing sector within the retail segment, solidifying its position as a core investment due to its robust performance in recent times.

OPEN’s performance has remained consistent and strong, navigating a number of years of market pressure without faltering. A focus has been put on the operational management of the portfolio with c. 50 skilled employees in Germany working with tenants and on the properties.

Continued active management of the portfolio saw three extensions to existing leases with EDEKA and ALDI adding over €106,000 additional rent p.a. The new lease terms are between 15-20 years and include improvements to non-recoverables and green lease clauses. Additionally, a retail park in western Germany which was acquired in Q1 2022 is now operational, adding €1.02m rental income to the portfolio.

During the period CPI-linked lease adjustments added an additional €356k to the portfolio’s annual rental income.

New acquisitions during the quarter have also expanded the size of the portfolio. OPEN signed for a portfolio of six standalone EDEKA supermarkets for a volume of c.€55.5m. The acquisition was part of a sale-and-leaseback transaction directly with the tenant EDEKA. Once operational, these new properties will increase the rent to term by c. 12.5%, and increase the WARLT of the portfolio by c. 7%.

Non-real estate activities enable OPEN to diversify its income stream and enhance property values by increasing its “customer base”, evidenced by the launch of two hyperfast EV charging locations, generating €5,013 NET revenue from 354 charges and the operational PV systems at its five retail locations that have sold 68,889 KWh of renewable energy to tenants, generating €19,380 NET revenue.