We are proud of the relationships our teams have built over the past with both our tenants and within the grocery retail sector. The latest acquisition of three EDEKA markets of c. €35 million for our fund OPEN, reaffirms our long-standing partnership with one of Germany’s largest food retailers. One of the supermarkets was acquired as part of an off-market, 20-year, sale and leaseback deal directly with EDEKA, making it our 5th successful SALB-deal with the retailer.
One of the key reasons for our success in the grocery retail sector is our proactive engagement with tenants, building strong relationships and working closely with them to ensure that their needs are met. Our relationships are built on trust, respect and good communication. We recognise that our tenants are the lifeblood of our business, and we support this through our commitment to understanding their needs and the market as a whole.
Our ESG strategy is a key part of those relationships, as we recognise that our tenants play a critical role in achieving our collective ESG goals. By providing our tenants with the necessary resources we can help them reduce their environmental impact, improve social outcomes, and enhance their governance practices. We work together closely with our sister companies, which for example focus on improving buildings and building systems to reduce energy consumption, reduce refrigerated based unrecovered heat loss emissions, generate renewable energy to provide green electricity to the tenants and help them shorten supply chains by providing locally fresh grown produce. We also encourage our tenants to engage with their own customers on ESG-related issues, supporting them in creating awareness about healthy food and promoting events in reducing food waste.
We have also invested heavily in our market research capabilities, enabling us to identify emerging trends and capitalise on opportunities as they arise. By being proactive and staying ahead of the curve, we are able to provide our tenants with a competitive advantage, which helps them to succeed in a highly competitive market. We are committed to continuing to build on these relationships, ensuring that our tenants are able to thrive in an ever-changing market and maximise long-term value for our investors.