The Dutch real estate fund Arcona Property Fund (APF) has acquired a land plot in central Kyiv from the British company Secure Property Investment and Development (SPDI), Property Forum reports.
The deal marks the first purchase of real estate in Ukraine by a Western private fund since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Background
Arcona Property Fund is a closed-end investment fund registered in the Netherlands and listed on Euronext Amsterdam. It specializes in commercial real estate investments in Central and Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
Secure Property Development & Investment Plc (SPDI) is a company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM and focuses on commercial real estate investments in Southeast Europe. Its portfolio includes properties in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia, leased long-term to leading companies.
APF states that the 0.54-hectare plot, located near Lvivska Square, is well-suited for luxury residential development.
The company acquired the land for $2 million, paid in cash and APF shares. This deal concludes a 2020 agreement between APF and SPDI for the acquisition of six assets in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine.
Guy Barker, Director of APF's Managing Board, said:
“Although the purchase of this site was part of a package deal agreed with SPDI in 2020, certain sale conditions had not been fulfilled before the Russian invasion occurred in February 2022. This obviously required us to reassess both the acquisition in principle and the pricing level initially agreed. We have carefully monitored the military, political and economic developments since then and as the purchase conditions have been fulfilled, we now feel confident enough in the future of Ukraine to proceed with the deal.”
