Debt is easy to come by against the right kind of assets, according to Mike Sales, managing director of Henderson Global Investors.
“We’re finding debt very easy to access for the type of things we’re doing,” he said. “We’re not buying in the E200m, E300ms. We’re buying E40-50m transactions in places like Scandinavia, Germany and France. There are very strict criteria – low LTVs, good quality real estate and security of income. But if you’ve got those characteristics debt is not a problem. And the margins are improving.”
Sales said Henderson’s investment strategy was to focus on core assets. “We’re not forecasting a lot of growth. We’re not saying in this world of austerity measures that our investments are going to grow to any large extent. But what we can give investors is a very solid cash flow which is better that the alternative – bonds which are not very attractive at the moment.
“Henderson continues to buy in German, Scandinavia, France and the UK. London at the prime end is beginning to look expensive. Where we’re operating for our central London office funds is at the value end of the market. We’re looking at repositioning buildings. But there is an element of caution as the economy has slowed down.”
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damian.wild@estatesgazette.com
