Case Studies

  • AD Portfolio

  • Spallis

  • Cassiopee

  • Tao

  • London Portfolio

Spallis – Equity

At Closing: 80% occupied, 33,800 m2 office property located in a challenging office submarket with a 20%+ average vacancy rate. No leases were signed at the property over 2 years prior to acquisition.

Asset Management: Executed a targeted capex program with new tenant amenities, new coworking area, remodelled reception and new garden landscape. Proactively approached potential tenants to lease-up vacant areas.

Results: Increased contracted NOI by +38% within 13 months after acquisition. Property sold for a price exceeding the initial business plan, 2 years earlier than expected, resulting in an earnout payment to the seller.

Cassiopée – Equity

At Closing: 57% occupied, 8,142 m2 office and light industrial property in a submarket going through significant gentrification. Celes acquired the property to create a unique product in the submarket offering updated specifications at an attractive rent vs. new developments.

Asset Management: Negotiated eviction of office tenants to implement an extensive refurbishment and repositioning of the property. Proactively approached potential users based on refurbishment and repositioning plans.

Results: Negotiated sale of the Property to an owner occupier. Property sold at a margin consistent with initial business plan without deploying capex capital and 3 years earlier than expected.

AD Portfolio – Turnaround for Lenders

At Closing: 23 light industrial properties totalling 80,273 m2 with an average remaining lease duration of less than 3 years and litigation between tenant and landlord. Acquisition of PropCo assuming a 100%+ LTV loan in default after agreeing a new business plan and a loan extension with lenders.

Asset Management: Negotiated an end to the outstanding litigation process with the tenant. Sold 15 non-core assets in 2.5 years. Implemented a capex program on the 8 assets of the core portfolio. Extended leases to obtain an 8.2 years average lease duration for the core portfolio.

Results: LTV reduced from 100%+ at acquisition to 53% at exit. Despite an LTV above 100% at closing, the transaction and the execution of the business plan resulted in a repayment at par of the lenders.

Tao – Turnaround for Lenders

At Closing: Plot of land of 6,697 m2 allowing the construction of a circa 17,300 m2 office building located in a very challenging office submarket 2km from La Défense. Property held by a lender further to a loan default. The transaction was structured as a JV between the lender and Celes Real Estate.

Asset Management: Conducted detailed feasibility studies for the development of the property: office and light industrial, datacenter, student housing and urban logistics. Proactively approached potential users based on development plans.

Results: Negotiated the sale of the property to a listed REIT focused on warehouse and industrial properties. Property sold at a margin consistent with the initial business plan agreed with the lender but without deploying planned capex capital and 2 years ahead of expected sale date.

London Portfolio

At Closing: A £300m portfolio of Central London prime office assets requiring repositioning to address underutilised spaces, outdated M&E, and evolving tenant requirements.

Asset Management: Implemented a targeted capex program focused on energy efficiency and on meeting regulatory standards. Implemented leasing strategies to enhance tenant mix and achieve rental uplifts on newly refurbished spaces. Streamlined planning processes for listed and heritage assets. Implemented IRR driven reviews of the performance of the portfolio.

Results: Reduced vacancy rates from 20% to below 5%, achieved rental uplifts of 30-40% on refurbished spaces. Energy efficiency improved by up to 30%, aligning with ESG targets and market regulations for the portfolio. Service charge reduced by up to 20% creating headroom for rental growth. Delivered phased refurbishments that increased asset values by up to 25%.