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Sirius Real Estate acquires R935 million defence business park in Germany

REIT

Edward West|Published
Sirius Real Estate

Sirius Real Estate Sirius Real Estate, JSE and London-listed owner of industrial parks in Germany and the UK, has furthered its strategy with the announcement of an acquisition of a defence-supported business park in Fulda, Germany, for €49.8 million (R935 million). .

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Sirius Real Estate, the London and JSE-listed owner of branded business and industrial parks, has acquired a business park in Fulda, Germany, for €49.8 million (R935m), as it expands further into properties with a defence-focused tenant base.

The company said Wednesday that the light industrial business park in Fulda, north-east of Frankfurt in the Hesse region, Germany, comprises 57,771 square metres of lettable space on a 112,867 square metre plot and is fully let, currently generating an annual rent roll of about €3.93m, with a 5,1-year weighted average lease expiry.

The purchase price reflects an EPRA (European Public Real Estate) net initial yield of 7.8%.

The asset is production-led, with a significant proportion of space used for manufacturing and warehousing and is anchored by a leading European manufacturer of ballistic protection equipment - such as bulletproof vests - and protective systems serving military, police, and law enforcement customers.

The tenant has been based at the site since 2014 and is benefiting from demand driven by structural growth in defence and security spending across Germany and Europe, Sirius' CEO Andrew Coombs said.

The tenant is involved in a number of defence and security-related programmes, including the German Armed Forces' MOBAST programme, under which more than 300,000 modular ballistic protection vest systems have been ordered, as well as follow-on supply arrangements for German Special Forces and other European military and law enforcement customers.

“The scale of these programmes supports multi-year production visibility at the site. The acquisition is fully consistent with Sirius' strategy of investing in well-located industrial and business park assets with strong occupier fundamentals, good day-one income, and exposure to government-supported demand for mission-critical defence and security-related products,” said Coombs.

"Completing the acquisition of this high-quality business park further strengthens our German portfolio. Considering the income quality, the acquisition yield offers a very attractive risk/return relationship and supports the prospect of continued dividend progression.”

He noted that the tenant had shown a long-term commitment to the site and has a clear runway of opportunity from increased government commitments to defence spending.

“We believe the opportunity to close this investment continues to highlight a first-mover advantage that we are keen to capture from assets aligned with this secular growth sector,” said Coombs.

As of March 31, 2026, Sirius' portfolio comprised 145 assets let to 10,477 tenants with a total book value of about €3 billion, generating a total annualised rent roll of €258.6m. Sirius also holds a 35% stake in Titanium, its €350m German-focused joint venture with BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts.

The company's strategy centres on acquiring business parks at attractive yields and integrating them into its network of sites - both under the Sirius and BizSpace names and alongside a range of branded products.

Three weeks ago, Sirius, as part of its ongoing capital recycling programme, announced the disposal of two “sub-scale” business parks in the Sheffield area in the north of the UK, at a premium to book value, for £5.3m.

Other properties acquired in line with its focus on properties with a defence focus includes the March, 2026, €93.4m acquisition of a business park near a major naval base in Kiel, Germany, with 98.5% occupancy, leased mainly to Rheinmetall, Germany's largest defence company.

In October last year, Sirius acquired a business park near Munich for €43.7m, located near its Grasbrunn asset, which is predominantly let to an occupier specialising in laser-defence technology.

Also in 2025, in expanding its UK footprint, Sirius acquired a multi-let industrial park where the largest tenant produces component parts for ejector seats used in modern military jets.

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