REAL ESTATE NEWS

RCG Ventures, LLC has completed its acquisition of a multi-tenant retail portfolio consisting of 59 properties, costing roughly $1.1 billion.

The real estate firm purchased the assets from Global Net Lease, Inc. (GNL). The deal contains equity investments from institutional firms, including Koch Real Estate Investments, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and Ares Management Alternative Credit funds. It also has a loan facility from Truist and Key Bank.

"I believe this investment represents a differentiated opportunity to capitalize at scale on a high-quality, diversified retail real estate portfolio underpinned by strong market fundamentals," Joel Holsinger, partner, portfolio manager and co-head of alternative credit at Ares, said in a statement.

"The RCG team's in-house ability to actively manage, lease and reposition retail real estate properties makes them an ideal partner to create value in these assets. We are thrilled to partner with them on this milestone transaction."

It's unclear what states or cities the properties are located in and what the plans are for them exactly. But this marks only the first close of a bigger deal that will involve 41 other GNL assets. RCG anticipates the other portions of the deal to close in two stages by the end of the June quarter this year. They will be subject to "approval of two separate loan assumptions and other customary closing conditions," the Atlanta-based firm cautioned.

The move by RCG more than doubles its shopping center count across its U.S. portfolio. Over the past two decades, the company said it has acquired more than 250 assets in 30 states, while investing roughly $2.7 billion. Most of its focus is on shopping centers that are headlined by national brands in "high-growth markets." In addition, typically when investing in retail, RCG looks for properties that span at least 50,000 square feet that cost anywhere between $5 million and $100 million, according to the investment firm.

While there are concerns going forward about how tariffs and inflation will impact spending, strong consumer activity has carried into 2025. According to a report from Marcus & Millichap, vacancies remain near record-low levels, with rents continuing to rise.

Source: GlobeSt/ALM