Casa International sells its European distribution centre

Casa International, owned by the Blokker family, has sold its only three-year-old distribution centre in Olen. The retail chain is suffering heavily from the corona crisis.

Sale-and-lease-back

CBRE Global Investors acquired the distribution centre on behalf of a specialised pan-European fund, writes business newspaper L’Echo. It was acquired from Domus Logistics, the logistics sister company of decoration chain Casa, which has been undergoing a judicial reorganisation since June last year and is looking for cash. The transaction involves some 57 million euros.

Casa has been making a loss for a number of years. At the beginning of last year, the Blokker family, which has owned the retail chain since 1988, converted 69.5 million euro of debt into capital. But the corona crisis has made things even more difficult.

The just-sold logistics building is only three years old and is fully occupied by the Belgian chain of interior products. Since 2017, the building has served as its headquarters, supplying 500 stores in eight countries. Casa will remain a tenant of the complex through a sale-and-lease-back construction.