Bonhôte-Immobilier on course for growth

Bonhôte-Immobilier puts net operating income at CHF 20.12 million, up from CHF 19.75 million a year earlier. The value of directly managed properties exceeded the one billion CHF mark due to two acquisitions, the fund further reports (1.03 billion compared to 967.64 million in the previous year). Rental income increased from 49.56 to 50.65 million.

An administration building constructed in 2013 in the Terre Bonne Business Park in Eysins near Nyon (VD) was acquired. The purchase price was reportedly just under 25 million. The sole tenant was a "high-quality company operating in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors." The fund also bought a commercial building from 2004 worth 5.2 million. According to Bonhôte-Immobilier, the property is in a very good location in Gland (VD), at Chemin du Riant-Coteau 5, and is leased to six users. The purchase agreement includes a right of first refusal in favor of Bonhôte-Immobilier for the acquisition of the neighboring property.

The French-speaking Switzerland fund is invested primarily in the cantons of Vaud, Geneva and Neuchâtel, but also holds properties in Fribourg, the Jura and Valais. Almost three-quarters of its rental income comes from apartments and one-fifth from commercial or office space. In the future, the fund also intends to target regions in German-speaking Switzerland, as some cantons offer advantageous tax rates for investors.

Diminishing returns because of Covid-19?

As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, the Fund expects declining rents and property valuations. Due to declining financial resources, family members who can no longer afford several rents should be expected to move in together. Weakened in-migration related to mobility restrictions will also have a negative impact on housing demand, it said. At the same time, the environment is already characterized by oversupply, with over 70,000 vacant apartments currently on the market, he said. Given the lack of investment alternatives, investors are likely to be willing to accept lower yields, the fund predicts.

However, there is currently uncertainty in commercial real estate, particularly in the retail and hotel sectors and to some extent also in office space. According to Bonhôte-Immobilier, factors such as company closures or space optimization, for example through home offices, point to an increase in tenant changes and thus to a lot of work in re-letting in the coming years.

For tenants of commercial premises affected by the officially ordered closures, the Fund has suspended the rents for the months of April and May. Now, payment plans for the suspended rents of a maximum of six months and until the end of December 2020 at the latest are to be drawn up. (ah)