Sale-leaseback

Gunnebo wanted a factory, not a property portfolio

We advised on a structured two-stage transaction involving the industrial facility of Primat, Slovenia's oldest security equipment manufacturer, making safes and vaults in Maribor since 1901. In October 2024,Primat was acquired by Gunnebo Safe Storage AB, a Swedish global leader in certified physical security solutions operating in over 100 markets worldwide. As part of the transaction, Gunnebo took ownership of the production facility but elected to operate as a tenant rather than a property owner – a strategicchoice aligned with their capital-light European expansion model.

Two Mandates, One Seamless Transaction

We were engaged to structure and execute a full sale-leaseback: first establishing lease terms with Gunnebo as anchor tenant,then running a targeted investment tender to identify and secure a suitable endbuyer for the asset. The result was a clean, income-secured transaction – the facility sold to an end investor with a long-term institutional tenant in place from day one. Our mandate covered lease structuring, investment positioning, buyer outreach and full transaction coordination through to closing.

This transaction required solving two problems at once: structuring a lease that worked for a global occupier, then finding an investor who understood the value of that certainty. Getting both right is what creates a truly clean deal.

A Maribor locksmith, a Swedish forge, and a story that spans three centuries

The story of this site spans more than 120 years. Primat's origins date to 1901, when a Maribor locksmith named Franc Schell was granted atrade licence to manufacture iron cash registers – the very beginning of a security equipment tradition that endures today. During World War II, the factory was confiscated by German occupiers and renamed Kassenfabrik Marburg before being returned to Slovenian ownership after the war. Gunnebo's own rootsgo back even further – to a forge established in the Swedish village of Gunneboin 1764. When the two companies came together in 2024, they united over 380years of combined manufacturing heritage on a single site – on a street thathas been Maribor's industrial spine for over a century.

The Market That Made This DealWorth Doing

Industrial assets with anchor tenants are the most sought-after product in Slovenia in 2024.

About Primat

Founding year 1901

120+ years of security manufacturing on this site

Gunnebo

Global reach 100+ markets, 3,500+ staff

Gothenburg HQ; production across Europe, Asia, Americas

Transaction structure

Sale-leaseback + end-buyer tender

Lease secured before property marketed — income from day one

Investment volume

€210M in 2024 in Slovenia

Doubled year-on-year; industrial among fastest-growing sectors

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