BREA, CA—The PRES Cos. has purchased a portfolio of four class-B office buildings here for $42 million in an off-market transaction. The portfolio, which is 72% leased, consists of two projects that industry sources not related to the deal say were previously owned by the Abbey Co.

Brea Park Centre includes three buildings totaling 171,411 square feet located at 2601 Saturn St., 500 S. Kraemer Blvd. and 2650 E. Imperial Hwy. Tenants include Citizens Business Bank, General Services Administration, FIT Electronics and the California Department of Public Health. Recent upgrades to the property were made to the common areas including the lobbies, elevator cabs and open-air courtyards.

Brea Corporate Plaza totals 119,246 square feet and is located at 3230 E. Imperial Hwy. Tenants at this center include Nestlé Waters and Yellow Box Corp. PRES is planning upgrades to the common areas including repainting the buildings, updating the landscaping, adding new monument signs and renovating the lobbies and corridors.

Dan Vittone and Alan Pekarcik, principals at Avison Young, represented PRES in the transaction. PRES will assume leasing and management responsibilities for the portfolio.

According to David Bonaparte, managing principal with PRES, “This portfolio has performed well over recent months, with significant leasing activity as the office market makes a robust recovery in key Southern California locations. The Brea office-market vacancy dropped to 12% in the second quarter of this year, and we see a great opportunity to add value to the portfolio with an aggressive leasing program as demand for office in this local area improves.”

Bonaparte adds that his firm plans to continue acquiring properties in key California markets ranging in value from $5 million to $50 million over the next year. “Additionally, we continue to grow our asset and property-management services platform on behalf of third-party ownership.”

As GlobeSt.com reported in June, PRESpurchased Irvine Spectrum Office Plaza, a class-A, 67,601-square-foot office building located at 15707 Rockfield Blvd. in Irvine, CA, from an undisclosed private seller for approximately $10.8 million. The property consists of a three-story office building developed in 1986 and renovated in 2013; renovations were recently completed in the lobby, common areas, parking lot and landscaping.