News from 05/03/2007
GWB Immobilien: Lübeck's Königpassage Shopping Center bought
GWB Immobilien AG has acquired the Königspassage Shopping Center in Lübeck's center. The passage possesses around 10,000 m² of sales area. Fashion stores are among the main tenants. Since the end of 2006, around 1,200 m² have stood empty in the basement. A Berlin company was the previous owner of the passage. Up to now, the passage has been operated and marketed by ECE Projektmanagement GmbH.
The Hamburg issuing house HPC Capital GmbH has begun distribution of its new fund, HPC Infrastruktur I. According to information from the initiator, the fund in question is the first infrastructure certificate fund for the German investment market. Specially-issued certificates from HSH Nordbank, whose performance is oriented on the growth of a reference portfolio of several infrastructure target funds, will be invested in. HPC Capital is responsible for the choice of the target funds. At the present time, the focus of HPC Infrastruktur I lies in the European and North American regions. HPC Infrastruktur I currently has three target funds from ABN Amro, Carlyle, and the Deutsche Bank subsidiary RREEF with a total of €35mn in the portfolio. More investments in other target funds are planned according to placement volume.
The fund company Hansainvest wants to rebuild its property portfolio and, in the process, make purchases in foreign countries. €600mn are planned to flow into the acquisition of office, retail, and logistics/transportation properties in Europe, the USA, and Canada. More or less simultaneously, Hansainvest wants to sell 50 commercial properties in Germany with a total value of €450mn.
To position itself better for projected growth, Boetzelen RheinMainHypo Vermögensverwaltung GmbH, Düsseldorf, has converted into a corporation and increased its equity capital to €15mn. Focusing on retail properties, the firm will in the future operate as Boetzelen Real Estate AG. The firm's CEO and founder, Dusan R. Rajcic, as well as Volker Kempf (CFO) and Karl F. Hunold (CIO), were appointed to the board of directors.
LB Immo Invest: Office property acquired in Chicago for special fund
LB Immo Invest GmbH recently acquired the Highland Landmark II at Downers Grove/East-West Corridor in Chicago for the GLL BVK Internationaler Immobilien-Spezialfonds for $69mn (around €50.6mn). With up to 25,000 m² of office area, the property is already up to 87% rented. According to information from LB Immo Invest, more rental agreements are in negotiation.
Office market: SWIP forecasts increasing demand
A projection of a study done by British asset managers Scottish Widow Investment Partnership (SWIP): Demand for German properties will increase further in the future. In the coming five years, Hamburg in particular shall develop into a leading location for office properties. SWIP expects a yield of 9% for the Hanseatic city. High growth rates are also predicted for Cologne and the traditionally strong office locations of Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and Düsseldorf. Economic recovery and growing trust in the German market account for these good predictions, said Robert Matthews, head of international property at SWIP.