News from 07/09/2008
Union Investment: €1bn invested in first half of year—acquisitions in Chile
During the first six months of the year, Union Investment Real Estate AG has invested approximately €1bn worldwide, with another €250mn to be added very shortly, the firm reported. Reinhard Kutscher, chairman of the management board, said, “We have thus considerably surpassed our plans, and have a good chance of outperforming 2007’s acquisition volume of €1.5bn this year.” In Germany alone, the firm has invested €400mn. In addition, investments were made in established markets in Europe and the U.S.A., as well as in Asia and the emerging markets of Latin America. The most recent purchases, which were acquired for the UniImmo:Global fund at a total investment volume of some €14mn, are the office buildings “Bandera 76” and “Teatinos 258” in Santiago de Chile. Pan Atlantic Bank and Trust Limited is the seller of the two historical buildings which were thoroughly renovated in 1987 and 1995, respectively.
Potsdam: Danes want to invest up to €1bn in military area
The Danish TG Group, an alliance of 60 to 65 entrepreneurial families, has presented its plans for the former Krampnitz military barracks at Potsdamer Chaussee 1/1A. According to these plans, the firm intends to invest from €500mn to €1bn during the coming years to develop the area's 120 hectares. The landmarked buildings are to be converted to high-quality apartments. In addition, new duplexes and single-family houses with up to 150 sqm of living space are planned. In the first construction phase, development of 150 residential units at the western entrance to the barracks area is projected. The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for late in the summer of 2009. The seller of the plot was Brandenburgische Boden-Gesellschaft (BBG).
Office market: Tenants most satisfied in Dresden
From the tenants’ perspective, Dresden is the top location for office properties among the major German cities. Other prime office locations in the Federal Republic are Nuremberg, Berlin and Stuttgart. Least favored by tenants are Duisburg, Wuppertal and Bochum. These are the results presented in the 2008 Office Tenant Almanac prepared by SEB Asset Management. In the study conducted for the almanac, more than 3,000 rental office property decision-makers in the 20 largest cities in Germany were polled. The scientific supervision of the study was conducted by Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Bach, FRICS, from the Department of Property Economy at the College for Economics and Environment in Nürtingen, Geislingen. The degree of satisfaction on the part of the office tenants was ascertained on the basis of 21 criteria summarized in the form of five decisive factors: office space, office building, rental costs, location factors and the city’s business climate. Dresden received the best marks for its good rental opportunities, architecturally appealing office buildings and comparatively favorable net rent prices. In Nuremberg and Berlin, low rental costs and the good images of the cities were held in particular esteem, while Stuttgart convinced tenants with its good traffic connections and the availability of highly educated and qualified labor.
Karlsruhe: German Acorn sells Breuninger building to developer
German Acorn Real Estate GmbH, Cologne, announced the sale of the former Breuninger department store building at Kaiserstrasse 146-148. The buyer of the 15,000 sqm retail property in a top shopping location is a project development company owned by Cells Bauwelt GmbH based in Munich. The firm wants to renovate the object, which it acquired in June, 2008, for new retail uses. The property originally belonged to the Herkules portfolio which Oaktree Capital Management bought from Deka Immobilien in 2006. German Acorn, Oaktree’s German commercial property platform, was subsequently assigned to optimize the portfolio. German Acorn was advised by Colliers Bräutigam & Krämer of Stuttgart and Kemper’s Jones Lang LaSalle of Frankfurt, which acted as brokers for the joint transaction.
Arques Industries: €32mn property sale to W.P. Carey
Arques Industries AG in Starnberg has sold properties from its portfolio for approximately €32mn. The buyer is the U.S. property fund W.P. Carey in New York. The objects concerned are the headquarters of Actebis Peacock GmbH in Soest and an associated logistics center in Bad Wünnenberg (both in North Rhine-Westphalia). Actebis Peacock was taken over by Arques Industries in July, 2007.
TMW: Weltfonds investing in London for the first time
For its TMW Immobilien Weltfonds, TMW Pramerica Property Investment has invested in Great Britain for the first time. The 85 Fleet Street office building in the City of London was acquired for some £85mn (ca. €107mn). The nine-story building has 9,000 sqm of usable area. The anchor tenant, occupying around 45% of the office space with a lease that runs until 2027, is the Fullbright & Jaworski law office. TMW’s CEO Sebastian Lohmer said, “During the past years, London was too expensive for us; that’s why we never invested there before.” The price correction over the past months was credited with making the investment possible.