News from 07/29/2008
DEGI: Office building in Edmonton acquired for €80mn
DEGI Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immobilienfonds mbH signed a contract a few days ago to buy the “Petroleum Plaza” office building in Edmonton, Canada. According to DEGI, the investment volume is around €80mn. The property was obtained indirectly through a land investment company and will be placed in the world-wide commercial real estate oriented mutual fund DEGI International. The seller was an investment fund from KingSett Capital. The building is located in the government district of Edmonton and consists of two office towers with a lettable area of around 30,000 sqm. It was built in 1973 and continually modernized since then. The Province of Alberta government holds a lease until 2020 and the building's occupancy rate is 99.8%. The DEGI International portfolio now holds three Canadian properties with a total value of around €414mn.
Arcandor: Sale of remaining property completed
As it announced it would do in March, Arcandor AG, Essen, has completed the sale of the rest of its real estate. The firm reported that the remaining 49% of the Highstreet real estate company (Karstadt department stores) has now been transferred to a consortium consisting of Deutsche Bank subsidiary RREEF, Pirelli Real Estate, Generali Real Estate Fund and Borletti Group. The total value of the transaction, which consists of the Highstreet shares and a separate agreement with Whitehall, the previous joint venture partner, was quoted at around €800mn.
Munich: IVG Development begins 28,100 sqm office project
IVG Development GmbH has begun building the shell of its Munich project “An den Brücken.” On a lot at Landsberger Straße 78-100, between Hackerbrücke and Donnersberger Brücke, a complex with two building sections with a total lettable area of 28,100 sqm is being developed. According to a press release, the entire heating and cooling for the project will use geo-thermal energy and the complex is being built to the low-energy standard. Completion is planned for the end of 2009. The project is being managed by IVG Development's Munich office.
Bilfinger Berger: Norwegian losses lead to lower forecast
Bilfinger Berger has revised the earnings forecast downward for its civil engineering branch due to possible losses on a Norwegian highway project. The firm reported that the E18 highway infrastructure project between Oslo and Kristiansand can be expected to lose €90mn, according to current estimates. The risk allowance of €25mn that was projected on December 31, 2007 must therefore be increased by €65mn for the current business year. Hence, for all of 2008, a net income of only €15mn, instead of €58mn in 2007, was forecast for the civil engineering branch. Because the business services branch continues to develop positively, the company nevertheless expects that the EBITA and net income will be higher in 2008 than they were in the previous fiscal year. Bilfinger Berger projected an EBITA in the area of €260mn (2007, €242mn) and net income in the area of €140mn (2007, €134mn).
Berlin: NCC to start construction of 50 houses in Pankow
This week, NCC Deutschland GmbH, Fürstenwalde, wants to get construction work under way on the “Alter Gutshof Rosenthal” housing project in Berlin-Pankow. The firm plans to build a total of 50 single family dwellings, duplexes and row houses on a 19,000 sqm lot between Hauptstrasse and Nesselweg. Plans are for two and three story buildings with residential units from 163 sqm to 215 sqm of usable space. Prices start at €209,900. The first finished houses should be turned over to their new owners in the early summer, 2009. NCC Deutschland is a subsidiary of NCC, a construction and real-estate company based in Sweden.