News from 09/02/2008
Munich: Quantum acquires building complex for €130mn
Quantum Immobilien AG has acquired an historic building complex in central Munich for approximately €130mn. The ensemble on Ludwigstrasse and Von-der-Tann-Strasse consists of five buildings with a total area of some 18,750 sqm. The seller and principal tenant is Hypo Real Estate Bank AG. Offices, apartments and space for exclusive retailing are located in the six- and seven-story buildings. On two subterranean floors, storage areas and about 140 parking spaces are at the tenant's disposal. The largest part of around 10,000 sqm of office space is now to be successively re-rented and comprehensively modernized in consultation with the future tenants, Quantum announced.
Union Investment: Fund acquires office building in Mexico City for $97mn
Union Investment Real Estate AG has acquired a class A office building in Mexico City at an investment volume of some $97.3mn for its open-ended property fund UniImmo: Europa. The building, completed in 2000, has 24,688 sqm of usable area and 900 parking spaces. It is completely rented, according to the firm's announcement, to an international automobile company for 15 years.
Commerzbank: Knobloch resigns – Eurohypo's position weakened?
Bernd Knobloch is leaving the Commerzbank at the end of the month. The veteran boss of the concern's Eurohypo subsidiary announced his departure shortly after the Commerzbank's takeover of the Dresdner Bank was made public. Frank Pörschke will take on Knobloch's position at the head of Eurohypo, while Stefan Schmittmann will succeed him on the Commerzbank's board. Martin Blessing, CEO of Commerzbank, indicated at a press conference about the bank merger that the importance of the commercial property financing segment within the entire concern will be diminished. The public finance division balance volume of Eurohypo, which reached €200bn after the takeover of the Essen Hyp, is to be reduced by half, to €100bn.
Nau Real Estate: €300mn in acquisitions planned
The Berlin-based Nau Real Estate Group AG, specializing in residential properties, has announced its intention to expand its property inventory by more than €300mn during the coming two years and that takeovers of objects and residential construction firms nationwide are in preparation. Chairman of the Board Ottmar Nau declared at the shareholders' meeting that he wants to use property prices, falling in the wake of the financial crisis, as an opportunity for further purchases and reported that negotiations are underway with foreign and domestic banks to finance acquisitions of more than €200mn. Plans are to intensify trading with large-scale residential portfolios starting at €100mn after the financial crisis calms down. On the market, some initial signs of returning foreign and domestic investors looking for large-scale residential portfolios can be discerned. Specifically, negotiations are now going on regarding the sale of a residential portfolio worth approximately €50mn to a domestic investor.
Open-end property funds: Investment class in fine shape
The yield of open-end property funds is reaching new peaks: the IPD performance index "OFIX-10," comprising funds with a history of at least 10 years, leaped by 2.6 percentage points last year to 6.1%. This surpasses by far the above-average return of 5.2% attained in 2000. IPD attributes the positive development of the OFIX-10 primarily to the successful sale of objects in Germany. Using the OFIX-10, IPD identified an average return of 4.0% over the past ten years. The positive development seems to be continuing: during the first half of 2008, IPD's performance indexes compiled a 5.3% yield, with some funds even attaining a performance of over 6%.
Düsseldorf region: Coca-Cola rents 7,000 sqm in Ratingen
The beverage producer Coca-Cola will move its distribution and marketing department from Düsseldorf to nearby Ratingen. The firm rented 7,300 sqm of office space in a seven-story office high-rise planned for the Balcke-Dürr area. Occupancy is slated to begin in October, 2009. The Düsseldorf-based RS und Partner Immobiliengesellschaft mbH is acting as the project's developer and marketing agent.
SEB: Asian Property fund invests in luxury apartments in China
SEB Asset Management AG has acquired a luxury apartment residential property in Shanghai for its special fund SEB Asian Property that invests exclusively in Asia. The fund company reported that the transaction is a 50-50 joint venture with the Grosvenor Group. According to the announcement, the investment comprises the strata titles for all 35 stories of the "Belgravia Place at Huashan" on Xing Fu Road. The building, with a total gross lettable area of 29,684 sqm, is said to be located in the former "French concession," one of the most popular residential areas in the Chinese metropolis, and to have 120 units ranging in size from 220 to 551 sqm.