News from 09/05/2008
TLG Immobilien: Lone Star and Oaktree show interest
According to a report in the daily newspaper Financial Times Deutschland, there are several potential buyers for the former Treuhand subsidiary TLG Immobilien which is up for sale: U.S. financial investors Lone Star and Oaktree, as well as another U.S. concern. Binding offers must be submitted by the end of September and the sale of TLG is to be concluded by the end of October. At present, TLG owns properties in eastern Germany worth €1.5bn. Lone Star has already been shopping in Germany twice this year: in August, it acquired the mid-sized bank IKB for approximately €137mn, and in April, it took over 1,300 properties belonging to Deutsche Post AG for around €1bn.
Frankfurt: Zeilforum 80% rented—topping out for PalaisQuartier
Bouwfonds MAB Development’s shopping center project called “Zeilforum” is already about 80% rented. Steffen Höhn, managing director retail & marketing of Bouwfonds, said at the topping out ceremony for the €960mn project that the firm was able to attract a number of brands which had not yet been represented with their own branch on the shopping promenade Zeil. The clothing brands Pepe Jeans London and Quicksilver/Roxy, as well as Odlo, Gant, Promod, Tatuum, Hilfiger Denim, G-Star and the watch manufacturer Fossil, among others, have now rented stores in the Zeilforum, he said. According to Bouwfond's managing director Michael Flesch, prices of up to €485/sqm were obtained for leases of retail space. He added that tenants are still being sought for about two thirds of the total of 33,000 sqm of office space. The tenant that signed for the approximately 10,000 sqm already taken up is said to be ABN Amro Bank, Netherlands. Flesch also mentioned that no operator has yet been found for the five-star hotel. The opening of the eight-story, 76,850 sqm Zeilforum is still scheduled for February 26, 2009; the following fall, the 135 m tall office tower with 47,650 sqm, the 96 m high hotel tower with 22,000 sqm and the reconstructed Thurn & Taxis Palais with 11,000 sqm are to follow.
Frankfurt: Fraport and municipality reach agreement on “Airport City”
The Frankfurt civil authorities and the airport operator Fraport appear to have reached an agreement regarding the basic features of the planned Airport City. According to a report in the daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), new buildings, totaling an area of approximately 700,000 sqm, can thus be developed at the airport, mainly on the northern part of the airport along the A 3 expressway, and in the area surrounding the projected Terminal 3 in the southern part of the airport near the A 5 expressway. The FAZ wrote that Fraport and the authorities have also come to a settlement concerning the controversial office project “Airport Office Center.” Fraport is now said to have committed itself to prioritizing accommodations for users relevant to the airport in the narrower sense. There is speculation that the tower may serve as the new seat of Fraport’s board. According to current planning, the “Airport Office Center” is to be built next to the existing Terminal 2 and have some 45,000 sqm of office space. Fraport quoted the total investment volume at around €100mn.
Düsseldorf: SEB AM finalizes sale of office building in Theodorpark
SEB Asset Management (SEB AM) has concluded the acquisition of a five-story office property in the Theodorpark in Düsseldorf's Rath district. The object at Theodorstrasse 180 was completed in 2002 and will be integrated into the mutual SEB ImmoPortfolio Target Return Fund. The property with 9,743 sqm of lettable office and 435 sqm of archive space, as well as 94 underground and 88 outside parking spots, is completely rented to ThyssenKrupp Real Estate GmbH. The sales contract for the building was signed in January, 2008 and the seller is DIBAG Industriebau AG seated in Munich. Total investment costs run to almost €21.7mn. With the object in Düsseldorf, the number of properties held in the SEB ImmoPortfolio Target Return Fund has risen to 33 in a total of eleven countries.
IMW Immobilien: Five properties sold for €17.2mn
CIF 1 Asset GmbH & Co. KG and CIF 2 Asset GmbH & Co. KG, two subsidiaries of Berlin-based IMW Immobilien AG, have sold five properties in Hamburg and Hanover for approximately €17.2mn. They comprise 27 office and 26 residential units with a total area of 12,000 sqm, of which some 9,230 sqm are commercial. The buyers are the Augsburg firms PATRoffice Real Estate 610 GmbH and PATRoffice Real Estate 998 GmbH. The sold properties were in the “Falcon Crest” portfolio which IMW AG acquired in 2006. The firm reported that over 90% of the floor space is rented long-term. IMW announced that with the sale of these mainly commercial properties, it is maintaining it focus on the residential segment.
Vivacon: Marketing starts for two luxury residences in Berlin
Cologne-based Vivacon AG has launched the marketing of two large-scale projects in Berlin that have a total volume of €172mn. Under the name “yoo Berlin,” 100 designer apartments from the board of Philippe Starck are to be developed on the bank of the River Spree for approximately €77mn. A single, ten-story building with a total of 13,200 sqm of living space and a futuristic glass façade is projected. Commencement of construction is scheduled for September and completion for the end of 2010. Marketing has also started for the €95mn project called “Luisenstadt”. According to architect Annette Axthelm’s plans, some 310 apartments and town houses with a total of 26,000 sqm of living space are to be developed on an area measuring some 12,000 sqm between the Spree and Köllnischer Park. The core of the project is the revitalization of the landmarked former AOK insurance headquarters called “Haus Luise”.