Hamburg-based DIFA Deutsche Immobilien Fonds AG has entered the Scandinavian market by acquiring two office buildings in Stockholm for its open-ended real estate fund DIFA Immo-Invest.
Härden 18, Stockholm, Sweden.
Following recent new investments in Central Europe and Latin America, this move takes DIFA into Northern Europe's most important commercial property market. DIFA purchased the Härden 15 and Härden 18 properties (15 and 11 storeys respectively) from Wihlborgs AB, one of Sweden's biggest listed real estate companies, for around 87 million euros. The location, Norra Station, is a favoured district for office space in the northern part of central Stockholm.
Härden 15 was fully refurbished in 1996 and comprises some 9,400 squares metres of space, more than 80% of which is let to financially solid tenants such as Scandic Hotels (part of the Hilton Group), Texas Instruments and
Serco Sverige. The vendor has given rent guarantees for the vacant space, and for leases due to expire shortly.
Härden 18 is a new build completed in 2002 and totalling 12,400 square metres. It includes 187 underground car parking spaces and is fully let to SPP, the life insurance subsidiary of Svenska Handelsbanken (a pensions and insurance group), until the end of 2011.
"Stockholm is one of the most dynamic growth regions in the EU and has a buoyant lettings market. Thanks to their flexible design and location in an area of Stockholm popular with developers, the two properties offer the potential for rent increases on reletting," says DIFA board member Ingo Hartlief. "Now that we have acquired a foothold in the Scandinavian market with Härden 15 and 18, further property transactions in the region - particularly in Sweden - are definite possibilities." In addition, DIFA's diversification strategy will see the company entering further international markets in the near future.
Source: DIFA
