Hamburg-based DIFA Deutsche Immobilien Fonds AG - part of the Union Investment Group - has acquired the L'Unico development project in Luxembourg from Belgian developer Construction & Investment Partners (CIP). The total investment on behalf of its DIFA-GRUND open-ended real estate fund amounts to some €58 million. With completion scheduled for late 2007, L'Unico will provide approximately 1,350 m² of retail space and 7,500 m² of office space. L'Unico is strategically situated between the city center and Luxembourg's international airport in the office submarket of Kirchberg, where vacancies typically run at less than 3%. An 18-month rental guarantee was negotiated with the vendor of this new-build property.
L'Unico, Luxembourg.
Meanwhile, DIFA has successfully completed the letting of two DIFA-GRUND projects in Spain and France. Leases signed with Sanofi-Aventis, Citigroup and most recently with SAP for 3,076 m² mean that the 14-storey Torre Diagonal Mar office tower in Barcelona, which offers a total of 22,500 m² of space, became fully let in June. Likewise, 100 per cent of the France Avenue office property in the Parisian Rive Gauche development zone is let as of mid July. Designed by Sir Norman Foster, this award-winning property offers around 14,000 m² of space. The sole tenant is Accor, one of Europe's biggest hotel groups.
"For many years, the portfolio strategy for the DIFA funds has included investment in property developments with well-known partners such as Hines, Tishman Speyer and Eiffage," says DIFA board member Dr. Reinhard Kutscher. "The fact that properties have been fully let so quickly validates our investment strategy, which enables our investors to gain maximum advantage from the value growth of promising locations such as Diagonal Mar and Rive Gauche."
Source: DIFA
