Invesco Real Estate, the international property investment manager, is pleased to announce that it has purchased the Futurama Business Park in Prague, Central Europe for an undisclosed sum, reflecting a gross initial yield of 6.9%.
The investment has been made on behalf of the iii-BVK Europa-Immobilien-Spezialfonds*, an institutional pan-European core real estate fund of Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), which Invesco Real Estate has been managing since 2000.
Bettina Knirsch, Invesco Real Estate's Director of Fund Management says: "We are delighted with this acquisition as it fits the Fund profile well by focusing on strong real estate fundamentals and now brings the Fund volume to ca. 650 million. Our local transaction team's expertise and contacts within the Central European market has been integral to securing this excellent property, which not only complements the existing assets within the portfolio but adds diversification to the Fund's existing CEE allocation.
"The property reflects characteristics such as modern, efficient floor plates and high building quality within a good location, next to the local metro station and close to Prague's CBD, and also benefits from being multi-let to strong tenants."
The Futurama Business Park acquisition comprises three newly-built, grade-A office properties with a total space of 18,500 m² including over 200 parking spaces. The property is pending a BREEAM certification, and is expected to be rated 'Very Good'.
Futurama is located in Karlin, Prague 8, which is regarded as a key location for large local and international companies given its close proximity to Prague's CBD and its excellent transport connections via train, tram and road. The property benefits from strong tenants such as Clearstream, a subsidiary of Deutsche Boerse, Window Holding, Parexel and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
"Our house view suggests the Central European market as one which is expected to provide robust returns over the next five years. The Czech Republic itself could be one of the safe havens to invest in, in these uncertain times given the current problems and risks attached to the euro zone. We are, therefore, pleased to have invested in a high-quality property within this key market," says Knirsch.
The Futurama Business Park was purchased from Erste Group Immorent CR.
*The fund is a separate account dedicated to an institutional client, and therefore closed for subscriptions to other investors
Source: Invesco Real Estate
