IXIS AEW Europe has acquired the headquarters of the German economic daily newspaper Handelsblatt in Düsseldorf for its new paneuropean EUROFFICE fund. This is the first acquisition for EUROFFICE, the most recent of 9 existing closed-ended funds managed by IXIS AEW Europe.
The 9,900 m² office building (with 153 car parking spaces) is located in the heart of the business center of Düsseldorf. It was built in 1982 for the private company Georg von Holzbrinck GmbH KG, the mother company of the famous press group (with a turnover of 1,7 bn in 2005) and was heavily refurbished (predominantly on the façade) in 2003. The property has been occupied since the origin by this sole and unique tenant which signed a 15-year lease in 2003.
The vendor is the Doughty Hanson & Co European Real Estate Fund managed by the British firm of private equity and real estate investment management Doughty Hanson which acquired it in 2002.
For this transaction, IXIS AEW Europe's legal advisor was Hölters & Elsing. The agent was Colliers Trombello Kölbel Immobilienconsulting GmbH.
Source: IXIS AEW
