LaSalle Investment Management, acting on on behalf of the Encore+ fund, has acquired a highly visible office building located in Hamburg`s City South, Hamburg´s second-largest office submarket, located adjacent to the CBD. Economic Quarter is a newly-refurbished, highly visible office comprising 28,000m² spread over ten floors. It also comprises a showroom for Mercedes Benz. City South is currently one of the fastest developing submarkets and is emerging as a major business location, attracting a wide range of companies from the financial, consulting and IT sectors as a headquarters location. The area provides excellent public transportation and amenities. The overall quality of this important market has also profited from recent large-scale residential developments, turning City South into a more lively and attractive location. The purchase price was not disclosed.
The total office take-up in Hamburg has been strong and steadily increasing over the last decade. Hamburg’s vacancy rate has been decreasing since 2015 and is approaching a five-year low. At the end of Q2 2019, modern office space available for immediate leasing amounted to 398,000m² in Hamburg, which constituted 2.9% of the total stock.
David Ironside, Fund Manager of Encore+, LaSalle Investment Management, said: “I am delighted that we have agreed to acquire the Economic Quarter, which fits well within Encore+’s strategy to acquire asset high-quality properties in major cities in Western Europe. Hamburg is a new market for Encore+ and one of the top German office markets, providing further diversification within Germany. The high quality of the tenants provides secure income in this asset, in a location with excellent access and in addition the opportunity to capture rental uplift.”
