SEB Immobilien-Investment GmbH has acquired a portfolio of six German office and retail properties comprising total space of approximately 78,300 m² for its mutual fund SEB ImmoInvest from Züblin Development GmbH. The total investment volume for the package is around €237 million, including €13 million transaction costs. Züblin, which is part of the Strabag SE Group, was advised by Colliers PropertyPartners.
The portfolio comprises one existing building and five properties currently under construction, which will be transferred to the assets of the SEB ImmoInvest open-ended real estate fund on completion. The development projects are the Airport City building, located in the immediate vicinity of Düsseldorf Airport, with approximately 6,100 m² of rental space (completion scheduled for the end of 2007), an office and service center being built at Freiburg's main railway station with approximately 15,400 m² of rental space (mid-2008), a retail park offering over 16,100 m² rental space in Salzgitter city center (mid-2008), a 7,700-m² office building in Karlsruhe (mid-2008) and an office complex with 18,300 m² of space in Hamburg (2008 and 2010).
The property that has already been completed the Colonius Carré office building, which offers a total of over 14,700 m² of rental space is located in the center of Cologne and is expected to be transferred to SEB ImmoInvest's fund assets at the latest in June 2007.
Although more than 80% of the portfolio is still under construction, 51% of it has already been leased. Tenants include Deutsche Telekom, Air Berlin, Kaufland, Penny, Metro AG Kaufhof BKK and Kur und Reha GmbH. The seller has issued a multi-year rental guarantee for the vacant space, thus ensuring a corresponding cash flow.
Total transaction volume of over €1.2 billion
SEB Immobilien-Investment GmbH is systematically using the dynamic developments on the real estate market for regional diversification and to optimize its portfolio. Over the last six months, SEB Asset Management AG's real estate company has bought and sold properties in Europe, the USA and Asia with a total transaction volume of over €1.2 billion for its open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoInvest. Only a few weeks ago, a portfolio of 26 existing properties located throughout Germany was sold. A large majority of these properties were relatively small buildings that were acquired at the end of the 1980s/beginning of the 1990s to build up the fund's asset portfolio.
"The acquisition of this new high-quality portfolio of properties in German commercial centers has enabled us to reinvest the proceeds of the sale in prime macro- and micro-locations. We have taken this opportunity to rejuvenate our real estate stocks in Germany and to secure substantial growth potential," said Barbara Knoflach, Chair of SEB Asset Management AG and Managing Director of SEB Immobilien-Investment GmbH, underscoring the strategic importance of the transaction.
Source: SEB
