Swiss Life AM acquires Rotterdam resi tower (NL)

Swiss Life AM acquires Rotterdam resi tower (NL)

Swiss Life Asset Managers has acquired one of the prestigious «Lee Towers» in the Dutch city of Rotterdam as a share deal. The acquisition will be allocated to the open-ended real estate public fund «Swiss Life REF (DE) European Real Estate Living and Working» and «Swiss Life REF (DE) European Living» in equal parts. The latter fund is distributed exclusively by Deka in Germany. The vendor is the Dutch company tB|BHW Projects.

 

The «Lee Towers» are landmarks in the urban landscape of Rotterdam. With the acquisition of this residential property, Swiss Life Asset Managers increases its market perception in the Netherlands. The iconic towers were designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in 1975 and were originally built as an office property. In 2019, they were thoroughly renovated according to state-of-the-art sustainability criteria and put to residential use. A total of 443 residential units – some of them with breathtaking views - are spread over a rental area of around 24,000m² on 24 floors. Additionally, there is a commercial unit on the ground floor. The transfer of benefits and burdens is planned for the end of November. 95% of the property is let. The purchase price was not disclosed.

 

"Rotterdam is the second biggest city in the Nether-lands and one of the economic centres in Europe with one of the biggest European ports. Thus, this prestigious real estate investment fits perfectly into the portfolio of our funds", said fund manager Walter Seul.

 

Dr. Christine Bernhofer, CEO of Swiss Life KVG and COO of Swiss Life Asset Managers in Germany, commented: "With this transaction, we are able to make our mark in the Dutch residential real estate market for two of our public funds. This increased market attention enabled us to set an example for Swiss Life Asset Managers in the Dutch real estate market and thus lays the ground for subsequent transactions. We are very pleased with the successful completion of this highly complex transaction."

 

"With this transaction, we are concluding another successful transformation. With «Lee Towers 1», we are demonstrating that it is possible to add a high-quality volume to the residential rental segment, where supply is scarce, in the short term. This is not possible without an ambitious municipality and partners/suppliers with whom we execute such projects. With Swiss Life Asset Managers, the property will have a renowned owner and we will proceed with the implementation of new transformations at full speed", said Henk van Kooij, investment manager at tB|BHW Projects. 

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