AM alpha, a Munich-based real estate investment firm servicing private clients, has sold two prime grade-A commercial Oslo properties in an off-market portfolio share deal to a private Norwegian investor for a total consideration of approximately NOK320m (€34.2m). The agreement was signed in December 2015 and finally closed in April 2016.
The two properties with predominantly office use are well located in Kvadraturen, in the heart of Oslo’s historic centre, situated between Oslo Fjord, Oslo Central Station and the CBD precincts of Aker Brygge and Bjørvika.
Originally built for the Norwegian Central Bank beginning of the last century, Tollbugaten 18-20 is a prime single-tenant office property with a historical sandstone façade and a lettable area of approximately 3,780m².
Kirkegata 5, right next to the Central Bank’s present headquarters, is a classic heritage building with office and retail uses spread over a lettable area of approximately 3,350m². Both properties feature corner locations and have undergone significant modernization in the past years to provide tenants with up-to-date office space.
Siegmut Böhm, managing director of AM alpha Munich says, “Although we still consider Oslo as an attractive investment location, we had nevertheless reached an opportune exit point for these specific properties. At acquisition in the year 2011, our investment strategy was based on two assumptions: Firstly, we envisioned the Norwegian economic growth would support the recovery in the Oslo office market which had already bottomed out, leaving room for further yield compression. Secondly, AM alpha firmly believed in the positive development of the then up-and-coming office sub-market of Kvadraturen, which was poised to establish itself as an inner city office location between the two traditional CBD districts of Aker Brygge and Bjørvika. Today it is clear we had the right market instinct. We decided to unlock the value for our investors and divest the assets.”
