DIC Asset AG acquired another high-end office property in Cologne for its own real estate portfolio. The building houses the corporate headquarters of German food retailer REWE Group. The investment volume comes to approx. 23 million.
As recently as last week, DIC announced the purchase of the Looper office property in Duisburg for the office fund, quoting a transaction volume of approx. 27 million. These two transactions in November bring DIC's acquisition volume in 2012 up to a total of 135 million.
Both properties enhance the portfolio quality of DIC Asset AG because they are let to high-net-worth tenants and will generate stable long-term revenues. The transfer of ownership for either property will take place before the end of 2012. With the start of 2013, they will generate an annual FFO contribution to income of more than 1.6 million.
The acquisitions in detail
DIC Asset AG acquired the corporate headquarters of REWE Group in Cologne (at Stolberger Strasse 76/78) from an international investor within the framework of a share deal (shares of the property vehicle being acquired). The property is earmarked for DIC Asset AG's proprietary portfolio (the 'Commercial Portfolio'). The property, which has a letting space of around 24,000 m² spread across seven floors as well as 450 underground car park slots, is fully let for a lease term of around 10 years.
With an initial rental yield of around 8%, the property makes an attractive and stable contribution to the cash flow of DIC Asset AG. The prestigious high-end office property (built in 1994) was extensively modernised in 2008 and in 2011. Among other things, it has excellent transportation access for the roughly 800 REWE staff who work here.
As already reported on November 13, 2012 on occasion of the nine-month result, DIC Asset AG acquired the office property Looper in Duisburg's Innenhafen port district (at Schifferstrasse 166). This asset will be added to the 'DIC Office Balance I' institutional fund in which DIC itself holds a 20% stake. The property was sold by a member company of Kölbl Kruse Group based in Essen. Built in 2009, the building has a letting space of more than 10,000 m² on five office floors that are largely occupied.
This property, too, generates stable long-term revenues. With average rental terms of around six years, this multi-tenant property is let long term to tenants with good credit ratings and hailing from a variety of sectors (industrial, transportation, finance). On the buyer side, legal consulting for the transaction was provided by CMS Hasche Sigle (Frankfurt am Main). The acquisition was brokered by RHEINWERT Immobilien Consulting.
The acquisition of the Looper asset has brought the expansion of the fund business a big step forward: With investments of 365 million now committed, the half-way mark for the possible total volume of up to 700 million for both funds ('DIC Office Balance I' and the 'DIC HighStreet Balance' currently being set up) has already been exceeded.
Source: DIC Asset AG
