DIFA Deutsche Immobilien Fonds AG, part of the Union Investment Group, last Thrusday acquired its first property in Toronto, thereby successfully entering the Canadian market. The Hamburg-based investment company purchased Bell Trinity Square, which comprises some 90,000 m² in the heart of Toronto, for the equivalent of around 178 million.
Refurbished in 1998, this office building incorporating retail space is fully let long-term to big-name tenants such as Bell Canada, Fidelity Investments and Hydro One Networks. 65% of shares in the property holding company will become part of DIFA-Global, with the remaining 35% being added to DIFA ImmoInvest, an institutional real estate fund.
This class A property consists of two interlinked towers of 15 and 10 floors respectively, and received a Toronto Office Building of the Year award in May 2005. Located in downtown north, it benefits from close proximity to central shopping facilities - in particular the 270,000 m² Eaton Square shopping center - plus the university and City Hall. "As Canada's biggest office market and the country's economic powerhouse, Toronto offers ideal conditions for expanding into Canada in association with our consultants Northam Realty and boosting our exposure to North America, which goes back 20 years," says DIFA board member Dr. Reinhard Kutscher. This is the sixth new foreign market that DIFA has entered this year, with other purchases having been completed in Mexico, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden and Austria.
Source: DIFA
