HIH Invest Real Estate (HIH Invest) just acquired the future manufacturing site of ZF in the town of Niederzissen in Rhineland-Palatinate on behalf of an open-ended special fund owned by an institutional investor. The property will be developed on a plot of 20,450m2 on Im Stiefelfeld street, and is scheduled for completion by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Out of the total lettable area of 15,634m2, manufacturing and warehouse space accounts for 11,494m2, offices and staff rooms for 1,654m2, and outdoor areas for 2,486m2. The premises will also include 148 car parking spaces and the preliminary set-up for an EV charging infrastructure. Equipped with a heat pump and roof-mounted photovoltaic systems, the building is to be capable of carbon-neutral operation. It is planned to have the property certified to the “Gold” sustainability standard of the DGNB German Sustainable Building Council.
ZF, an automotive supplier, will relocate from Ahrweiler to Niederzissen and occupy the premises as single tenant. Its facilities in Ahrweiler had been severely damaged by the flood disaster of July 2021. ZF will manufacture damping technology valves at its new site.
Although the property is structured as a logistics facility, ZF will be using it as a manufacturing plant.
Maximilian Tappert, Head of Transaction Management Logistics at HIH Invest, said: “In ZF, we have found a tenant who will stay here for the long term and who will invest extensively in its new location. But due to its classic floor plan and its extensive delivery access options, it could easily be repurposed for a potential use as a logistics facility. It would take a little restructuring work to split the warehouse into two units. Moreover, Niederzissen is an attractive location for logistics operators and light industrial companies.”
“The acquisition once again illustrates our ability to identify suitable opportunities and to employ our robust equity base to act on them even in the current market situation. The property meets the highest standards even from an ESG perspective,” said David Sanders, Head of Fund Management Multi-Manager Business at HIH Invest.
The fund asset is located in the Brohltal Ost industrial zone directly next to the A61 motorway. The town is part of the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate and straddles the southern boundary of the Cologne-Bonn logistics region, which is home to Germany’s second-most important air cargo hub. It also lies within reach of transport routes across the Rhine.
Legal and tax advice during acquisition was provided by Ashurst, a law firm based in Frankfurt. The technical and ESG due diligences were performed by Case Real Estate.
Image provided by HIH Invest.
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