HIH Invest Real Estate has acquired the office scheme “Im Zollhafen 2-4” on the bank of the Rhine in Cologne on behalf of an individual fund. The seller is a key account of DERECO, a multi-family office for real estate assets that is based in Cologne. Completed in 2008, the multi-tenant property offers more than 7,300m² of lettable area, of which 910m² are zoned as gastronomy area, the remaining floor space representing office units. The average lease term (WALT) exceeds 6.5 years. Anchor tenants include Reclay Holding, an internationally operating service provider in the field of environmental and waste management who occupies 2,500m², and MobiLab Solutions, a specialist for data integration and cloud solutions who occupies 1,340m². The gastronomy unit is occupied by a restaurant of the international L’Osteria chain. The building includes an underground car park with 77 parking spots. The transaction was closed as an asset deal on behalf of an individual fund.
Nadine Robra, Team Leader Transaction Management Germany at HIH Invest, elaborated: “The central location between the river and the historic town centre, the view of the cathedral and of the Kranhauser dockside buildings right next door, combined with very convenient access to public means of transportation and the fact that the central railway station lies within walking distance, all this makes the property an attractive office venue that has appealed to companies like Microsoft, Birkenstock and congstar.”
Tassu Degen, managing partner at DERECO, commented the transaction: “As usual, HIH Invest Real Estate proved a professional partner in initiating and implementing the transaction. The experience has motivated both companies to deepen the business relations on other levels, too.”
Oliver Scholtz, Senior Fund Manager at HIH Invest Real Estate, added: “The Property is a high-end office investment in one of Germanys Big 7 cities. The diversified tenant structure of the multi-tenant property and its excellent location offer security and potential future development opportunities.”
“We are very content with the signing, which was highly attractive to both parties. HIH Invest Real Estate thus secured an asset in a premium riverside location in the Rheinauhafen area. The lease signings of the past 24 months also reflect the high quality of the site and of the property, which in its present form is superbly positioned for the future,” said Marco Frank, Senior Investment Manager at DERECO.
