Union Investment has acquired the FIEGE Mega Center, currently under construction in Burgwedel, 20 kilometres to the north-east of Hanover, as part of a forward funding agreement. The turnkey handover is planned for December 2017. The acquisition of the project, which comprises a 48,600 m² lease area, is through immofonds 1, an open real estate mutual fund operated in Austria. The developer and seller is the Westphalian family company FIEGE Logistics, one of the biggest contract logistics service providers in Europe. The purchase price is ca. €46m.
With the acquisition, immofonds 1 has secured its first logistics property and is driving forward the diversity of the portfolio, which up to now included properties for office, retail, hospitality and medical centre use. ‘Following the integration of the former Immo KAG into the real estate area of Union Investment, we have strategically shifted focus to include logistics centres,’ says Kurt Rossmüller, Managing Director of Union Investment Real Estate Austria AG. ‘The project development of the FIEGE Mega Center is of high quality and is taking place in one of the strongest logistics region in Germany, which meets the demands of our investors.’
When completed, the FIEGE Mega Center in Burgwedel will provide 40,000 m² of storage area in four hall sections, plus a mezzanine area of 4,750 m². In addition, around 3,900 m² for office space and 181 parking spaces are available. Efficient logistics processes are ensured by 52 loading gates on the south facade and a hall clearance height of 12.2 metres. DGNB Platinum sustainability certification is being sought.
Three of the four hall sections are leased to the logistics service provider FIEGE, and one hall section has been acquired by the Rossmann chain of pharmacies, which also has its company headquarters at the location on the A7 motorway. The lease occupancy will therefore be 100%.
‘Due to its central location within Europe, the Hanover-Braunschweig logistics region is also highly significant beyond Germany’s borders,’ says Stephan Riechers, Senior Investment Manager Logistics Europe at Union Investment. ‘We consider the potential of the region to be far from exhausted and are keeping it in mind for further investments.’
