The Die Welle office building complex in Frankfurt, owned by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and AXA Investment Managers - Real AssetsReal Assets, has been sold to Invesco Real Estate for €620m.
The transaction which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year will add over 80,500sqm of predominantly office space to Invesco’s portfolio, lifting the manager’s pan-European strategy volume to more than €5bn.
Invesco said the site also includes hospitality, retail and entertainment use, and offers “significant scope for placemaking and asset management opportunities, particularly in the context of the trend towards flexible office solutions”.
Jon Pierce, senior fund management director at Invesco Real Estate, said Die Welle’s scale provides huge optionality on business plan, combining strong upside potential and very low downside risk.
“Due to its size, a 22,600sqm plot of land in the heart of Frankfurt, Die Welle brings by nature multiple benefits to our strategy principally targeting resilient, durable, net operating income growth for our investors.”
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the NOK8.9trn (€919bn) Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, first entered the German property market at the end of 2012 through a joint venture with AXA to buy Die Welle in Frankfurt am Main and Neues Kranzler Eck in Berlin for €784m.
AXA obtained a permit for the redesign of the building complex in January 2015 and completed the refurbishment in April the following year.
Earlier this year, NBIM announced plans to disband Norges Bank Real Estate Management, the separate property arm it launched almost five years ago and bring unlisted real estate management back into its main operations.
NBIM said today that it will receive €310m for its 50% ownership interest in Die Welle.
