Blackstone’s acquisition of Centre d’Affaires in Paris is one of a string of office transactions this week pointing to a rebound of appetite for top-tier office properties across Europe.
The US asset management giant bought the trophy office building in central Paris for about €700m from German investor Union Investments, which had previously bought it for €284m in 2003. The sales price was above the latest valuation for the asset.
“This acquisition underscores our confidence in the European office market and belief that the right assets in prime locations, combined with our capital and extensive asset management capabilities, continue to offer compelling opportunities for value creation,” said James Seppala, head of real estate Europe at Blackstone.
Investors have been snapping up prime offices across Europe’s cities. This week AFI took full control of Office House investing €160m in Warsaw and Manova Partners acquired the Vibe office building also in the Polish capital. Edge emerged as the buyer of nieuwAmsterdam in the Dutch city of Amsterdam for €120m and Ares picked up 101 New Cavendish Street for £100m. Offices properties also changed hands in Madrid, Cologne, Hamburg and Stuttgart.
On the debt side, lenders splashed roughly €1bn to refinance office schemes in London. ING, SMBC and BayernLB lent £290m to Global Holdings for the South Bank Sea Containers building which provides 292,000sqft of prime office space and the 359-bed Sea Containers Hotel operated by Lore Group.
Berlin Hyp and Delancey financed 20 Carlton House Terrace granting a £241m loan to replace the development facility following practical completion of the scheme. BGO is funding the development of the mixed-use Notting Hill Place scheme which includes 170,000sqft of offices and Cheyne Capital is behind the refinancing of the YY building, also in London.
In Continental Europe, Santander and Bank Pekao provided a €61 facility to Madison International Realty and Cavatina Holding for Chmielna 89 which completed in 2020.
Recently completed deals | |||||||
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Asset | Asset type | Location | Buyer | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Key facts |
Centre d’Affaires Paris Trocadéro | mixed | Paris | Blackstone | Union Investment | 41,000m2 | €700 | The asset was acquired by Union Investment in 2003 for its open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland at a price of €284m. |
The Ellinikon land plots | development | Athens | ION Group | Lamda Development | 250,000m2 | €450 | The buyer plans to develop its R&S Innovation Campus on the site. |
PBSA portfolio | living | UK | KKR | Curlew Student Trust II | 2,179 beds | £230 (€265) | The 2,179-bed portfolio serves students across seven UK cities with strong university presence. |
Office House | office | Warsaw | AFI | Echo Investment | 32,000m2 | €160 | AFI has taken full control of the asset, in which it previously owned a stake. |
AMS05 | logistics | Hofddorp, the Netherlands | Pontegadea | Intospace | 67,000m2 | €145 | It is the biggest logistics transaction carried out so far this year in the Netherlands. |
Podium asset in Trafford | living | Manchester | GMPF and Moorfield Real Estate Fund V | Glenbrook | 440 homes | £120 (€138) | Phase I is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026. |
nieuwAmsterdam | office | Amsterdam | Edge | CBRE Dutch Office Fund | 40,400m2 | €120 | The asset is located at Bijlmerdreef 51, Hoekenrode 1-6, 8 and 10, and Hoogoorddreef 50 in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. |
nursing home portfolio | healthcare | France | LeadCrest Capital Partners | Emeis | 13 assets | €120 | The properties are located in the Paris metropolitan area and in French touristic and retirement hotspots. |
101 New Cavendish Street | office | London | Ares Management Corporation | WELPUT fund | NA | £100 (€115) | The asset is leased to tenants including talent management agency CAA Sports, Bridge Real Estate Investments Group and Zenium Technology Partners. |
10.8% of Retail Estates NV | mixed | Benelux | Sagax | Shareholders | 1,021 properties | €108 (SEK1190) | The portfolio has a leasable area of 1,213,000m2 with a rental rate of 97.5%. |
24 light industrial properties | logistics | Sweden | Slättö | Rejme/Knopf | 81,000m2 | ~€100 | The properties are mainly located in Linköping, Norrköping, Nyköping and Örebro. |
two business parks | logistics | Dresden, Germany and Southampton, UK | Sirius Real Estate | NA | NA | €68 | The Dresden asset was acquired at an EPRA NIY of over 9%. |
Vangarde Shopping Park | retail | York | British Land | Associated British Foods Pension Scheme | 339,000sqft | £44 (€51) | The retail park in Huntington was developed by the Wetherby-headquartered Oakgate Group in 2014. |
Equinox portfolio | logistics | UK | NA | L&G | 267,000sqft | £37 (€43) | The portfolio comprises 19 assets. |
Kingsgate shopping centre | retail | Huddersfield, UK | Northdale AM | WD Ltd | NA | £36 (€41) | The scheme was brought to market in June. |
29 de la calle Agustín de Foxá | office | Madrid | La Finca Inmobiliaria | Orbis | 7,000m2 | €30 | JLL brokered the deal. |
IOS asset | logistics | Longcross, UK | Family-office and owner-occupier business | Newcore Capital | 20 acres | £22 (€25.3) | Newcore has now sold the entire site, which also includes a 6-acre anaerobic digester leased to Severn Trent Green Power, on behalf of its Newcore Strategic Situations IV (NSS IV) fund. |
office asset | office | Cologne | International industrial company | BlueRock Group | 8,100m2 | NA | The sale price is in the mid-double-digit million-euro range. |
Gewerbehaus Ottensen | office | Hamburg | Values Real Estate | NA | 11,600m2 | NA | The property is almost fully leased. |
Ardencote Hotel and Spa | hotel | Warwickshire, UK | Barons Eden | NA | 110 bedrooms | NA | Natwest provided senior debt for the four-star asset. |
Vibe office building | office | Warsaw | Manova Partners | Ghelamco | 15,000m2 | NA | The asset is fully leased to tenants that include Reckitt Benckiser, Rödl & Partner, MDDP Outsourcing, Porsche, and Knight Frank. |
13 properties | mixed | Halmstad, Sweden | Fastighetsstaden | NA | 27,500m2 | NA | Commercial accommodation accounts for just over half of the lettable area, while the residential element includes 217 apartments. The portfolio generates an annual rental value of around SEK43m. |
17 ibis and Mercure hotels | hotel | Germany | Event Hotels | Blackstone | 2,021 rooms | NA | The buyer previously operated the hotels. |
Assets on the market | |||||||
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Asset | Asset type | Location | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Broker | Key facts |
Merry Hill shopping centre | retail | Brierley Hill, UK | Consortium including Wells Fargo and Axa Investment Management | 1.4m sqft | £250 (€288) | Knight Frank | The asking price equates to a 9% yield. |
Clarion Hotel Amaranten | hotel | Stockholm | NREP | 461 rooms | €200 | NA | The asset sold in 2020 for SEK 1.5bn. |
7Pines Resort Ibiza | resort | Ibiza | Engel & Völkers Asset Management | 185 suites | €125 | NA | The resort opened in 2018. |
The Georgian Collection | living | Dublin | NA | 91 units | €30 | Savills | The portfolio comprises 13 residential assets. |
Macken House | mixed | Dublin | Tetrarch ICAV on behalf of the ESB Pension Fund | 51,347sqft | €24 | JLL | The six-storey building includes 42 car parking spaces. |
Recently completed loans | ||||
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Lender(s) | Borrower(s) | Asset(s) | Loan Size (mln) | Key facts |
Bond investors | Heimstaden Bostad | Unsecured | €500 | The notes have a maturity of 5.5 years with a coupon of 3.75%. |
Bond investors | Merlin Properties | Unsecured | €500 | The transaction has a maturity of eight years and carries an annual coupon of 3.50%. |
ING, SMBC, BayernLB | Global Holdings | South Bank Sea Containers building | £290 (€333) | The landmark scheme provides 292,000sqft of prime office space and the 359-bed Sea Containers Hotel operated by Lore Group. |
Berlin Hyp and Delancey | HIG | 20 Carlton House Terrace in London | £241 (€277) | Berlin Hyp acted as senior lender while Delancey acted as junior lender through its dedicated credit strategy. The refinancing replaces the development facility following practical completion. |
BGO | Beltane and TPG Angelo Gordon | Notting Hill Place in London | £175 (€201) | The loan is to develop the proposed mixed-use scheme. |
Cheyne Capital | Canary Wharf Group | YY building in London | £171 (€196) | The office refurbishment scheme was completed in 2023 and the development is 33% let. |
Värde Partners | Titania | Byamannen 2, Topasen 3 and Bjurbäcken 11 properties in Stockholm | €150 (SEK1.7bn) | The financing is structured in three tranches, with Titania drawing the first SEK1.04bn. |
Santander and Bank Pekao S.A. | Madison International Realty and Cavatina Holding | Chmielna 89 in Warsaw | €61 | The loan refinances the asset completed in 2020. |
HSBC | Alternative Income REIT | NA | £41 (€47) | Facilities consist of both a £31m fixed term loan and a £10m revolving credit facility. |
OakNorth | Broadwood | three purpose-built care homes | £31 (€36) | The facility will allow Broadwood Later Living Sustainable Construction Finance Fund to deliver 250 new care homes. |
BNP Paribas Bank Polska | Panattoni | third hall at Panattoni Park Gdańsk West II | €20 | The loan will be used to finance a third hall in the logistics park. |
New mandates/JVs and funds on the market | |||
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Firm | Fund/mandate/JV | Strategy | Details |
ActivumSG | Value-add platform with The Mansion Group | Acquiring and modernising PBSA assets | The newly created value-add platform has acquired seven assets with a gross development value of over £100m. |
It is planning to develop over £500m of UK student housing assets. | |||
Invesco Real Estate | Fokus Nordic JV | Acquiring high-quality residential properties in Finland. | The new partnership will initially target the acquisition and long-term management of modern rental housing in Finland’s Helsinki, Tampere and Turku affluent sub-markets. |
Patrizia and Fabrix | UK affordable and alternative housing venture | Repurposing underused urban spaces in London for sustainable, affordable and alternative housing. | The Sustainable Communities London (SC London) partnership has an initial equity commitment of £45m. |
Northern Horizon | Aged Care Social Infrastructure Fund | Investing in new, fit-for-purpose care facilities as well as forward-purchase and forward-funding projects in the Nordics. | German public pension fund KZVK Dortmund and commercial bank Helaba have committed €220 to the fund. |
Incus Capital | European Credit Fund | Investing in credit opportunities across Europe | The fund has carried out a €400m first close and is looking to reach a size of €1bn. |