AEW’s German office fund is now fully deployed with the acquisition of a 15,900sqm Berlin asset, the manager has announced.
City Office Germany Fund, which now manages €345m, has bought the B5 office-led building in the Wilmersdorf district for an undisclosed sum.
Office space accounts for 80% of the overall lettable area with the remaining 20% used for retail.
Originally built in 1971, the eight-storey building is 99% occupied, AEW said, adding that half of the building is currently being refurbished by the vendor.
AEW said the investment offers the fund ”scope to drive significant value enhancement” through the active asset management of space, through releasing space and growing existing rents, while also offering stable long-term cashflows from pre-let arrangements already in place on the office space that is currently under refurbishment.
Matthieu Samaran, director of AEW’s Düsseldorf investment team, said: “We consider B5 to be a rare investment opportunity in terms of the quality of space, location and future tenant mix.
“Properties of this kind are not traded often in today’s market and upon completion of the refurbishment at the end of 2019, we believe our investors will benefit from an attractive value uplift.”
Lars-Henning Pylla, fund manager of AEW City Office Germany said: “We consider Berlin to be one of Europe’s most dynamic real estate markets and are therefore pleased to complete the Fund’s investment allocation in this top-tier city.
“In less than two years, we have demonstrated our ability to assemble a well-diversified German portfolio of institutional quality assets which provides our investors sustainable income with opportunities for value growth over the coming years.”
