CBRE Global Investment Partners (GIP) has recapitalised a €3bn pan-European office joint venture held by US institutional investor TIAA and Swedish public pension funds AP1 and AP2.
TIAA has sold half of its 50% stake in the Cityhold Office Partnership less than five years after pooling some of its European real estate assets with those of AP1 and AP2.
The 25% interest being sold is valued at approximately €625m and Nuveen fund manager Jasper Gilbery said Cityhold’s “committed portfolio is now in excess of €3bn”.
Nuveen Real Estate, the fund management arm of TIAA, said it will continue to manage the portfolio, which was said to be worth €2.2bn in 2015.
The joint venture owns 70 St Mary Axe in the City of London, 36 rue La Fayette in Paris, Burstah Offices in Hamburg and EDGE Olympic in Amsterdam.
It is also committed to two large developments: the Morland Mixité mixed-use project in Paris and EDGE Grand Central in Berlin.
Gilbey said: “We shall continue our selective approach to growing the portfolio – notably via well-located build-to-core opportunities in tier-one cities across continental Europe.”
Ian Gleeson, CEO, CBRE GIP, the indirect investment arm of CBRE Global Investors, said: “The fundamentals for prime office markets in European gateway cities remain strong with favourable leasing dynamics driving rental growth.
“The recapitalisation of the [joint] venture represents a rare opportunity to access a high quality and sustainable, in-place European office portfolio, alongside like-minded capital partners.”
