The family office of Schoeller Group and a major German pension fund have teamed up to establish a joint venture to buy the Alsterhaus department store in Hamburg - Hamburger Alsterhaus - for approximately €150m, IPE Real Assets understands.
The JV implemented through an indirect structure, involving HIH Invest as the investment management company on behalf of a large German pension fund, and the Schoeller Group, is acquiring the asset in Hamburg from the insolvent Austrian real estate group Signa.
The property was valued at around €400m in 2022 as part of the original insolvency, IPE Real Assets understands.
Realty Corporation, which handled the structuring of the transaction, will assume responsibility for asset management after the acquisition.
The new ownership structure secures the long-term future of the property, with a long-term lease with indexation, and enables its strategic development.
Christoph Schoeller, chief executive officer of Schoeller Invest, said: “The Alsterhaus is one of the most important retail properties in Germany. With our long-term oriented institutional partner, we are securing its sustainable position as one of the leading retail destinations in Germany.”
Schoeller Group, an existing creditor of Signa, also acquired office and hotel property Upper West in Berlin from Signa Prime Selection for €450m, according to reports.
Managing partner at Realty Corporation Jonathan Lurie told IPE Real Assets that the firm, on behalf of Schoeller, has been looking very carefully at a number of the assets coming out of the insolvency of SIgna.
“We think there are assets within Signa that deserve to have a more stable and clear future under institutional ownership, and as and when those assets come to the market, I think we could be expected that we will take a very close look in the framework of our capital discipline,” he added.
Realty believes Germany remains the “bellwether in Europe of market liquidity stability and institutional ownership and we belief in the future of institutional real estate,” he said.
The Schoeller Group is an internationally active group of companies headquartered in Munich and Zurich, specialising in reusable packaging solutions and services for sustainable supply chain systems.
Its family office focuses on real estate, private equity and venture capital investments.
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