Real estate manager Valesco Group, in partnership with Korea’s Meritz Securities, has acquired a €1.2bn skyscraper in Brussels.
Valesco said the acquisition of the 185,754sqm Brussels Finance Tower office building from Breevast and ZBG was supported by a €720m debt package provided a consortium of lenders made up of Allianz, Legal & General Investment Management, SMBC and Bayern LB.
The transaction represents the third time Valesco has been backed by Meritz in the last 18 months. JR AMC and AIP Asset Management are the South Korean domestic asset management companies supporting the deal.
The 36-storey office tower located in Brussels’ central business district is to the Belgian government.
Shiraz Jiwa, founder and CEO of The Valesco Group, said: “Our forensic approach to real estate risk and our ability to unlock complex structures has enabled us to execute on this landmark and sought-after asset with the backing of a highly distinguished institutional investor in Meritz.”
Jiwa said the latest deal is in line with Valesco commitment to the European market in which the company has invested €2bn in the last 20 months alone and expects to deploy further capital to deliver value for its institutional and sovereign investors.
“The exceptional quality of the tenant and asset coupled with the strategic and dynamic central business district micro-location, with the backdrop of strengthening Brussels real estate fundamentals, offers further asset management and value creation opportunities for capital appreciation,” Jiwa said.
Henk Brouwer, CEO of Breevast and member of the management board of ZBG, said: “The sale of the Finance Tower is a significant achievement, representing a commitment by ZBG and Breevast of almost two decades to realising a high quality asset in the heart of Brussels.
“This successful transaction reflects the growing international interest in large-scale urban revitalisation projects which we specialise in. We have a full pipeline of residential, commercial and office projects which aim to address the growing demand for high quality urban real estate.”
