UBS AM pays €155m for Turmcenter office tower in Frankfurt

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UBS Asset Management’s (UBS-AM) real estate and private markets arm has bought a 21-storey office tower in Germany for €155m.

The manager’s Real Estate & Private Markets (REPM) business has acquired the Turmcenter office asset in Frankfurt on behalf of an individually structured mandate from Benson Elliot.

Benson Elliot bought the high-rise tower in December 2013.

Originally constructed in 1970, the 17,300sqm asset underwent a refurbishment that completed in 2016.

The property is currently 85% let.

Mark Gifford, the head of transactions EMEA (excluding Switzerland) for the real estate and private markets at UBS AM, said: “The Turmcenter is a high performing investment that makes an excellent addition to our managed mandates portfolio.

Both the quality of the asset and strength of its location provide it with highly defensive characteristics and clear visibility of income streams - including rental guarantee - that align with the strategy of the individual client mandate, Gifford said.

”The realised share-deal structure allowed us to secure a high quality, modern and sustainable investment at a very attractive pricing level.

”We consider this to be optimum timing to gain such a substantial holding in the Frankfurt office market, as it continues to draw a growing list of international corporate occupiers amid under-supply of prime stock.”

Joseph De Leo, a senior partners at Benson Elliot, said: “This marks another successful transaction for Benson Elliot in Germany and is illustrative of what we do best: we identified an institutional quality asset in need of a creative re-development approach, in a market with strong fundamentals.

“We implemented a hands-on value enhancement strategy, brought the asset down the risk curve and delivered it back into the core market.”

Georg Strassner, a principal and head of Germany at Benson Elliot, said: “Benson Elliot is committed to investing in sustainable buildings and our re-development of Turmcenter has set a new environmental standard in the property industry for energy efficiency.”