Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Scheme (OMERS) has made its second office purchase in Paris.
Oxford Properties Group, the pension plan’s real estate arm, said it had bought 92 Avenue de France in the 13th arrondissement for an undisclosed amount. The deal follows its €263m ($297.6m) purchase of 32 Rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement from The Carlyle Group in September last year.
At around 22,000sqm, both Paris assets are similar in size.
The latest asset, bought from a joint venture between GLL Real Estate and Union Investment Real Estate, takes OMERS’ European to over CAD5bn.
Oxford Properties is now almost halfway towards its target of reaching €1bn in Paris assets under management within three years.
The investor, which has also invested, sees more opportunity in Paris than in London to acquire assets. Oxford Properties said Paris boasted the prospect of significant growth, driven in the near-term by a low-interest rate environment and, longer-term, a broader economic recovery.
Investors have looked beyond the super-prime postcodes of the Paris central business district, where average yields are below 4%, for opportunities.
“Due to the high prices, certain investors favour assets secured by long-term leases on the outskirts of Paris,” a research report by La Française recently noted.
Oxford Properties executive, Michel Vauclair, said 92 Avenue de France, in the southeast of the French capital, possessed the ”exact qualities” it looks for in a building.
”The asset is modern, close to major transportation nodes and located in an amenity-rich area with a variety of first-class retail, cultural and residential choices,” he said.
”Proximity to superb lifestyle amenities will only continue to grow in importance for employers as they continue to respond to the increasing preference of urban dwellers for access to downtown live/work/play environments.”
Hines France, which acted as acquisition adviser, will manage the building for Oxford Properties.
