GLOBAL - SOHO China has acquired Shanghai New World Changning Commercial Center for $500m (€347m).
The building, located in downtown Shanghai, comprises two towers totalling 142,184 square metres, split between 100,199 square metres of office space and 12,664 of retail accommodation.
The deal represents SOHO China's largest acquisition in Shanghai to date.
Once the sale is completed, the building will be renamed SOHO Zhongshan Plaza.
Albert Lau, managing director of Savills China, which represented SOHO China, said: "As China's economy continues to experience positive growth, domestic and international corporates seek quality office space in Shanghai."
In other news, the Peakside Real Estate Fund I - managed by Peakside Capital - has concluded the sale of a prime mixed-use asset in Berlin to a private investor for more than €12m.
The asset, located on Kurfürstendamm, comprises more than 4,000 square metres of retail, office and residential space.
According to Peakside Capital, with a price 15% above the property's latest valuation, the transaction reflects a net initial yield below 5%.
Stefan Aumann, partner of Peakside Capital and head of asset management, said: "This transaction follows the completion of our bespoke asset management programme for this asset, which has included the implementation of a number of value enhancement initiatives, including the restructuring of existing leases on attractive terms and the letting of vacant space.
"We have turned an opportunistic acquisition into a core asset, delivering a substantial price increase compared with the 2008 acquisition price.
"The sale will enable us to re-invest the proceeds in more attractively priced products both within Germany and elsewhere in Europe."
Finally, Dorchester Ground Rent Management (GRM) has completed the purchase of a nationwide portfolio of freehold ground rents for £6.3m (€7.2m) from Bellway.
The purchase follows recent completions of ground rent portfolios by Dorchester GRM with Barratt, Persimmon and Redrow.
Dorchester GRM said it had a significant pipeline of further deals, which are currently in solicitors' hands.
Julius Gottlieb, managing director at Dorchester GRM, said: "The ground rent sector provides low risk, secure and long-term cash flows that are ideal for institutional asset liability matching, and this purchase is a perfect fit for our investors."
