Landlord Victory Advisors, through its Icon Real Estate Benelux office platform, acquired the outdated 34,000 m2 Atrium for about €100 mln from Ireland's Avestus (formerly known as Quinlan Private) during the trough of the Dutch real estate downturn in 2013. Quinlan Private had in turn purchased the complex, located next to the World Trade Center in the South Axis business district of Amsterdam, from Tishman Speyer for €200 mln in 2007 when the market was in better shape.
French asset manager Amundi Real Estate has completed the acquisition of The Atrium office complex via a share deal worth over €500 mln, in the largest single-asset property transaction ever in the Netherlands.
The acquisition was made by Amundi on behalf of its managed funds for retail investors as well as several Korean investors represented by the fund management company Koramco Asset Management. Earlier this year the Korean platform was rumoured to be behind the purchase of Vienna's IZD Tower from Signa Holding for around €262 mln.
The Atrium deal, which was first signed in April this year, closed as agreed after completion of the North tower of the office complex. The price represents a huge premium to previous valuations of Atrium from four years years ago, though the complex has been renovated and expanded since then.
Located in the Zuidas (South Axis) business district in Amsterdam, the complex currently offers around 60,000 m2 of office space consisting of a fully renovated historical building constructed in 1976 and two new towers added by London-based private equity firm Victory Advirors. The South Tower was delivered in June 2017, and the North Tower delivered at the end of October. All major tenants, including top-10 global law firms Hogan Lovells and CMS, Fortune 500 company Celanese and top-4 service provider Vistra, have recently signed their leases under long-term fixed contracts, which is highly unusual for multi-tenanted buildings in the Netherlands.
Pedro Antonio Arias, director of Real and Alternative Assets at Amundi commented: 'We have performed the most significant transaction on the Dutch market this year with the acquisition of The Atrium. The collaboration with Korean institutional investors confirms Amundi Real
Estate’s capabilities in structuring and executing large-scale complex operations with recognized international players in the heart of Europe's major urban centres.'
L'Etoile Properties assisted Amundi during the acquisition process and has also been managing the building since final delivery. Amundi Real Estate was advised by Greenberg Traurig on legal issues as well as SGS Search for the technical aspects. The financing was secured upon closing by a bank consortium made up of Dutch and German lenders.
