Cologne-based Art-Invest Real Estate has acquired a retail property which is occupied on a long-term lease by department store Karstadt in Bamburg, a town in German state of Bavaria.
The purchase was part of an off-market transaction on behalf of an open-ended fund for institutional investors managed by Art-Invest. While most such 'spezialfonds' buy only core assets, the investment focus of the manage-to-core Urban Retail Fund is on the acquisition of high street retail properties with value-adding potential, in strong German cities.
The vendor was Fondara Immobilien, a private investment company based in Munich. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price, but PropertyEU has established from market sources that it was in the region of €40 mln.
The transaction relates to the fully-let, six-storey department store at Grüner Markt 23-27 and an underground car park with more than 200 spaces beneath the adjoining Maximiliansplatz. Grüner Markt lies at the heart of Bamberg’s historic town centre and Art-Invest said that the area 'constitutes the town's absolute prime pitch'. Retailers located nearby include C&A, Douglas, H&M and New Yorker.
Ferdinand Spies, partner responsible for Southern Germany at Art-Invest: 'We are delighted to have acquired and to manage a property delivering strong cashflow in Bamberg’s best retail location which offers substantial mid- to long-term development potential. Bamberg is an attractive economic centre and retail location with an extensive catchment area.'
Art-Invest Real Estate was advised by law firm Glock Liphart Probst & Partner; Pareal Immobilien & Consulting and Argos Projektmanagement. Wagensonner acted as legal adviser to the vendor.
