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. 

art invest buys karstadt store in bamburg germany for 40m

Art Invest Buys Karstadt Store in Bamburg Germany For 40M

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.