Aurelis picks up business park portfolio from Union Investment

German investor Aurelis Real Estate has acquired four German business parks from Union Investment.

Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed.

The properties are located in Düsseldorf, Cologne, Liederbach (Frankfurt/Main) and Wiesbaden. Together they comprise 104,000 m2 of space developed between 1988 and 2001. The assets were held in the portfolios of open-ended real estate funds Unilmmo: Deutschland and UniImmo: Europa.

This sale is in line with Union Investment's ongoing strategy of reducing the average age of its portfolio. In 2014, the Hamburg-based real estate investor sold older properties worth a total of €1 bn and acquired more recent properties for €2.4 bn in total.

The portfolio sale is the second transaction between the two parties. In April, Aurelis bought a business park in Kirchheim near Munich from Union Investment, comprising 28,700 m2 of rental space. Aurelis is a value-add investor focusing on acquiring commercial properties and sites for development.

The portfolio generates rents of €9.4 mln a year and includes properties for office, warehouse and service uses. There are currently 90 tenants across the four locations, representing a letting ratio of around 80%.

'Reducing the average age of our portfolio is an active precaution against risk in our funds, and we constantly strive to improve the age profile of our properties,' said Frank Billand, a member of the management team at Union Investment Real Estate.

The Düsseldorf property is located in the district of Heerdt, and offers 35,000 m2 of rental space for warehouse and office use spread across eight buildings. The current anchor tenant is security provider Securitas. The second business park, comprising 18,800 m2 of rental space, is located in the Rodenkirchen area of Cologne.

The property in Liederbach is located on the western outskirts of Frankfurt. It offers 32,500 m2 and its main tenant is Techem Energy Services. The Wiesbaden business park, meanwhile, offers rental space of some 17,400 m2 and is let to a major car manufacturer.

Union Investment was advised on the legal aspects of the deal by the Hamburg office of law firm GSK Stockmann + Kollegen, and on tax aspects by the Frankfurt office of GSK Stockmann + Kollegen.