Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva has bought an innovation centre comprising research and office premises within the Utrecht Science Park, the Netherlands, from Hanover Leasing, part of the Corestate Capital Group.
The asset, earmarked for the Continental European Long Lease Strategy Fund (CELLS) provides 18,000 m2 of total lettable space and is fully rented to Nutricia Research, wholly owned by Danone, the multinational food company.
The Danone Innovation Centre is a high-quality, energy-efficient office building that was constructed in 2013, with a BREEAM Excellent rating.
Aviva's CELLS vehicle launched in 2017. The fund aims to deliver sustainable and secure yields on dividends of between 4-5% per year from properties with a lease term of at least 15 years. It invests in continental European (ex-UK) properties with an initial focus on office, retail, logistic as well as social infrastructure and alternative sectors in Germany, Austria, Benelux and Scandinavia.
Matthias Hübner, fund manager Long Income Europe, Aviva Investors, said: 'We have now invested more than 90%of the fund’s available commitments, which demonstrates that we can consistently deliver on this CELLS strategy and invest our clients’ funds promptly and in accordance with the agreed investment guidelines.'
The sell-side advisers were JLL and CBRE acted for Aviva Investors. The sell-side legal team was Loyens & Loeff and CMS Derks Star Busmann acted for Aviva Investors.
