BNP Paribas REIM, Cording launch €150m value-add fund

BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management Germany has teamed up with Cording Real Estate to launch a new value-add Spezialfonds.

The Real Value Fund has a target equity volume of €150 mln and has already secured commitments from institutional investors for more than one third of the target volume.

Reinhard Mattern, chairman of the management board of BNP Paribas REIM Germany, said: 'Traditional core real estate increasingly fails to meet the return expectations of institutional investors because of movements in real estate prices. For that reason there is a great interest in non-core properties that can be developed into core properties. Our Real Value Fund uses a manage-to-core approach and, therefore, is able to unlock the latent value of a property.'

The fund has also carried out its first purchase with the acquisition of the Media Tower in the Dusseldorf Media Harbour. The 64 metre-high property is one of the highest buildings at the Media Harbour with 18 floors and 9,000 m2 of mostly office space as well as 115 parking spaces.

Completed in 2006, the property has completed its first-use cycle and is currently only 50% occupied, with an average remaining lease term of 2.8 years.

Cording plans to reposition and renovate the property, which will provide the opportunity for a significant increase in cashflow and value through leasing the vacant space.