Sweden's Catella has entered into an agreement to acquire Königsallee 106 in central Düsseldorf through its subsidiary Catella Project Capital.
The total investment is estimated to be €250 mln and Catella’s share of the project is 23%. The firm said that it was acquiring the project in co-investment with WPV, a pension company managing over €4 bn in the German market.
Through the agreement, Catella said it was seeking to contribute to the development of central Düsseldorf. The asset is currently being run as a serviced office space.
Catella said that the investment represented a major step in plans to grow its 'principal investments' business line. The strategy is to grow through own investments and co-investments with selected partners, as with the WPV tie-up.
Catella and its partners will now focus on the detailed long-term improvement plans for the 26,000 m2 asset in Düsseldorf’s central business district.
Christoffer Abramson, CEO of Catella, said: 'We are pleased to enter into this opportunity through our local team Catella Project Management and are honoured to partner with WPV on this landmark transaction.
'The development, together with the other principal investments in Germany, as well as logistic properties in France, Spain and Sweden showcases Catella’s ambition to successfully grow own property investments and partnerships across Europe.
'To date, nearly SEK 700 mln of Catellla’s equity has been invested contributing to Catella’s long term internal rate of return target. We see great opportunities for future partnerships and growing our Principal Investments portfolio across Europe.'
