Commerz Real acquires office development in France

German property investor Commerz Real has signed a deed of purchase for the Porte de Clichy office development in the Ile de France region of France. The total investment volume amounts to EUR 87mln.

The project, which has a planned lettable area of 13,000 m2, was sold by the Paris-based real estate developer Europequipments SAS. Commerz Real intends to add the office building to the portfolio of its Hausinvest Europa open-ended real estate fund. This will bring the value of the assets held by the fund to over EUR 10bn.

'This means that we have further consolidated our position as asset manager of Europe's biggest open-ended real estate fund,' said Hubert Spechtenhauser, management spokesman for Commerz Real. 'A fund of this magnitude permits far greater diversification of the real estate portfolio and thus a curtailing of the risks associable with local market cycles. In this manner, we create the preconditions for a consistent return on investment. Moreover, we have opted for high-quality real estate that gives us every reason to expect sustained appreciations. Along these lines, Porte de Clichy fits perfectly into our portfolio.'

'The Ile de France region remains one of our most important investment markets in Europe,' said Hans-Joachim Kühl, the board member in charge of real estate acquisitions. 'We have had commitments in France since 1997. Our French portfolio across products comprises real estate with a total asset value of more than EUR 3bn. This makes us one of the biggest investors on the French real estate market.'