Commerz Real goes green in France, returns to London

Commerz Real has carried out its second significant transaction in a matter of days with the acquisition of office project development La Volta in St Denis near Paris. The property comprises 6,900 m² of office space and has been awarded a French sustainability certificate.

The real estate subsidiary of Germany's Commerzbank said it acquired the property on behalf of its CGS-Immo-Spezial institutional fund from Eiffage Immobilier for EUR 44mln. Forclum, a member of the Eiffage group, has signed a forward commitment to take a nine-year lease on the building.

Commerz Real said La Volta is well located between Paris and Roissy International Airport, and connects directly to the motorway and public transport network. Completion is scheduled for the third quarter of 2009.

Photovoltaic solar panels being installed on the roof will permit the building to generate its own power. 'Before the background of soaring energy costs, we opted for this investments in an effort to meet the growing demand for energy-efficient properties that are certified accordingly,' said Commerz Real board member Hans-Joachim Kuhl. 'With Le Volta, we acquired another property in the green building segment for our institutional fund segment. In March, our institutional fund property Kraanspoor in Amsterdam won the MIPIM Award in the Green Building of the Year category.'

Commerz Real returned to the UK property investment market as a buyer earlier this week after an absence of more than two years with the acquisition of the Athene Place office building in London. The investment volume of EUR 124mln reflected a net initial yield of about 5.8%. The 13,700 m² office property bought from Scottish Widows is earmarked for its open-ended property fund Hausinvest Europa. Details on the rent and initial yield were not disclosed.

Savills acted for Commerz Real and BH2 advised Scottish Widows.

Commerz Real restricted itself to disposals in London during the boom when high price levels and low yields were the norm. 'Now, though, market conditions are gradually returning to normal, and we are once again looking at attractive investment opportunities,' Kuhl said.