French REIT Covivio (formerly Foncière des Régions) intends to double its committed pipeline to €2.4 bn (€1.8 bn group share) over the next 12 months with the construction or restructuring of 16 new assets, the company announced in its H1 earnings report this week.
The bulk – or 84% - of the buildings are located in Paris, Berlin and Milan,
At the end of June, project commitments amounted to €1.2 bn (€720 mln group share), up 30% compared to end-2017. These developments are already 44% pre-let, the Paris-based company said.
This autumn, Covivio is due to announce the winning architecture firm which will design one of the two new towers alongside its existing asset, the Park Inn (pictured), on a large building plot in the heart of Berlin at Alexanderplatz. At the end of the first round of the competition, two architecture agencies were still in the running: Sauerbruch Hutton (Berlin) and Diener & Diener Architects (Basel).
The site allows for a total leasable area of 140,000 m² which will come in addition to the existing 73,000 m² of the Park Inn. The first tower will comprise 70,000 m2 and estimated delivery is scheduled for 2022 with an investment involving €450 mln. Covivio acquired the hotel and land plot in 2016.
Following its recent restructuring and the divestment of its retail, logistics and parking units, Covivio is now focused on offices in France and Italy, residential in Germany and hotels across Europe. Over 15% of the pipeline projects are combinations of office space, hotels, flexible spaces and residential units, enabling the group to take full advantage of its in-depth knowledge of the products and the growing synergies between them, the press release said.
In the first half of 2018, the French REIT finalised its merger with its Italian arm Beni Stabili; acquired a prime hotel portfolio in the UK for €976 mln and completed acquisitions in Berlin’s residential sector for €435 mln. It also rolled out Wellio, its new flexible space and coworking brand.
Covivio reported like-for-like income growth of 3% in the first six months of the year with EPRA earnings per share likewise up almost 3% at €2.56. The company had assets under management of €23 bn at end-June.
