Frozen SEB ImmoInvest fund sells 10 assets for EUR 680m

SEB Asset Management has sold 10 properties from its frozen open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoInvest for a total of EUR 680 mln. The aggregate price was 0.5% above the current market values for the buildings.

The disposals are part of a liquidity generation strategy to enable the reopening of the fund before the end of the year. Additionally, SEB AM is marketing the Quartier Potsdamer Platz property portfolio in Berlin with other portfolio properties worth some EUR 550 mln.

The 10 assets sold are in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France and the US. 'This puts SEB ImmoInvest back on track with its measures to procure liquidity after individual negotiations were delayed as a result of the sovereign debt crisis,' the asset manager said.

The two Dutch office buildings, 'Lotus A and B' in Rotterdam, are leased to Royal Haskoning and ABB. They were sold to Real I.S., another German property fund manager, for EUR 57 mln. The selling price for the two buildings is 2% above the aggregate market value.

The office building at 139/141 Rue Royal, Brussels, is being sold for EUR 5.4 million to a public authority.

The 48,500 m² Megaló shopping centre in Italy was sold to the European shopping centre fund managed by German mall specialist ECE. The undisclosed selling price is substantially above the current market value, SEB AM said.

An international investor consortium successfully bid for four properties in Paris that were acquired between 1998 and 2006. The package comprises 31,600 m² of office and retail space. The selling price of EUR 290 mln is slightly below the current aggregate value.

Le Villette office building in the centre of Lyon was sold for an undisclosed amount that SEB AM said was 50% higher than the price it paid to acquire it in 2001. The building offers 10,200 m² of space.

The fund's 23-storey art deco office building at 225 Bush Street in San Francisco was also included in the disposals. Constructed in 1922 and extensively renovated over the last few years, the building was acquired for the fund six years ago for approximately $179 mln. The selling price is almost on a level with the market value of $213 mln.

Once ownership of the properties is transferred, the fund’s liquidity will increase to 21.8%, or EUR 1.4 bn. This brings the total sales volume of 14 properties in Germany and abroad to over EUR 910 mln.

Separately on Friday, SEB AM said its semi-institutional open-ended real estate fund SEB ImmoPortfolio Target Return Fund has sold an asset in the German city of Munster for EUR 73 mln. The Stubengasse shopping centre and hotel property was acquired by life insurance company Württembergische Lebensversicherung. nmjhuaw2q+-leClick on the link below to read more on the sale.