Heitman teams up with Trigranit on Budapest assets

Global real estate investment manager Heitman has formed a joint venture with CEE developer Trigranit to own and operate four Class-A office properties totalling 70,000 m² in Budapest.

Heitman was advised by Cushman & Wakefield.

Commenting on the transaction, Charles Taylor, partner, Cushman and Wakefield said: 'Heitman has bought into Millennium Portfolio, an award-winning development that has consistently outperformed the wider Budapest office market, attracting global blue chip tenants such as Morgan Stanley, Vodafone, Nestle, Lufthansa, Oracle and K&H Bank. This is a classic transaction for an opportunistic investor, identifying an asset with strong investment credentials that is located in a market that is currently out of favour with certain property investors.'

Millennium Portfolio was developed by Trigranit, and the company will also act as asset manager.

The portfolio is located in the 9th district of Budapest on the Pest bank of the Danube, sitting within the Millennium City Center. The properties are well leased to international tenants including Morgan Stanley, Vodafone, Nestle and Schering Plough.

Heitman is making the investment on behalf of Heitman European Property Partners IV (HEPP IV).

'We developed the Millennium City Center during a difficult time for the Hungarian real estate markets. The success of the entire project however - including the office portfolio - is further proof that there is significant demand for quality projects in the region,' added Árpád Török, CEO of Trigranit Development Corporation.

Launched in 2008 by Heitman, HEPP IV has EUR 505 mln in equity commitments and is entering its final year of deploying capital in value-added property assets across Central and Eastern Europe. To date, it is 60% committed.