Hamburg-based HIH Invest Real Estate has acquired a health centre in Michendorf near Potsdam, Germany, from the GP Günter Papenburg conglomerate for its open-ended special alternative investment vehicle, Vita Invest.
The health asset is part of the Neue Ortsmitte development, a new residential block under construction.
The investment consists of two separate four-storey buildings directly next to the entranceway to the new quarter.
One will be used as health centre, the other as office building with a combined gross lettable area of around 3,597 m2. The health centre with its lettable area of about 1,660 m2 to be completed by the end of 2023. The first units in the property have already been let to a local home care service. The other units will be occupied by various doctors’ offices or therapy facilities. The already completed administrative building has been leased to EMB Energy Mark Brandenburg, a local utility company.
Carsten Demmler, MD of Warburg-HIH Invest, said: 'Unlike other types of use, the demand for healthcare properties - and thus their relettability - is more or less immune to short-term fluctuations of the market and the economic cycle. This makes them a highly attractive investment for our institutional clients.’
The property development in Michendorf represents the first asset acquired for the new open-ended institutional fund, Vita Invest, which targets new-build developments or high-end standing buildings anywhere in Germany that are let to high-net-worth operators on long-term leases.
The focus is on medical facilities, outpatient care formats and senior living. The fund is planned to have a target volume of at least €200 mln. Structured as an Article 8 fund, the fund meets specific sustainability criteria.
Felix Meyen, MD at HIH Invest, said: ‘We are interested not just in cities but in the wider metro regions, too. Especially in the greater Berlin area, the gravy belt keeps widening, but the corresponding development of medical amenities lags behind.’
He explained Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin on all sides, is the state with the lowest density of physicians in Germany, generating strong demand for outpatient medical services. This makes it plausible to provide medical amenities at health centres where a range of surgeries cover various specialities.
