Hines European core fund inks new major acquisition in Germany

Hines has bought the Friesen Quartier, a 25,173-m2 mixed-use development featuring six properties in the heart of Cologne, Germany, from a joint venture between Proximus Real Estate and Quantum Immobilien, for an undisclosed price.

The Friesen Quartier provides 12,000 m2 of office space, 7,000 m2 of residential and 2,000 m2 of leisure and retail that will include 460 underground car parking spaces, two daycare centres and outdoor areas.
 
This deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions for HECF with €1.1 bn committed in the last 15 months alone, including the 30,000-m2 portfolio of eight prime sites in France to develop a series of Build-to-Rent (BTR) residential schemes, and the acquisition of the 60,750-m2 urban logistics facility, Ventrupparken 3-5, in Copenhagen.
 
These acquisitions form part of HECF’s ongoing long-term strategy to increase exposure to residential, large-scale mixed-use and logistics assets in key European locations with strong long-term growth prospects.

Following Peter Epping’s appointment as the firm’s new global head of ESG, Simone Pozzato, managing director at Hines in Europe, will continue to build on this strategy as HECF’s fund manager, with four years as deputy fund manager that have seen HECF’s AUM triple in size since September 2017.
 
‘This is an exciting time for the Fund as we continue to evolve and reshape the balance of assets, while broadening our investor base, particularly from the United States and Asian markets,’ commented Pozzato. ‘We see a great opportunity for diversified real estate funds that are able to take advantage of opportunities in different countries and sectors. As such, we have a very strong pipeline of deals in progress with many in exclusivity and we remain committed to the ESG industry benchmarks we have set while delivering best-in-class returns. Our aim is to maintain, and build on, these standards which investors are now, rightly, demanding.’