Swiss investment manager Helvetica Property Investors has acquired the four-star Movenpick hotel in Zurich's Regensdorf area on behalf of the Norwegian real estate fund, Swiss Real Estate Danmark. The seller is the Swiss real estate company Clair. The transaction is 'in excess' of NOK 150 mln (EUR 20 mln), the company said, of which around 70% is bank funding.
Swiss investment manager Helvetica Property Investors has acquired the four-star Movenpick hotel in Zurich's Regensdorf area on behalf of the Norwegian real estate fund, Swiss Real Estate Danmark. The seller is the Swiss real estate company Clair. The transaction is 'in excess' of NOK 150 mln (EUR 20 mln), the company said, of which around 70% is bank funding.
The hotel is leased with a 14-year rental agreement to hotel operator Movenpick. The hotel includes 149 rooms, two restaurants and bars and offers the largest conference facilities in the Swiss capital with capacity for 1,200 people. In the last two years the seller upgraded the energy efficiency of the property with an investment of EUR 11 mln.
'The goal of our fund is to offer a safe investment with few surprises and not many properties can provide this,' said Hans R. Holdener of Helvetica Property Investors. He added that the company had been very conservative throughout 2009 and as a result can now take advantage of buying opportunities. 'Today we are one of few real estate funds with bank financing,' he added.
In the future, the company plans to work on further investments in the country, and is considering the possibility of launching a new property investment fund for both Norwegian and Swiss investors.