The Solar portfolio of offices for sale including Brussels' landmark Louise tower attracted over 20 bids in October, as reported by PropertyEU's sister publication Europroperty.
German property firm Patrizia emerged as winner of the 65,000-m2 package which includes six fully let office buildings and one retail asset. Patrizia is paying €190 mln for the properties, which were first marketed on a joint instruction by agents Savills and Jones Lang LaSalle for a price between €175 mln and €185 mln.
Belgian insurance group Athora inherited the properties as part of its acquisition earlier this year of Generali Belgium, the Belgian arm of insurer Generali.
The so-called Louise tower (formerly Tour Generali) is a landmark on Brussels’ skyline reaching 85 metres in height. It provides 26,600 m2 of office space in the prestigious Avenue Louise. It is planned to be vacated and fully refurbished to meet the highest specifications in terms of high-rise buildings in the city. The redevelopment of the 25-storey building is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, with an estimated capex of €65 mln.
Sheelam Chadha, who leads transactions in the Patrizia Brussels office, commented: 'This exciting and environmentally sustainable project will have a highly positive impact on Brussels prime office options for occupiers.'
He added: 'The Louise Tower is in many ways the crowning glory of this seven-asset portfolio. The Tower is located in an area which lacks prime Grade A office space, home to the some of the biggest names in the world of finance, law, insurance and accounting. This lack of space in the city of Brussels has seen upward evidence of growth in prime rents. We are convinced that the Tower will be the place to be in Brussels for major international firms looking for a higher quality building than is currently available.'
The acquisition of this portfolio increases Patrizia’s total assets under management (AUM) in Belux to around €1.62 bn.
