Principal Real Estate Europe’s European Office Fund (PEOF), and Cepac Foncière have jointly acquired the Astrolabe office building in Marseille through their new OPPCI OP-SUD from Covivio and Predica. Financial details were not disclosed.
Located on the boulevard de Dunkerque, in the heart of the Euromed business district in Marseille, Astrolabe is a 15,000 m2 office building comprising seven floors. A landmark building in the Euromed Center, opposite the Cepac Silo, it is in an optimal location and is fully let to 10 high quality tenants.
The building has been adapted to suit the needs of modern office occupiers (shared meeting rooms, wellness space, concierge 2.0) and boasts a BBC certificate, BREEAM “excellent” and HQE “very good” ratings.
‘The Astrolabe is exactly the type of core office building with excellent sustainability credentials that we are looking to acquire,’ said Guillaume Masset, head of transactions and asset management Europe at Principal Real Estate Europe. ‘This acquisition highlights the strengths of Principal’s pan-European platform and our ability to create cross-border opportunities for investors. In this transaction, we’ve brought together German capital with sophisticated French institutional investors with local footprint in one of France’s most forward-looking regional office markets.’
Severin Bienvenu, managing director of CEPAC Foncière, commented: ‘Through all its investments within the Euromed district, like the La Marseillaise Tower, iconic building of Quai d’Arenc, CEPAC confirms its territorial commitment once again. The architectural signature of the Astrolabe building, its visibility in the heart of Euromed, its dedicated services and the quality of its occupiers make it a reference we are very proud to acquire alongside Principal.’
Covivio was advised on this transaction by CBRE and JLL as part of a joint mandate.
