Real IS divests two offices in Rotterdam from BGV fund

Financial details were not disclosed, however local sources place the price at €57.2 mln.

The assets, which were sold on behalf of Bayerische Versorgungskammer, are dubbed Ploum House and Blaak House, and are situated at Blaak 28 and 34 in Rotterdam. Real IS bought them in 2012 for €36.2 mln.

'As a state-of-the-art asset located in a central area of a major and growing European city, Ploum & Blaak House represents a strong addition to the fund. We’re pleased to be able to offer our client exposure to a prime office location and the upside potential of an excellent location in one of the Netherlands’ largest office markets,' said Christian Rust, fund manager at LaSalle.

'The central location and the state-of-the-art fit-out of both buildings make this ensemble a highly sought-after office location,' said Jochen Schenk, CEO of Real IS.

'Within the Netherlands, the Rotterdam office market is going from strength to strength with rising prime rents and falling vacancy rates. Interest in core properties in Rotterdam is growing, which has created a market environment in which a sale become an attractive option for us,' Schenk added.

The two office properties, situated in the Rotterdam CBD, have a combined rental area of around 16,854 m2, 7,334 m2 in the six-storey Ploum House at Blaak 28 and 9,520 m2 in the seven-storey Blaak House at Blaak 34.

The properties are part of an ensemble of three historic bank buildings from the 1960s. Ploum House is set to be renovated by the end of 2019 and Blaak House was extensively modernised in 2018. The main tenants are the law firm Ploum and the business centre operator Tribes.

The properties belonged to the BGV V special real estate fund, which has invested in office and retail real estate in Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Ireland on behalf of institutional investors.

Real IS was advised on the transaction by Savills and Loyens & Loeff.