RREEF Real Estate buys green office in Manchester

RREEF Real Estate, the real estate investment business of Deutsche Bank, has acquired a 'zero carbon emission’ property in Manchester for £142 mln (€164 mln) on behalf of clients.

A Chinese sovereign wealth fund is behind the purchase, well-informed sources told PropertyEU. According to UK press reports, Chinese state-owned fund Ginkgo Tree Investment has acquired a 49% stake in the building, while RREEF has bought a 51% share on behalf of its German open-ended real estate fund, grundbesitz europa.

RREEF Real Estate declined to comment. .

One Angel Square in the UK city of Manchester was completed in December 2012 and comprises 329,218 sq ft (30,600 m2) of energy- efficient Grade A office space with 151 parking spaces. The property is leased to the seller, the Co-operative Group, until 2038 with an option to extend the lease beyond 25 years.

The building forms the centrepiece of Noma, an £800 mln integrated mixed-use development scheme which is the largest development project in Northwest England.

The building has BREEAM Outstanding sustainability certification, and has been awarded an A+ Energy Performance Certificate, given only to buildings with zero carbon emissions. Additionally, the building is shortlisted for ‘Best Office and Building Development’ at the internationally acclaimed MIPIM Awards.

'Sustainability was a driving force behind the acquisition of One Angel Square,' said James Petit, head of RREEF Real Estate, UK and Ireland. 'Another attractive feature was the inflation-linked leasing structure of One Angel Square - which seeks to align rental flow to UK inflation and is becoming increasingly popular for long-term lease agreements.'

David Pringle, director of Noma said this sale and leaseback will 'release the value tied up in a non-trading asset, enabling The Co-operative Group to reinvest these funds in its core trading businesses'.