SFO Capital Partners, the London-based global real estate investor and investment manager, and FOM Real Estate, a German development specialist and asset manager, have formed a strategic partnership for the acquisition and repositioning of commercial assets in Germany.
The pilot scheme is a prominent large-scale mixed-use asset located in Stuttgart where the companies are planning a full restructuring and refurbishment.
The 9-storey high-rise landmark building is located in the Western inner city, directly situated on top of the underground suburban train station Schwabstrasse comprising of a leasable space of more than 16,000 m2.
SFO Capital Partners and FOM Real Estate envisage to unlock value-enhancement potential by implementing a new architectural and usage concept that will appeal to Grade A tenants.
FOM Real Estate acquired the property back in early 2021, by way of a sale-and-lease-back transaction. SFO Capital Partners now steps in subsequently as majority investor and unit shareholder of a closed-end fund that got incorporated recently. FOM Invest, as a German regulated KVG, is assigned to run the operations on behalf of the fund.
Mohamad Abouchalbak, CEO at SFO Capital Partners, said the redevelopment would incorporate ‘exemplary ESG standards in line with our firm’s long-term responsible investing commitments.’
Benjamin Koch is head of business development Europe said he believed the transaction provides a ‘superior risk-adjusted return profile’ in the heart of a German top seven city. ‘It underpins again our strong strategic ambition to further expand our footprint in the German market which is a key geography for us providing stable fundamentals and significant value-add potential.’
Reinhard Walter, MD at FOM Real Estate said the partnership with SFO Capital Partners was an important strategic step. ‘The cooperation will allow us to further expand our business in the future and take advantage of opportunities even more'.
He also revealed the firm had gained another institutional investor from the foundation sector in Germany. ‘This shows once again that sustainable value-add-investments are more in demand than ever.’
