Top deals Week 43 (20-24 October 2008)

The largest deal recorded by PropertyEU between 20 and 24 October was the agreement by French SIIC Compagnie La Lucette to sell five assets for EUR 155 mln.

Top 5 deals* for Week 43 (20 - 24 October 2008)

1. La Lucette sells five assets for EUR 155m

2. CdD, Eurosic complete acquisition of Terra Nova II for EUR 153 mln

3. Sibir snaps up Moscow assets for EUR 89m

4. Commerz Real invests EUR 76m in Rotterdam development

5. HSBC Trinkaus RE shops in Luxembourg for EUR 81.5 mln

* Deals for which the investment volume was given

Scroll down for the news on the deals

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1) La Lucette sells five assets for EUR 155m
Date: 24 October 2008

Morgan Stanley's French SIIC Compagnie La Lucette announced on Friday it has signed an agreement to sell a portfolio of three assets to an unnamed French insurance company for EUR 100 mln. The portfolio comprises two office and retail buildings with a surface of some 8,000 m². The properties, which also provide 81 underground parking spaces, were restructured at the end of the 1990s. They are let to Bloomberg, HSBC and Discovery Channel and also house the corporate head office of La Lucette. The company said the sale will be completed by the end of this year.

Additionally, the French SIIC has sold two assets to CAAM RE, the real estate asset management arm of French bank Crédit Agricole. La Lucette said it has sold Le Golf Hotel Pierre et Vacances de Seilh, near the Toulouse airport as well as the Renaissance building in Antony. The Pierre et Vacances resort consists of a three-star hotel with 116 rooms and 56 apartments. The complex, which is let to Pierre et Vacances, was sold for a price of EUR 19.4 mln.

The Renaissance consists of 11,000 m² of offices entirely let to Linedata, IBM, Pomona and Segula Technologies. The transaction price amounts to EUR 36.3 mln.

The disposals allow the company to achieve its EUR 300 mln sales target for 2008.

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2) CdD, Eurosic complete acquisition of Terra Nova II
Date: 24 October 2008

French state-owned bank Caisse Des Depots and listed property investment company Eurosic said on Friday that they have completed the purchase of the Terra Nova II office building in Montreuil sous Bois in a 50/50 joint venture for EUR 153 mln. The sale agreement was initially signed in July this year.

The 31,800 m² office scheme was bought from Italian insurance group Generali on the advice of AEW Europe. The deal was financed by Bayerische Landesbank.

CBRE acted for the seller.


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3) Sibir snaps up Moscow assets for EUR 89m
Date: 23 October 2008

Russian energy company Sibir has acquired two properties in Moscow for a total of $115.4 mln (EUR 89.2 mln) from companies connected to Chalva Tchigirinski, the group's largest shareholder. The company has agreed to acquire the Sovetskaya Hotel in Moscow for $81.7 mln, of which $57.7 mln has already been paid.

The firm is also buying a development property in the northern district of Moscow for $75 mln, of which $57.7 mln of equity was already provided.

Sibir's Chief Executive, Henry Cameron, pointed out that although the real estate acquisitions mark a departure from the group's mainstream business, it also represents an opportunity for the company. 'In short Sibir sees significant opportunity to extend its business by acquiring high-quality real estate properties at attractive prices in what is one of the most dynamic real-estate markets in the world,' he said.


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4) Commerz Real invests EUR 76m in Rotterdam development
Date: 23 October 2008

Commerz Real has acquired an office development in the heart of the Dutch port city of Rotterdam for EUR 76 mln on behalf of the hausInvest europa open-ended fund. Construction of the 12-storey building began recently and is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2010. The seller was Dutch developer Provast.

Hans-Joachim Kuhl, member of the board of Commerz Real in charge of real estate acquisitions, said that 60% of the building's 23,000 m² was let for periods of at least 10 years before construction work began. 'In face of the decidedly attractive location in the heart of Rotterdam, which shows the highest demand for office space in the entire city, we are very confident that we will manage to market the remaining floor space within the foreseeable future,' he said.

In a statement, Commerz Real said the technical flexibility of the building meant it could be used by a single tenant or partitions could be used to create several rental units. The development is located in the Laurenskwartier of Rotterdam, and is immediately next to Blaak train station. 'With the ongoing construction of new apartments, and of office, retail and gastronomic venues, the area will show a particularly dynamic development in the years to come,' the buyer said.

Commerz Real and other managers of German open-ended funds have been among the most active buyers in the European real estate market this year. In mid-September Commerz Real acquired 180 Great Portland Street, a 9,600-m² office and retail property in London for EUR 100 mln on behalf of hausInvest. A month earlier Commerz Real purchased two office developments at the TownTown urban development project in Eastern Vienna for EUR 98 mln for the fund.

HausInvest europa has an investment volume of EUR 9 bn, making it the largest open-ended real estate fund in Europe.

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5) HSBC Trinkaus RE shops in Luxembourg
Date: 20 October 2008

Düsseldorf-based HSBC Trinkaus Real Estate has bought an office project in the Findel central business district of the city of Luxembourg for EUR 81.5 mln, of which EUR 50 mln in equity. The property is earmarked for the new fund Trinkaus Europa Immobilien-Fonds Nr. 12 Luxemburg/Airport & Co. After completion in September 2009, the property will have almost 9,000 m² of office space, some 1,000 m² of archive and storage space and 400 underground parking spots.

Two thirds of the area has already been leased to HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt (International) for a period of 15 years and HSBC Trinkaus Real Estate has issued a 10-year rent guarantee for the remaining space.