German fund manager Union Investment is taking ownership of the second office development in Amsterdam's South Axis district in the last 10 months with the acquisition of the new headquarters for law firm Stibbe, PropertyEU Research has learned.
German fund manager Union Investment is taking ownership of the second office development in Amsterdam's South Axis district in the last 10 months with the acquisition of the new headquarters for law firm Stibbe, PropertyEU Research has learned.
Union Investment Real Estate is paying some €54 mln for the Stibbe tower development, excluding the leasehold. If the leasehold was included, the value would be €74 mln, reflecting a yield of 6%.
The property with 13,500 m2 of leasable area was sold by Dutch developer Dura Vermeer.
PropertyEU Research understands Savills advised Union Investment and CBRE acted for the vendor. All parties involved declined to comment.
Stibbe, a Benelux-based law firm with offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, London and New York, is currently headquartered in the Atrium building on Strawinskylaan near the World Trade Center on Amsterdam's South Axis.
The Atrium complex comprises around 34,000 m2 of office space but Stibbe plans to move to the new purpose-built, BREEAM-certified location on completion of the project. Construction started on 28 November 2013.
In March 2013, Union Investment acquired a neighbouring project being developed by Dura Vermeer for Dutch coatings specialist AkzoNobel, which is currently a tenant of the Atrium complex.
According to PropertyEU Research data, Hamburg-based Union Investment acquired AkzoNobel's new 15,216 m2 headquarters for €82 mln, reflecting a yield of 6.2% for its Unilmmo: Deutschland fund. The project is due to be delivered in 2015. Savills represented Union Investment in the acquisition, with CBRE acting for Dura Vermeer.
The AkzoNobel transaction was Unilmmo: Deutschland's second acquisition in Amsterdam. In 2011, the fund acquired the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is let on a long-term lease. On 7 March 2013 Union Investment announced the acquisition of the Marina Offices property in Amsterdam for a special institutional fund for €19 mln. The nine-storey, multi-tenant office building is located in the Westerdokseiland quarter (IJDock), which is the site of the new Palace of Justice.
Last June, private equity group Victory Advisors acquired the Atrium office building, reportedly at a bargain price.