Union Investment acquires office property in Essen

Union Investment has expanded the portfolio of its UniInstitutional German Real Estate fund with the purchase of Kettwiger Tor in Essen from Hamburg-based investor group led by Achim Griese Treuhandgesellschaft.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Located close to the railway station, the seven-storey building at 2-10 Kettwiger Tor offers around 6,900 m2 of retail and office space and was recently refurbished to meet the latest technology and energy-efficiency standards.

The retail space is already fully let while the office element of the scheme is around 50% leased.

Union Investment said the property fits the investment criteria of its institutional fund, established in October 2012.

'The pedestrian zone in Essen is one of the top retail locations in Germany and fits our search criteria to perfection,' said Christoph Schumacher, a member of the management team at Union Investment Institutional Property.

Kettwiger Tor is the fund's fifth investment. In November, UniInstitutional German Real Estate purchased the Franklinstraße 50 office property in Frankfurt/Main.