Union Investment acquires office tower in Barcelona

Hamburg-based Union Investment Real Estate has returned to the Spanish office property market for the first time since 2004 with the acquisition of the Torre Diagonal Litoral office building in Barcelona for EUR 84mln. Featuring 260 parking spaces, the fully-let building is earmarked for Union Investment's Immo-Invest: Europa institutional real estate fund. The vendor is a real estate fund operated by Spanish bank BBVA. The Torre Diagonal Litoral deal - the first investment in Spain by Immo-Invest: Europa - follows the purchase announced on Monday of the Schwedler Carre office block in Frankfurt am Main.

Completed in November 2004, the 13-storey property comprises around 18,500 m² of office space and is located in the Diagonal Mar development, which extends along the main Avenida Diagonal road to the Mediterranean. On completion of the master plan, the area will be a major Barcelona office location. Torre Diagonal Mar, which is located adjacent to Torre Diagonal Litoral and almost fully let, was bought by sister fund UniImmo: Europa in December 2004.

'Stable tenant demand for quality office space makes Barcelona an attractive investment environment for our real estate funds, especially now that debt-financed investors have exited the market,' said Michael Montebaur, management board member of Union Investment. 'With its strong long-term letting prospects, the new acquisition is a perfect fit with the investment strategy of Immo-Invest: Europa.'

Jones Lang LaSalle brokered the transaction.