Union Investment has acquired a corporate headquarters development project in its second office transaction in Amsterdam this month.
Union Investment has acquired a corporate headquarters development project in its second office transaction in Amsterdam this month.
The Hamburg-based investor has purchased a 15,216 m2 development project comprising the new headquarters of global coatings specialist AkzoNobel in the Zuidas (South Axis) business district of Amsterdam.
The seller Dura Vermeer Vastgoed was advised by CBRE. Union Investment was advised by Savills, CVO und Loyens & Loeff.
The parties agreed not to disclose the financial details but market sources suggest the acquisition volume was close to €80 mln, reflecting a net initial yield of about 6.1%.
The project is fully let to AkzoNobel for 15 years.
Upon completion in the third quarter of 2015, the property will be transferred to the portfolio of open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Deutschland.
'Letting the building to this financially strong company means secure long-term rental income for the fund,' said Frank Billand, chief investment officer at Union Investment Real Estate.
The project has received the highest BREEAM rating of Excellent and is being handled by Dutch building contractor Dura Vermeer. The building has been configured to enable marketing of the property as a multi-tenant building at a later stage.
This is the second office transaction to be carried out by Union Investment Real Estate in March.
On 7 March Union Investment Real Estate announced the acquisition of the Marina Offices property in the Dutch city for a special institutional fund for €19 mln. The 9-storey multi-tenant office building is located in the Westerdokeiland quarter (IJDock), which is the site of the new Palace of Justice.
The AkzoNobel transaction is also Unilmmo: Deutschland's second acquisition in Amsterdam. In 2011, the fund acquired the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is let on a long-term lease.
Union Investment told PropertyEU in an exclusive interview published in the March edition of the magazine that acquiring properties at the development stage is a key part of its strategy. The interview is attached below.
