Hamburg-based fund manager Union Investment Real Estate has sold its 14-storey HI office building in Seoul to local investor Kochem Co for EUR 35.5 mln. The sale price is 36% higher than the original investment and approximately 30% above the most recent expert valuation.

Hamburg-based fund manager Union Investment Real Estate has sold its 14-storey HI office building in Seoul to local investor Kochem Co for EUR 35.5 mln. The sale price is 36% higher than the original investment and approximately 30% above the most recent expert valuation.

'Seoul is one of Asia’s most stable investment markets and is currently extremely popular with both domestic and international investors,' said Karl-Joseph Hermanns-Engel, member of the management board of Union Investment. 'We moved quickly to take advantage of strong investment demand for core properties and lock in excellent gains for the Fund.'

Built in 1986, the HI Building was acquired by Union Investment for its open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Global in 2006. It comprises some 13,300 m2 of rental space and is let on on a long-term lease to insurance company HI Investment & Securities. Following the disposal, Union Investment is still represented in the South Korean capital with the Seoul Mobile Telecom Building, which is held by its institutional Immo-Invest: Europa real estate fund.

Earlier this week, KanAm Grund Kapitalanlage said it had sold its Evening Star office building in Washington for approximately $180 mln (around EUR 142 mln). The property, situated just a few blocks away from the White House, currently has an occupancy rate of about 88%. In addition, KanAm said Jones Lang LaSalle had been commissioned to market the office property at 1899 Pennsylvania Avenue, also in Washington. The eleven-storey, 17,300 m2 building was built in 2002 and is completely rented. JLL estimates the property could raise more than $150 mln (some EUR 118 mln)