Union sells Paris building to UFG for EUR 120 mln

Union Investment Real Estate said on Wednesday that it had sold an office building in Paris-Saint-Denis to UFG Real Estate Managers for around EUR 120 mln. The property was owned by Union's UniImmo: Europe open-ended fund.

The Axialys I and II complex was purchased in 2000 as a speculative development project and currently provides 24,300 m² of office accommodation leased to staffing firm Randstad and to an agency of the French Treasury.

Euragone Asset Management, CB Richard Ellis and BNP Paribas RE advised Union Investment on the deal. Herbert Smith, Wragge & Co. and Maitre Louis Gourret advised on legal matters.

'We saw the potential of Saint Denis early on, which at that time was still a developing market,' said Karl-Joseph Hermanns-Engel, member of the management board of Union Investment Real Estate.

Union Investment has a portfolio of 26 properties in Paris, with total value of EUR 2.7 bn. 'We want to continue investing in Paris and in the French provinces,' said Hermanns-Engel. 'On the other hand, we intend to increasingly act as a seller in France and more actively use market conditions than in the past years.'

Separately, Union Investment said it has bought the Europa Arkaden II office property in Darmstadt, Central Germany, from Strabag Project Development for an undisclosed amount. The property is earmarked for Union Investment's Immo-Invest: Europa fund.

The newly-developed scheme provides some 8,000 m² of space and is almost fully leased to a number of law firms including Lovells.