CapitaLand has bought its first office building in Germany for €245m.

The Singapore-headquartered company said it has acquired the freehold multi-tenanted office building known as Main Airport Center (MAC) in Frankfurt, Germany through a joint venture.

CapitaLand holds a 94.9% stake in the joint venture while Lum Chang Holdings holds the remaining stake.

Lim Ming Yan, the president & group CEO of CapitaLand said: “The acquisition of MAC leverages the group’s 15 years of experience in Germany and will add to CapitaLand Group’s network of commercial buildings in Asia. 

“Besides key Asian markets such as Singapore, China, Japan and Vietnam, we also see significant investment opportunities in key gateway cities in Europe, Australia and the U.S.” 

“We will remain aggressive but disciplined to reconstitute our portfolio and deploy capital to quality higher yielding assets, while continuing to grow our recurring income base by strengthening our operating platforms and assets under management,” he added.

Lee Chee Koon, group chief investment officer [designate] of CapitaLand and CEO of CapitaLand’s serviced residence unit Ascott, said: “CapitaLand has an established presence in Europe in the serviced residence sector through Ascott.  This acquisition marks CapitaLand’s entry into the commercial sector in Germany.”

The freehold office building acquired is currently 84% occupied, he said, adding that MAC is expected to attain an occupancy rate of over 95% by June 2018 based on the leases already secured for next year.

“We see strong potential to step up investments in commercial real estate in Europe and key cities worldwide, as we expand our serviced residence and mall portfolios,” Lee said.