Major commercial real estate deals and developments are still being transacted in Europe, our News summary of 5 April shows. The UK, the Netherlands and Germany are the sites of the latest acquisitions and new ventures.
Biggest private lab in Europe
By: The Evening Standard
Summary: A £500 million project to build the biggest private commercial lab in Europe at Canary Wharf, London has been announced. Dutch company Kadans Science Partner, which specialises in building lab-ready properties has set-up a joint venture with the Canary Wharf Group to develop a new 22-storey building that will have 750,000 square feet of space devoted to labs. The building will be home to thousands of workers. It will house up to 100 businesses, including biotech startups, academics, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies.
Key quote: James Sheppard, Kadans’ UK chief, says “We’re effectively going to be building a campus under one roof. A lot of clinicians now are also entrepreneurs, they want to build a business.”
€1.3bn Germany smart office program
By: Allianz SE
Summary: Allianz Real Estate, acting on behalf of several Allianz Group companies, is to build and develop prime office assets in Germany’s top four cities. The €1.3 billion program is in conjunction with real estate developer EDGE and Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), Germany’s largest public-law pension group. The program will cover new ground-up developments as well as existing stock repositioned for predominantly office use. Each asset is to be located in central, well-established submarkets in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt.
Key quote: Annette Kröger, CEO, North & Central Europe, Allianz Real Estate, says, “We continue to believe in the office sector and are excited to launch this program with our partners to build up a portfolio of resilient, future-oriented and sustainable assets that will meet future tenant demands.”
Blackstone buys The Colmore Building for £182 million
By: BusinessLive
Summary: Real estate investor Blackstone has bought The Colmore Building in Birmingham, UK, in a £182 million deal. The US giant – which already owns the NEC Group – has acquired The Colmore Building from Ashby Capital. The acquisition is another example of the company’s “long-term conviction in the UK and in high-quality sustainable office assets in key European cities.”
Key quote: James Seppala, head of real estate Europe at Blackstone, says, “We continue to see strong demand for high quality, sustainable office spaces that attract the best talent and employers.
“This investment is a vote of confidence in Birmingham, its thriving commercial heart, and the wider West Midlands. It underlines our commitment to long-term investments that will help build the UK’s economy for the future.”
Source: https://www.business-live.co.uk/commercial-property/blackstone-buys-colmore-building-182-23590679
Dutch Makado Beek retail center bought
By Mitiska REIM
Summary: Leading specialist investor in European convenience real estate, Mitiska REIM, has acquired Makado Beek retail center from Syntrus Achmea. It has been bought on behalf of the First Retail International 2 Fund (FRI 2). This is in partnership with local co-investment partner and asset manager 3W Real Estate. Makado Beek is one of the largest retail centers in the Netherlands, attracting over 3 million visitors per year.
Key quote: Bram Thomas, Mitiska REIM’s Managing Director for Belgium, Netherlands and France, said: “The acquisition of Makado Beek is a major addition to our portfolio in the Netherlands, alongside our two existing retail centers in Arnhem, and is once again an illustration of our ability to identify and realize value creation in a resilient segment of retail. We see a significant opportunity in the Netherlands for our convenience real estate approach, as consumers become more and more time-constrained and therefore increasingly looking for convenience when shopping and accessing services.”
