Real estate company Swiss Prime Site has acquired the Fifty-One office building in Zurich from Union Investment.
The building at Pfingstweidstraße 51 is close to the Zurich Prime Tower and the Maaglive real estate development project in Zurich-West. Swisscom is to be a long-term tenant.
Fifty-One meets the highest sustainability standards
Constructed in 2011, Fifty-One meets the highest sustainability standards and is also LEED Gold certified. With letting space of around 21,000 sqm, the building can accommodate about 1,500 employees. It generates around CHF 7 million in rental income per year.
The transaction was made as part of capital recycling. Swiss Prime Site sold 16 properties worth a total of CHF 280 million in 2023, realising proceeds of 7% above the last appraisal values on average. The largest of these properties, occupied by Tertianum, were in Olten and Berlingen and were sold to large institutional investors. Otherwise, the disposals were largely retail and smaller properties outside the major economic centres. This consolidation allows Swiss Prime Site to focus on prime locations in Switzerland’s key business centres.
Union Investment sold the Fifty-One office on behalf of the open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa.
Fifty-One office fits perfectly into the portfolio
Urs Baumann, Chief Investment Officer at Swiss Prime Site, says, “Fifty-One fits perfectly into our portfolio around the Maag site, with the Prime Tower as one of Zurich’s iconic symbols. It further enhances our portfolio in terms of location and building standards and, following successful sales in 2023, we are completing the acquisition with a strong capital base. Along with the Maaglive development project, we are creating a unique campus here with a blend of sustainable living and working spaces, and attractive green and recreational zones.”
Alejandro Obermeyer, Head of Investment Management DACH at Union Investment, says, “The high construction quality and good location of Fifty-One and the tenant’s creditworthiness generated a lot of interest even in the current market environment, despite properties worth over EUR 100 million being considered difficult to market at the moment. To further boost the resilience of our high-quality existing portfolio, we are increasingly focusing on smaller lot sizes and continuing to diversify our portfolio structure, in particular by increasing our exposure to resilient logistics and European residential properties.”
The sale was supported by real estate consultancy JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle). Union Investment was also advised on legal aspects by law firm Lenz & Staehelin and on tax matters by KPMG.
Swiss Prime Site is placing Fifty-One in the Green Building portfolio within the scope of the Green Finance Framework for sustainability.
Its property portfolio is currently valued at CHF 13.1 billion. Including Swiss Prime Site Solutions, the group manages real estate assets of around CHF 21 billion.
