South Korean Hyundai Investments and La Française, a global asset manager headquartered in Paris, have signed a joint venture agreement to invest in modern, mid-sized offices in established business districts of target cities in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Ireland.
The HILF Euro Office joint venture, created by Hyundai Investments and La Française and represented by La Française Real Estate Managers, has acquired a first fully leased office building in the city of Essen, in a sale and leaseback transaction with RWE, the energy supplier in Germany. The lease term is 17.5 years.
The office building is located at Altenessener Str. 27 in the north of Essen city center and is part of the RWE Campus, which includes several office buildings owned or leased from RWE.
The six-storey office building, completed in 2009, offers modern and quality office space. The surfaces have a ceiling with an integrated cooling system and heating with heat recovery. In addition to the 11,754 m² office space, the building also includes a 2,949 m² trading room which houses RWE’s energy trading activities. The floor plans of the building also allow multi-tenant use. Each floor can be divided to accommodate up to four different office units.
“This is a new strategy that aims to diversify the exposure of Korean investors to modern and well-let office buildings in both major European cities and second-tier (tier 2) cities. The business plan of the joint venture will examine the possibilities of managing the assets of the portfolio over a holding period of up to 8 years. Further acquisitions are planned over the next 12 months,” said David Rendall, CEO of La Française Real Estate Managers.
Shawna Yang, Director of Investor Relations Asia, added: “La Française continues to attract South Korean capital to the European real estate market, which is showing positive signs both in terms of valuation and rental value.”
