(PARIS) – Hines, the international real estate firm, and German investment company Universal-Investment, have completed the acquisition of Marché Saint Germain, a three-story mixed-use asset, for an institutional real estate fund administered and managed on behalf of Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK). The asset has been acquired from Banimmo, a Belgian REIT.
MarchĂ© Saint‐Germain, which was built in 1995 to resemble the historic market halls previously on the site, is located in the heart of Saint‐Germain‐des‐PrĂ©s. It sits on a rectangular site of 6,908 square meters and is part of a mixed-use building of 6,572 square meters, which includes eight public areas owned by the City of Paris and three private areas. The asset was renovated in 2016 and is 100 percent leased to six tenants including Apple’s new concept store, Marks & Spencer, Nespresso and Uniqlo.
This transaction is the fifth acquisition by Hines and Universal-Investment for the BVK mandate, having been appointed late last year to execute a €1.3 billion investment program targeting prime high-street retail property across Europe. With the closing of this deal, approximately 47 percent of the portfolio has been committed.
The acquisition follows the purchase of two assets in Milan, and further acquisitions of prime high-street retail assets in Oslo and Glasgow.
Xavier Musseau, Hines managing director, said, “BVK entrusted us with an investment mandate of about 1.3 billion euros to invest in prime high-street retail assets in European city centers. The Marché Saint Germain is the perfect kind of property we were looking for, as much for the revitalization of the site, as for the big name brands that will be housed there and make it a big success. We’re very pleased with this acquisition, which marks a first step in Hines France’s commitment to building a diversified and emblematic property portfolio.”
“With its location in one of Paris’ most sought after and affluent neighborhoods, Marché Saint Germain is an ideal asset for acquisition. The quality and character of the building, coupled with its diverse income profile from leading retail brands, make this asset a compelling proposition for BVK,” said Peter Epping, Managing Director – Investment Management for Hines Europe and fund manager of the account.
Lars Huber, CO-CEO of Hines Europe, added, “We are very pleased with the speed so far at which we have been able to identify and acquire core-plus and value-add assets in European prime retail locations for BVK. We are excited to add this asset to the BVK portfolio and our teams are very focused on making this new strategy a success.”
Alexander Tannenbaum, managing director of Universal-Investment, adds, “German institutional investors favor retail properties in their increasing real asset portfolios as they deliver steady returns and provide good diversification.”
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 192 cities in 20 countries. Hines has $93.2 billion of assets under management, including $47.9 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $45.3 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 105 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,180 properties, totaling over 379 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 483 properties, representing over 199 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
About Bayerische Versorgungskammer
Bayerische Versorgungskammer is the competence and service centre for occupational and communal pension schemes and Germany´s largest pension scheme group under public law. It is the joint executive body of twelve liberal professions´ and communal pension schemes. Bayerische Versorgungskammer covers about 2 million insured persons in total, with contributions of €4 billion and €2.9 billion pension payments annually. It currently has €62 billion assets under management and 1,200 employees. Visit www.versorgungskammer.de for more information.
About Universal-Investment
Universal-Investment is the largest independent investment company in German-spoken Europe with fund assets in excess of about €268 billion under administration, thereof € 220 billion in own vehicles, over 1,000 funds and investment mandates and a workforce of around 600. The focus lies on the efficient and transparent administration of funds, securities, real estate and alternative asset classes. Universal-Investment was founded in 1968 as subsidiary of several well-known private banks. The company is headquartered in Frankfurt/Main and has subsidiaries and holdings in Luxemburg and Austria. As pioneer of the investment industry Universal-Investment is now market leader in the areas of master-KVG and private label funds. Owing to the strong growth since starting the real estate business in 2011, Universal-Investment established itself among the Top 5 companies for institutional open-ended real estate funds in Germany. Members of the management board are Oliver Harth (deputy spokesman), Markus Neubauer, Stefan Rockel, Alexander Tannenbaum and Bernd Vorbeck (spokesman of the management board). (As per 31 May 2016) Visit www.universal-investment.com for more information.
