Commerz Real has acquired two office buildings that are to be erected in Barcelona for its hausInvest
open-ended real estate fund from Conren Tramway for approx. 130
million euros. The Spanish subsidiary of the international office real
estate investor Conren
Land is the project developer for the construction project with 13,900
square metres and 9,300 square metres, respectively of leasable space.
hausInvest is thus investing in Spain again for the first time since
2005. At that time the fund purchased the shopping
centre Espai Gironés near Girona, which is still in the portfolio. “The
positive development of the Spanish economy and the very good future
outlook mean that investments are once again of interest for us,” says
Henning Koch, Global Head of Transactions at
Commerz Real. In the third quarter of 2019 Spain posted economic growth
of two per cent, and the pro rata state debt has declined continually
since 2014. Completion of the building, which was designed by the
Spanish architect Enric Batlle, is scheduled for
the beginning of 2022.
The transaction was structured as an asset deal in the form of a forward
purchase. This means that Conren Tramway is initially building the
property as a turnkey development for its own account and that Commerz
Real will pay for it following completion and
acceptance. So as to ensure a more attractive purchase price, Commerz
Real will be responsible for the leasing, with Conren Tramway providing
support in this area. “Regardless of the discussion about the political
future of Catalonia we are convinced that
Barcelona is an extremely attractive and dynamic office market,”
explains Koch. According to figures released by the real estate
consultant
Cushman & Wakefield,
in the first six months of 2019 alone the city posted an office
investment volume of more than 900 million euros, as well as a new lease
volume which was more than double that for new construction. The
ensemble
of office buildings is being developed on the Carrer de Badajoz
thoroughfare, the most important transport axis for the sub-market “22@
District”; this quarter has established itself as Barcelona’s technology
centre in recent years, with not only a large number
of start-ups locating here, but also global companies such as Amazon,
Facebook and Oracle. The nearest metro station, Llacuna, is about four
minutes away on foot, and there are numerous bus stops in the immediate
vicinity of the construction project. In addition,
the building is to have 128 parking spaces for cars and 253 spaces for
motorcycles, as well as 210 bicycle stands.
The
flexible design of the two office buildings is to allow for use by one
or by several tenants. Areas with a size of 750 and 500 square metres
upwards, respectively,
are to be available. Moreover, it is intended that the buildings attain
classification with the LEED sustainability certificate in gold.
Source :Commerz Real