Industry News

Independent property firm Quantum Immobilien has snapped up Wasserstadt Mitte, an extensive residential-led development in Berlin's Europacity, from struggling listed giant Adler. The highly sustainable, modern development, with waterfront views, changed hands for a price of around €350 million according to media reports. The mixed-use district includes around 47,000 sqm of rental space for residential and commercial use. These are spread over 711 apartments, including 213 co-living apartments, as well as around 3,000 sqm of commercial space for retail, gastronomy...

German investment manager Union Investment has expanded its position in the Irish residential property market with the acquisition of the planned Seafield Strand residential quarter in Sutton, a suburb in the north of Dublin. Financial details were not disclosed. Seafield Strand was acquired as part of a forward purchase for open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Europa. This is the fourth major residential investment for the fund. The seller is Irish developer Park Developments, which has now handed over the turnkey...

UK student accommodation specialist Unite Students has entered an option agreement to acquire a new 800-bed development scheme in central Glasgow, subject to planning. The group expects to deliver the scheme as a university partnership with at least half of the beds to be let on a multi-year nominations agreement to a leading university. The scheme has a total development cost of £95 million (€110 million) and is expected to deliver a yield on cost of around 7.5%, Unite said...

European investor Greystar has acquired a 650-bed student residence in Puteaux, located in the suburbs of Paris, expanding on its current footprint of 4,710 beds across France’s biggest student cities. This site has been acquired from Veld Capital and the Freo Group, which commissioned the construction of the building from Nexity and Bouygues Construction. Financial details were not disclosed. Located close to the universities and schools of Nanterre and La Défense district, the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) site was designed...

European listed developer, owner, and manager of industrial and logistics properties CTP has leased 68,000 sqm of industrial and warehouse space to Mercator, a major Serbian supermarket chain, at CTPark Belgrade City, which will be the largest logistics hub in Serbia when complete. Mercator specialises in the retail and wholesale of fast-moving consumer goods, and its new space will be used for the company’s new Serbian distribution centre, with the aim of centralising all its warehousing requirements under one roof...

European property investor, developer, and asset manager Kajima is acquiring a 77,000 sqm greenfield site in Magdeburg, in the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition paves the way for the development of a new sustainable 32,000 m2 logistics building, Kajima said in a statement. The asset represents Kajima’s third logistics scheme in Germany alongside other sites in Hamburg and Dortmund. The scheme will be developed to a high specification with a focus on sustainability, featuring solar...

US developer-investor Hines has acquired a portfolio of four multi-let industrial estates in the West Midlands on behalf of its Hines European Value Fund 2 (HEVF 2) from London Metric. The four multi-let estates were bought for £40.5 million (€47 million), reflecting a net initial yield of 6.2%. The estates encompass 435,000 sq ft (40,320 sqm) across 47 units and generate £2.7 million per annum of rental income, with a weighted average unexpired lease term to first break of 2.9...

Adam Irányi has been appointed head of investment management global at Union Investment as of 1 August. Irányi succeeds Henrike Waldburg, who moved up to the management board of the Hamburg-based real estate investment manager as of 1 July. In his new role, Irányi is responsible for all investment and sales activities in the overseas markets in the Americas and Asia Pacific, as well as the UK and Ireland. The local offices in New York, Singapore and London report to...

Roman Müller has taken over as head of investment management retail at Union Investment Real Estate with effect from 1 August. In this role, he succeeds Henrike Waldburg, who moved up to the management board of the Hamburg-based real estate investment manager on 1 July. Müller has been with the company since 2015 and, following a two-year assignment at Union Investment Real Estate Austria in Vienna, has been responsible for retail and mixed-use acquisitions and sales in Europe since 2018...