Swedish pension funds increase German commitment with Hamburg buy
Sweden’s Cityhold Group, which acts as real estate investment manager for Swedish national pension funds AP1 and AP2 made a further commitment to building up its asset abase in Germany when it bought the prominent Atlantic Haus in Hamburg earlier this month from a fund managed by Swiss bank UBS. The deal brings Cityhold’s German portfolio up to about €200m.
Completed in 2007, Atlantic Haus is a high-rise office building in the Harbour Business District (HBD) of Hamburg, Germany's second largest city. It is located 100 metres from the historic main building of the Landungsbrücken jetties, and, at 88 metres, is among the tallest buildings in the city. The gross lettable area of around 32,000 sqm and the 415 underground car park spaces are spread across three buildings of eight storeys each and the tower with its 21 storeys, and the building is almost fully let.
The property was developed in 2007 for about €100m by Hamburg-based Quantum Immobilien, on the grounds of the old Bavaria Brewery, with financing from HSH N Real Estate. Along with neighbouring buildings the Empire Riverside Hotel and the Astra-Tower, built at the same time, the trio make up what’s know as the Hafenkrone, or ‘crown’ of the harbour area.
The Stockholm-headquartered Cityhold is jointly owned by two Swedish national pension funds, AP1 and AP2, which together have €50bn under management. The funds have earmarked approximately €500 million in equity for Cityhold in a first investment phase. The capital is intended primarily for long-term investments in core office properties in major European cities, with investments to date in London, Munich and now Hamburg. The first German investment was in February this year, when Cityhold bought a multi-let, 15,000-sqm office property in Munich from IVG Instituional Funds. The current portfolio amounts to a total value of approximately €800m.
According to Berith Kübler, responsible at Cityhold for asset management in Germany,“As Europe's largest national economy and, above all, as a stable real estate market, Germany plays a key role for Cityhold’s property investment strategy. We are planning to further expand our investments in Germany. In this context, Cityhold has expanded its geographic target area to include Germany's five largest cities.”
Kübler stressed the green and sustainability credentials of the Atlantic Haus, pointing out how Atlantic Haus is connected to the district heating supply and uses a chilled frame for cooling purposes. The building has recently been awarded a LEED Gold sustainability certificate.