Düsseldorf’s low office vacancy rate lures Hannover Leasing

The Munich-headquartered Hannover Leasing, a subsidiary of Corestate Capital, has bought an office building in Düsseldorf-Oberbilk for a new alternative investment fund. The new building was sold by the Essen-based project developer KÖLBL Kruse for a price of €55m.

The asset is fully pre-leased with a 15-year term to Unfallkasse NRW, a state calualty insurer, which will move in with around 500 employees by the end of next year. A rental agreement with a 15-year term and no special right of termination has already been signed.

Designed by renowned Düsseldorf architects RKW Architektur +, the building provides around 12,100 m2 of space and is located on the Moskauer Strasse at the International Trade Center in Oberbilk, an inner-city urban borough in southeast Düsseldorf.

Hannover Leasing is planning to transfer the property into a mutual AIF fund specially designed for foundations, which will align management to their needs, said Corestate, a Germany-focused real estate group listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange. Minimum subscription amount for the new fund is €100,000.

'The Düsseldorf office market is characterized by high demand and scarce supply – the vacancy rate is currently around 7%, east of the center even down to about 4.4%,' said Markus Müller, the newly arrived (from KGAL Capital) managing director of Hannover Leasing.