Germany's BVK buys €119m Danish retail portfolio from Avignon

Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), Germany's largest pension scheme group with about €66bn under management, has bought a Danish retail property portfolio for €119m through a separate-account mandate with Hines, The seller was Avignon Capital.

Hines and German investment company Universal-Investment bought five prime high-street assets with associated office and residential components in Copenhagen for BVK’s €1.3bn separate account. The portfolio with 11,700 sqm in the city's historic pedestrian zone is 80% let. It marks the first Danish acquisition for the BVK mandate.

The deal is Hines’s first in the Danish market and seventh for the BVK mandate, which is targeting core-plus, value-add and redevelopment opportunities among high-street retail assets in 20 markets across Europe.

Capital Investment will continue to act as property manager for the portfolio on behalf of Hines. Tenants include Superdry, Benetton, Matas, Synoptik, Sand and and the Danish state. Cushman and Wakefield and Red Property Advisors advised on the acquisition.

“Since winning the BVK mandate this time last year, Hines has successfully acquired a number of high-quality retail assets in prime locations on high streets across European territories, including France, Milan, the United Kingdom and Norway,” Lars Huber, Hines Europe’s CEO, said in a statement.