Real I.S. AG has sold a prime office property in the center of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to a special purpose entity advised by Aegila Capital Management Limited. The property consists of the global headquarters of Unilever N.V. and an adjacent building for a total of 24,500 square meters and 318 parking spaces. 

Landmark in Central Rotterdam

The office building, located at Weena 455-457, is one of the largest office buildings in central Rotterdam. Situated in a prime location in the city center at walking distance from Rotterdam Central Station, the building is a landmark in the business district of the city and enjoys excellent connectivity with local public transport.

Unilever N.V. occupies around 22,000 square meters of high-specification office space in the high-rise building facing Weena Avenue while the educational group Tio University of Applied Sciences occupies the low rise building of circa 2,500 square meters.

Growing global investor interest for the Rotterdam office market.

“With this transaction, Real I.S. once again demonstrated its abilities in active Asset Management, securing a long-term cash flow for the investors, improving the quality of the building which is reflected in a better energy label and taking advantage of the current market conditions,” says Melanie Grüneke, Country Head of Real I.S. AG for the Netherlands.

Giovanni Gregoratti, CEO of Aegila Capital Management Limited, said:  “Due to the combination of attractive market outlook, unique location and high-quality tenants, this transaction fits well with our investment strategy and is the perfect inaugural deal for Aegila in Europe. We are very pleased that we secured this acquisition in a highly competitive market and we will be exploring opportunities to expand our portfolio in our target markets across Europe over the course of 2018.” 

Commenting on the current investment climate, Jordy Diepeveen, Head of Acquisitions at Savills, said: “Rotterdam follows Amsterdam’s trend in terms of increasing of transaction volumes and yield compression as it attracts new sources of capital from around the world. In 2015 Rotterdam was the first city in the Netherlands that saw a large transaction with Asian capital involved (De Rotterdam) since the financial crisis and the three latest deals in Rotterdam show the diversity of institutional investors deploying capital into the market: Maastoren (Asia) Cool63 (Germany), WilhelminaTower (U.S.) and Blaak 16 (Abu Dhabi). Savills expects that the acquisition of Weena 455-457 by Aegila will not be the last example of high-quality institutional cross-border investment into the Rotterdam office market this year. "

Advisers

Savills, GT Law, BCLP, SGS Search and PwC advised the buyer. NL real estate – Knight Frank and Loyens&Loeff advised the seller Real I.S. AG.