Patrizia Immobilien has acquired Apex House office complex in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh for £26 mln (€29 mln).
The listed German investment manager said it carried out the acquisition from Catalyst Capital on behalf of a 'large German pension fund based in northern Germany'.
The 8,360 m2 Apex House is located in the city’s Haymarket district, often referred to as the gateway to Edinburgh’s financial district, and is one of the city’s main areas of expansion. The area has benefited from significant public transport infrastructure upgrades over the past three years, including the redesign of Haymarket rail station and the completion of the Haymarket tram stop. Coupled with the existing bus network, Haymarket is now deemed a major transport hub and key office district.
Built in 1991, Apex House offers over 8,360 m2 of space across three buildings, in addition to 136 parking spaces. The property is approximately 80% occupied with an average remaining lease term of four years.
Patrizia said that the office complex had been high specification with tenants including Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, Mazars and Svenska Handlesbanken. Patrizia indicated that through active asset management and targeted refurbishment, the company will be able to take advantage of the tight market conditions in Edinburgh to lease out the remaining vacant space.
The acquisition of Apex House presented an opportunity to invest in a value-add asset in a market with strong fundamentals, according to James Muir, Patrizia's managing director for the UK & Ireland. 'The UK economy remains resilient with good levels of GDP growth and consistently high levels of employment. In addition to this, Investor appetite for UK real estate has increased significantly following the aftermath of the Brexit vote. As a UK financial centre, Edinburgh is second only to London and the demand-supply imbalance in the city makes this acquisition a tremendous opportunity to deliver excellent value for our clients,' Muir said.
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PropertyEU Events, partnering with the Scottish Cities Alliance, is hosting
the special briefing
Investment opportunities in Scotland at MIPIM 2018
Date: 15 March
Location: Marriott Hotel, 50 Boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes, 06414, France
Time: 09:00 - 11:00
Scotland is looking beyond Brexit by opening its sights to the world and is actively seeking foreign investment into the real estate sector. The economic landscape is fertile: with a growing economy and lower rates of unemployment, the Scottish Government is investing massively in infrastructure, with £4 bn earmarked for implementation in 2018/9 alone.
Opportunities are to be found across sectors including offices, logistics and retail. One notable growth sector is hotels/hospitality (infrastructure), as tourism in Scotland increased 15% last year, with over 14m people, mainly from Europe, visiting in 2017. Scotland’s world-class universities continue to attract large numbers of foreign students, so student housing poses a strong investment. The residential market is being pushed up the agenda as the shortage of housing, especially affordable housing, is becoming apparent. PRS offers investment opportunities, while the Rental Income Guarantee Scheme seeks to eliminate part of the risk.
An important instrument for the government’s strategy to attract and direct foreign capital to the region is the Scottish Cities Alliance (SCA), which offers a one-stop shop for prospective investors. Created to promote the economic potential of Scotland’s seven cities – the capital, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Inverness, Dundee, Perth and Stirling – the SCA has billions of pounds worth of diverse projects on offer and is the go-to for comprehensive information on the full spectrum of investment opportunities of investment.
Attendance is free, but registration is essential. Please book now to ensure your place
