Global institutional real estate investor Ivanhoe Cambridge is expanding its European footprint with the opening of an office in Berlin and with the appointment of Christian Daumann, as head of investments for Germany.
Daumann is joining Ivanhoe Cambridge to further the company’s pan-European strategy and grow its investments in German real estate. He joins a European investment team already based in Paris and London.
“We are delighted to expand our German operations by welcoming Christian to our European team,” said Karim Habra, Head of Europe, Ivanhoé Cambridge. “For the past year, we have been executing a pan-European strategy, with Germany as a priority. We will focus on manage-to-core and value-add strategies, particularly in the office, logistics and residential sectors in Germany’s most dynamic cities. Together with Christian, we intend to invest with a vision for long-term performance, value creation, innovation and sustainability.”
Daumann has a 24-year track-record in commercial real estate investing, asset management, fund management and distressed debt investing.
From 2015 to 2018, Daumann was Chief Investment Officer at Hamburg Trust, a Colony Capital co-owned investment manager, where he was in charge of all real estate investments and asset management, focusing on office, residential and retail investments.
Ivanhoé Cambridge has been investing in Germany since 2007, with a portfolio of assets in the office, retail and residential sectors located across the country’s main cities. The most recent acquisition in the German market has been the transaction of nine residential assets in Berlin, together with Round Hill Capital. New transactions are in final closing stage.
RPA Perspective Also in Germany, RDI has exchanged contracts with Volksbank eG Braunschweig Wolfsburg to sell its Bahnhof Center in Altona, Hamburg for €91m. The disposal, which is in line with RDI’s strategic decision to exit its German retail portfolio, reflects a net initial yield of 4.6% and a 9.6% premium to the 28 February 2019 market value.
The deal is expected to complete on 31 December 2019 and remains subject to certain conditions being satisfied.
Bahnhof Altona is a 15,000 sq m retail centre which is integrally linked to the Altona train station and underground transport network. The centre fronts the entrance to the station platforms and comprises 22 stores across three levels and a 496 space multi-storey car park. The centre produces net rental income of approximately €4.5m p.a. and is anchored by Media Markt with other key tenants including Lidl, APCOA, BHG and Rossmann.
The property is currently financed through a banking facility totalling €45m at an all-in rate of 2.70% which is anticipated to be repaid on completion. The net proceeds from the transaction, following the repayment of this debt facility, estimated capital gains tax of approximately €5.8m and certain transaction costs, is anticipated to be approximately €39m.
Mike Watters, CEO of RDI, said: “The sale of the Bahnhof Center in Hamburg is in line with our stated strategy to reduce RDI’s retail exposure and focus the portfolio on the UK market. The sale price of €91m reflects a 9.6% premium to the last reported value for the centre and was achieved following a competitive bidding process which drew a number of institutional investors. As previously indicated, the net proceeds from the sale of assets currently being marketed will be deployed to reduce Group debt and strengthen the overall balance sheet at a favourable time in terms of the Euro’s relative strength to Sterling.”
