Following the acquisition of the Cologne Tower in Germany (http://www.koelnturm.de) by InfraRed Capital Partners (InfraRed) a new 10-year lease has been signed with the German “Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care” (IQWIG). IQWIG, which is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Health, will occupy c.5,500 sqm over six floors in the landmark tower. This letting represents over one fifth of the overall office space and reduces its void to c.17% from c.38% at acquisition.
InfraRed is also pleased to announce a further letting to consulting company LiNKiT Consulting GmbH that will occupy the 34th floor. Together with two further lease extensions InfraRed has achieved c.8000 sqm of lettings since the acquisition of the Tower. All lettings were in line with market rents (ERV).
InfraRed acquired the Tower in October 2011 in a joint venture with the German real estate company Art-Invest Real Estate. The asset encompasses a 43-storey tower built in 2001 (designed by Jean Nouvel) comprising 26,500 sqm of office space and the adjacent 220-bedroom 4-star NH Hotel. The buildings are located in the Cologne ‘Media Park’ within the core of the City.
Cologne is Germany’s fourth largest city with a large and growing population of over 1m. The diversity of its industries which include trade, insurance, media, chemicals as well as government is a key attraction for real estate investment.
Joram Szerkowski, responsible for real estate deal origination in Germany at InfraRed, commented:
“The early letting to IQWiG has been key in providing strong, timely proof of the substantial value-add potential we identified in the Cologne Tower. Together with the other early lettings we have significantly reduced the risk profile of this asset within only a short time period after the acquisition and look forward to continuing this positive and dynamic trend.”
