Intelligent Real Estate Investments - Hines

Hines Completes Sale of Stuttgart Office Asset

(LONDON) – Hines, the international real estate firm, has completed the sale of Stuttgarter Tor, an office asset in Stuttgart, Germany, on behalf of the Hines European Value Fund (HEVF).

The 14,822-square-meter office complex has been sold to investment management company Arminius, acting on behalf of German institutional investors, for an undisclosed price, after a competitive sales process managed by Colliers International.

Hines acquired Stuttgarter Tor in December 2017, as the first investment made by HEVF, the first in the Hines flagship series of European ore plus/value add strategy funds. The asset is being sold following a two-year asset management program during which has significantly outperformed the Fund’s business plan.

Located in a prime location in the Feuerbach office submarket of the city, Stuttgarter Tor comprises three buildings fully leased to a strong tenant base including Robert Bosch GmbH and law firm Menold Bezler. Hines secured planning consent for redevelopment of a fourth smaller, obsolete building in the complex, which was sold separately to an owner occupier advised by Immoraum in August 2019, and will proceed to develop a new headquarters premises.

Paul White, HEVF fund manager, said, “It is a testimony to the strength and power of our European platform and our local network in Stuttgart that we were able to identify and secure this investment, and implement a rigorous two-year program of asset management which significantly outperformed the Fund’s business plan, delivering excellent returns for our investors.”

Emanuel Coskun, managing director, Hines Germany, said, “Stuttgart is an important location for Hines in Germany, since we opened our office with a team here in 2008. Our knowledge of the local market was certainly instrumental in securing this asset and helped us execute the Fund’s asset management strategy which has proven so successful. We remain committed to long-term investors across Stuttgart with multiple investments across the City including Kronzprinzbau 1 & 2, Caleido and the Karlshoehe Quartier."

HEVF has successfully constructed a portfolio of nine investments in Germany, the UK, Denmark, Spain, Italy and Poland within less than two years of closing its first acquisition. The Fund is now effectively fully committed. HEVF accepted €721 million of equity commitments from 16 institutional investors in closings from July 2017 to August 2018, exceeding the original fund target size by over 40%.

The success of HEVF paved the way for HEVF 2, which earlier this year announced its first closing, securing approximately €637 million of equity commitments from 13 institutional investors, and thereby exceeding 50% of the €1.25 billion total fundraising target immediately. Subsequent equity closings are expected through 2020. With Hines co-investing 5% of the total equity commitments, the fund is expected to have total purchasing power approaching €3 billion after factoring in leverage.

HEVF 2 has already secured four acquisitions combining €350 million of equity allocations to flagship assets in Munich, Madrid and London.

Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 205 cities in 24 countries. Hines has approximately $133.3 billion of assets under management, including $71 billion for which Hines serves as an investment manager, including non-real estate assets, and $62.3 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 165 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,393 properties, totaling over 459 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 539 properties, representing over 232 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.