EQT Real Estate sells TechnologiePark office portfolio in Cologne, Germany

• EQT Real Estate completes its first exit from Germany – a 116,500 sqm, seven building, multi-let office portfolio, with 97 percent occupancy, located in close proximity to Cologne’s central business district

• During its three-year ownership period, EQT Real Estate completed a number of value-creation strategies including an update of the physical structure of the buildings, an improvement of the tenant experience and a stabilization of the income profile by proactively engaging in lease renewals and extensions

EQT Real Estate fund I (“EQT Real Estate”) today announced that it has disposed of its 100 percent ownership interest in the TechnologiePark portfolio in Cologne, Germany (“TPK”) to TPG Real Estate Partners.

TPK contains seven high-quality assets located in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne, comprised of six Grade A office properties spanning approximately 81,500 sqm and the Mercedes-Benz Centre, a regional car showroom hub and a full service-center spanning approximately 35,000 sqm. TPK serves a prominent group of tenants with long-term rental agreements including Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company as well as the German Government. The office park is located near TechnologiePark station which provides a direct, 10-minute rail link to Cologne Central Station.

After acquiring the portfolio out of insolvency at a substantial discount to replacement cost in late 2016, EQT Real Estate implemented a robust set of value creation initiatives through a multi-pronged, hands-on asset management plan including implementing accretive lease renewals, completing physical improvements of the buildings and streamlining the operational management of the portfolio. In addition, important sustainability measures were taken into consideration in all maintenance and capital expenditure programs as well as including “green lease” clauses when re-gearing tenants, both of which are consistent with EQT Real Estate’s thematic approach to sustainable investing.

EQT Real Estate believes that its business plan objectives were met and is confident that TPG Real Estate Partners will be able to navigate the portfolio through its next phase of growth, especially as the Cologne real estate market continues to remain supply constrained. 

Rob Rackind, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Real Estate, said: “TPK is a perfect example of how the integrated pan-European advisory team supported value creation through complex and intensive asset management workstreams and successfully sold this high-quality asset into Germany’s deep institutional market. This realization, together with the exit of Code, a 5,800 sqm office redevelopment in Paris earlier this year, confirms that EQT Real Estate´s thematic investment approach, which includes investing in gateway cities across Europe, is generating attractive risk adjusted returns for our investors.”

EQT Real Estate has been advised by Ashurst, Colliers International and RheinReal.

The transaction closed on 19 December 2019. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Contact
Rob Rackind, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Real Estate, +44 208 432 54 07
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a differentiated global investment organization with more than EUR 62 billion in raised capital and around EUR 41 billion in assets under management across 20 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 21 billion and approximately 127,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
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About EQT Real Estate fund I
EQT Real Estate fund I seeks to make direct and indirect controlling investments in real estate assets, portfolios and operating companies that offer significant potential for value creation through repositioning, redevelopment, refurbishment and active management. The investments will typically range between EUR 50 million and EUR 200 million. The fund is advised by an experienced team of real estate professionals from EQT Partners, all of whom have extensive knowledge of property investment, development and intensive “hands-on” asset management along with access to the full EQT network, including 13 European offices and more than 250 EQT Advisors.

About TPG Real Estate

TPG Real Estate ("TPGRE") is the real estate platform of TPG, a leading global alternative asset firm with more than $111 billion of assets under management and 17 offices around the world. TPGRE includes TPG Real Estate Partners (“TREP”), its equity investment platform, and TPG Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE: “TRTX”), its debt origination and acquisition platform. TREP focuses primarily on investments in real estate-rich companies, property portfolios, and select single assets located in North America and Europe. TRTX originates and acquires senior real estate loans across a broad spectrum of asset classes in North America. TPGRE currently manages approximately $11.9 billion in assets across both platforms.

More info: www.tpg.com

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