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"For the first time ever, Commerz Real acquired a logistics property for its hausInvest europa open-ended property fund. The total investment costs equal more than 50 million euros. Located in Harlow, 15 km north of London’s orbital, the so-called "Comet" project development covers a gross lettable area of about 35,300 m².
"So far, we limited pure logistics investments to our EUROLOGISTIK 1 institutional fund, which owns real estate assets worth approximately 300 million euros. With the acquisition of ‘Comet’, we are expanding our activities in this market segment to include our hausInvest europa public fund," said Hans-Joachim Kühl, Member of the Board at Commerz Real and responsible for real estate acquisitions. "In face of the ongoing globalisation and the anticipated increase in haulage volumes worldwide, the market for logistics properties is bound to keep growing. Before this background, we intend to further expand the share of hausInvest europa in the business. At the same time, the ‘Comet’ marks the first logistics property we bought in England. In this sense, the property enhances the fund’s spread in regard to both diversification by type of usage and diversification by country."
Following several years that were characterised by a high price level, the London conurbation has redeveloped into an interesting target region for the real estate acquisitions of Commerz Real. Just weeks ago, the company entered into its first commitment there since 2005.
The ‘Comet’ property was sold by Kenmore Capital, a well-known British project developer.
The rental income has been secured for a long time to come. The entire floor space is already let to Comet Group Plc. for a fixed term of 20 years. The tenant, Comet, is a KESA Group member company and one of the leading European suppliers of consumer electronics. Comet will use the steel-built warehouse as its national distribution centre. The property’s attractiveness for both tenant and fund is due to its modern technical facilities’ and features, and due to an underlying concept marked by sustainable flexibility. The complex comes with its own lorry petrol station as well as a shop building for lorry maintenance.
Harlow is a dynamic logistics and retail location north of the financial metropolis of London, and thus right in the heart of one of Europe's most important logistics markets. The property location is marked by superior access to major roads, public transportation, and Stansted Airport, which lies in its immediate vicinity" (CS della Società).
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