DEGI, part of Aberdeen Property Investors, has recently sold a retail property belonging to the portfolio of its DEGI EUROPA open-end property fund. The property is located at Am Brand in Mainz/Germany, and was sold to Aachener Grundvermögen Kapitalanlage GmbH seated in Cologne. Having acquired it as Quelle Haus in 1973, DEGI modernised the property thoroughly as a development between 2005 and 2007. The property is fully let, with tenants including Saturn, Zara, and Esprit.
Notwithstanding the difficult environment, DEGI successfully placed the property on the market in line with the strategy the company devised in conjunction with its ongoing repositioning drive. For the buyer, the acquisition represents a plausible addition to the existing portfolio. After all, Aachener Grundvermögen had bought up the majority of the retail floor space at the Dom-Rathaus-Zentrum mall in Mainz in mid-2008. The purchase price for the building at Am Brand – situated in a prime downtown location of the state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate – matches its market value.
As Bärbel Schomberg, DEGI’s CEO, elaborated, being able to sell at market value showcases the high quality of the company’s real estate as well as the fact that its valuations reflect market standards. “Our fund managers will deploy any instrument that is suited to optimise profits, including specifically an active portfolio management strategy,” Schomberg went on to say.
Background Information
DEGI Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immobilienfonds mbH ranks among the biggest property fund companies in Germany and ever since its foundation in 1972 has been specialising in the management of property assets. Its product portfolio currently comprises two open-ended property funds for private investors, two open-ended property funds for institutional investors, one special property fund, plus two individual mandates. The company, with around 135 employees, manages a total of approximately 6 billion euros. DEGI’s current portfolio includes properties in 17 different countries. Since 27 March 2008, DEGI is part of Aberdeen Property Investors.
More information: www.degi.com
Aberdeen Property Investors is the dedicated property investment division of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, a global investment management group listed on the London Stock Exchange, which manages around €114 billion of assets in equities, fixed income and property. Aberdeen Property Investors manages some €28 billion of property assets in Europe, Asia and North America through property funds and separate account mandates, making it one of the top 10 global property investment managers. Clients are solely third party clients and primarily institutional investors, such as life insurers and pension funds. They are served by more than 700 professionals at offices in 11 European countries, as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong.
More information: www.aberdeenpropertyinvestors.com
Aberdeen Asset Management PLC is an international investment management group that primarily handles assets for leading national and company pension funds, central banks and other financial institutions at 24 facilities worldwide. Aberdeen employs a total of 1,900 people in around 21 different countries around the globe, and with its investment centres in London, Philadelphia and Singapore covers the most important markets in the world’s major time zones. The group’s most important lines of business are stocks, bonds and property. Aberdeen has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1991, and is a FTSE-250 company.
More information: www.aberdeen-asset.com
Legal note:
All statements made in this press release are subject to error and topicality. All particulars relating to the future, especially, are non-binding. DEGI assumes no liability whatsoever for the information given and statements made here.