In what is claimed to be the biggest Netherlands real estate deal of last year, Philips Pension Fund sold an Amsterdam office block for €215m.
Situated within the Amsterdam South Axis, the country’s most densely populated business district, the Symphony Offices has been acquired by Deka Immobilien. The German asset management company has confirmed it will include its latest asset in its WestInvest ImmoValue portfolio, an open-ended mutual property fund for institutional investors.
Completed in 2009, and one of the last landmark towers to be built south of the Dutch capital, the 27-storey Symphony complex also includes six low-rise office podium buildings. Almost all of the 34,500sq metres of commercial space has long-term occupants with the Dutch pension provider APG as the main tenant.
Not included in the sale is the adjacent and complementary Symphony Residence, a residential apartment block, and the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Both were part of the original development project designed by the Dutch architect Pi de Bruijn, of Architecten Cie.
CBRE was among the Philips Pension Fund advisors. “Deka Immobilien has purchased one of the best office buildings in the Netherlands,” commented its senior director of capital markets, Erik Langens. “It is a very high-quality property located in the core business district of the Netherlands, multi-tenanted and almost fully let to professional corporates with long-term lease covenants.”
Amsterdam’s South Axis is a rapidly maturing business district which, admit its developers, owes much of its inspiration to London’s Canary Wharf and La Défense in Paris.
It has been estimated that as many as 600 companies occupy South Axis premises. The area also encompasses 500 residential apartments, retail units, restaurants and hotels.
An in-depth analysis of the business district published by CBRE said: “Since its conception in the mid-nineties, the Amsterdam South Axis district has witnessed a stunning growth and expansion.
“Demand for office space in the area has been particularly strong from companies in the business services and the financial sectors, which are willing to pay high rents for top quality accommodation.
“The market rent levels achieved for office space at the South Axis are the highest in the Netherlands.”
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