Industry News

Andreas Hardt, a former managing director at Blackstone’s real estate platform in Germany, has joined the real estate arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). Oxford Properties has appointed Hardt as managing director of its German office to help grow the company’s German portfolio. Last October, Oxford Properties entered into the Berlin market as it joined forces with New York-headquartered Madison International Realty to buy the Sony Center in Berlin for around €1.1 billion from Korea’s National Pension...

Aviva Investors has added two senior members to its UK real estate team to help strengthen its position in the UK and beyond. The asset management business of the insurer Aviva has appointed Daniel McHugh to lead UK real estate and Melanie Collett as head of real estate asset management. McHugh will be responsible for all direct real estate activity in the UK and will lead the firm’s specialist fund management, asset management and transaction teams. IPE Real Estate –...

Vincent Wathelet has been appointed head of Belgium and Luxembourg for Allianz Real Estate. He has been Allianz's acquisition manager for the region since 2015. Based in Brussels, Wathelet is responsible for a €708 million portfolio owned by Allianz companies, composed predominantly of office assets in the cities of Brussels and Luxembourg. Major assets in the portfolio include the 18,000 m2 South City Building in Brussels and 24,000 m2 Vertigo Real Estate Complex in Luxembourg, which was acquired in October...

UBS Asset Management has acquired a prime Madrid office asset, the headquarters of BBVA subsidiary Banco de Crédito Local, located in the city’s famous Palacio de los Condes de Guevara. The classical-style building at 1-2 Plaza de Santa Bárbara was built in the 1920s and has a combined gross lettable area of approximately 11,000 m2. It is thought the purchase price is in the region of €120 million. Property EU – 12 April 2018

Denmark’s PFA has linked up with TH Real Estate and US workspace provider WeWork to buy 60,000sqm of mainly office space in London for around DKK5bn (€670m). The seller is private equity giant Blackstone, according to PFA, which is the second largest pension fund in Denmark. Blackstone bought the Devonshire Square office and retail complex back in 2012 from Rockpoint and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for around £340 million. IPE Real Estate – 18 April 2018