Press Release

Catalyst Capital, the European real estate investment and asset management firm, has completed €81 million of property tranactions in Germany.

In three separate transactions, Catalyst has acquired the WEZ (Westfalen Einkaufszentrum) retail park in Dortmund for €26.1 million and sold the E96 retail park in Bielefeld and the office building, City Gate, at Carl-Ulrich-Strasse 4 in Neu-Isenburg, near Frankfurt.

In Dortmund, Catalyst has acquired on behalf of Catalyst European Property Fund II (CEPF II) the 20,150 sq m WEZ retail park in Bornstrasse from Luximmo. The major tenants include Aldi, DM, Deichmann, KiK and Takko.

In Bielefeld, Catalyst has sold the E96 retail park on behalf of Catalyst European Property Fund I to a public service pension scheme, managed by Savills Investment Management. The 10,090 sq m park was built in 1973 and extensively refurbished by Catalyst in 2015. It is now fully let and anchored by Media Markt and EDEKA, producing annual rental income of €1.5 million, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 11 years. Henry Robinson Consulting advised Catalyst on the sale.

In Neu-Isenburg, Catalyst has sold the prime office building, City Gate, at Carl-Ulrich-Strasse 4 to a pension fund, managed by Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate. The property was acquired by Catalyst in partnership with an overseas investor in 2013.

The 10,500 sq m building is multi-let. The biggest tenant is De’Longhi, the renowned Italian small appliance manufacturer. Other tenants Postbank, Fortinet, Unicredit-Leasing. NAI Apollo advised Catalyst on the sale.

On all the transactions FPS Fritze Wicke Seelig provided legal advice Crowe Horwath provided tax advice.

Kean Hird, a partner of Catalyst, said: “The sales in Bielefeld and Neu-Isenburg came after we carried out extensive value-adding initiatives, transforming these properties into stabilised, income-producing assets suitable for institutional investors”.

Steven Jedlicki, country head of Germany at Catalyst, said: “WEZ is a typical Catalyst Capital acquisition. We have bought a well-located and well-let investment, which offers the opportunity for us to apply our asset management skills to add value”.