Catella European Residential Acquires First Belgium Apartment Unit in Centre of Brussels for €25 million

In Brussels, CER III has acquired a residential building dating from 2005 comprising 65
modern apartments and 70 indoor parking spaces for approximately €25 million. Most of
the apartments are let and range in size from 41 to 173 sqm. The closing of the
transaction is expected to take place at the end of August.

Patrick Au Yeung, Fund Manager for the Catella European Residential Fund III,
said: “We are pleased our fund continued to attract new capital during the Covid-19
lockdown and we expect the strong interest from institutional investors will continue.
Brussels is one of the key targets for our European residential strategy due to its
importance as a financial centre and the capital of the European Union. The inner-city
residential market in Brussels consists of a great diversity of old and new apartments.
We expect the complex we have acquired will be very attractive to expats, diplomats and
employees of international corporations, many of whom prefer to live close to their work
in the city centre where the cost of living is still affordable compared to other big
European cities.”

Brussels is home to 210 foreign embassies and consulates and many international
companies are also headquartered in the city. The property is situated on Rue Godecharle
in the Leopold Quarter where the European Commission and European Parliament are
located. The Leopold district has excellent public transportation connections and is also
easily accessible by car.

Ralph Willems, Acquisition Manager for CIMB: “The institutional rental market for
housing in Belgium is still quite small compared to the neighboring countries Germany
and the Netherlands, but investors have great interest. We would like to explore further
opportunities in attractive urban locations across the country such as Brussels and
Antwerp, as well as in smaller cities such as Ghent, Bruges and Leuven. We mainly focus
on affordable rental properties and sub-segments of the residential market where there is
a scarcity of supply, such as housing for students and seniors.”

The purchase is one of four transactions recently conducted by CER III at locations in
leading (major) European cities such as Berlin, Potsdam and the French border town of
Ornex, located near Geneva. The transactions follow a new capital increase in April of €
100 million from a Dutch pension fund and € 25 million increase in July from a German
institutional investor for the fund's pan-European housing strategy.

ENDS 

About Catella Investment Management Benelux (CIMB)

Catella Investment Management Benelux (CIMB) is part of the Catella group, an independent financial advisor, fund and asset manager with approximately 600 employees in 15 countries. Our parent Catella AB is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm in the mid-cap segment.

CIMB is the local branch that offers acquisitions and asset management for all Catella funds in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. We also actively participate in the initiation of new funds such as the Catella Dutch Residential Fund II and the Catella European Residential Fund III. CIMB currently has about €1.2 billion in assets under management in the Benelux and expects to make acquisitions in 2020 for a total of € 300 million.

For more information contact:
Lisette van der Ham
Head of PR & Corporate Communications
Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH
Upper West, Kantstraße 164,
10623 Berlin
M: +31 (0)6 83200561
E: lisette.vanderham@catella-investment.com 
W: https://www.catella.com/immobilienfonds