News and Press releases

Commerz Real has sold the commercial building Seltersweg 83-85 in Gießen to the local project developer and property owner Faber & Schnepp.

The Catella European Residential Fund III has acquired The Arches, a 184-residential unit Build to Rent (BTR) development in Leicester, CER III’s first deal in the UK, for c.£32 million (c.€37 million) from developer Watkin Jones. The scheme was purchased for the Fund by UK-based partner Catella APAM and Berlin-headquartered Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM).

Between the explosion of e-commerce, storage and processes to be reviewed, how has logistics adapted to the health crisis ? 

Far from only being a technical subject for industrialists, logistics is really everyone's business, including consumers and citizens. At the end of March, the Ever Given, a container ship weighing over 220,000 tonnes, blocked the Suez Canal. Ten percent of the world’s maritime trade is shipped through the Canal every day. As a result, deliveries were considerably delayed and logistics costs soared by more than 45%. Another key topic is the supply of vaccines against Covid-19. From delivery to storage to transport and vaccination sites, the success of France's vaccination strategy is at stake. Well beyond the public health issue, delay could cost the French economy seven billion euros per week, according to the credit insurer Euler Hermes. These two examples show to what extent logistics, far from only being a technical subject for industrialists, is a matter that concerns everyone, including consumers and citizens.

Catella acted as SRV’s exclusive financial advisor in the divestment of an office property to be constructed in the Vantaankoski area in Vantaa. The property will be part of the Pressi Smart Premises office complex. The buyer is Julius Tallberg-Kiinteistöt.

Catella has appointed M.Sc. (Econ) Jenni Ervasti to its Helsinki Corporate Finance unit to strengthen Catella’s real estate advisory services in Finland.

Once again, Catella Research has analysed the commercial residential real estate markets in 61 cities and 19 countries in Europe. It is evident that even the current pandemic phase afflicting Europe has shown little change in its effects on the investor and transaction markets. Demand in the low interest rate environment remains very high.

Catella acted as Helsinki University Properties Ltd’s exclusive financial advisor in the divestment of a university occupied property located in the Kruunuhaka district of Helsinki city centre. The investment volume is approximately EUR 16 million and the buyer is Hemsö.

No question: the Spanish economy is also suffering from the Corona pandemic. After a 5-year steady upswing, the past year was marked by a strong recession. However, a concerted effort by the government, trade unions and the business community succeeded in setting the economic framework that will lead to robust growth in 2021 and especially 2022.

Catella AB (publ) has, through its subsidiary Infrahubs Fastighet 3 AB, signed a lease agreement with Matsmart Scandinavia AB to build and manage a new automated central warehouse of approx. 24,000 sq.m. in Örebro, Sweden. Sustainability is in focus and solar panels will be placed on the roof of the entire property to produce electricity to the operation of the premises. The new warehouse will be ready in the spring of 2022.

It is interesting how quickly the market perspectives change. Whereas in 2016 many in the real estate market were still convinced that student housing was a locally anchored niche segment, in 2018 we were able to diagnose the establishment of an asset class. The number of transactions increasingly shifted into institutional, often pan-European hands, characterised by a strong increase in the inflow of funds.

Catella acted as an advisor to the Paulo Foundation in the sale of two care properties in the City of Espoo and in the City of Vantaa. The properties consist in total 41 client places. The buyers are a group of private investors.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (‘CRIM’) has acquired the Telegrafkollegiet student residence in Copenhagen for €45 million for the Catella European Student Housing Fund II (CESHF II). The acquisition follows a successful third capital raise in Q1 2021 which saw German institutional investors commit €40 million to the Fund. The latest acquisition increases the Fund’s assets under management to €170 million.

Earlier this year Jos Klinge joined Catella IM Benelux (CIMB) as Senior Acquisition Manager to facilitate the company’s expansion in the residential and healthcare sectors, which will include the preparation and research for a launch of a new fund initiative in senior housing. Klinge will join the acquisition team alongside Ronnie Holtslag, Ralph Willems and Jac Huijsmans with a view to deploying new capital commitments from clients.

Gustav Correll Bjørn joins Catella Corporate Finance capital markets team in Denmark with the aim of providing capital and liquidity to the Nordic hospitality sector addressing the current recapitalization needs, by introducing capital solutions and advisory services to the sector.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) has secured additional capital commitments totalling €185 million from three new German pension fund clients, including NAEV, the retirement plan for medical professionals in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, for its Catella European Residential III fund (CER III). Total commitments for the CER III Fund since its launch in 2019 have now reached €475 million, of which €365 million was raised in the last 12 months during the Covid-19 pandemic.

M2 Asset Management enters the Copenhagen market and acquires 99 residential units and 56 parking spaces from Patrizia with prime location in the inner city of Copenhagen.

A group of private investors sold a fully refurbished office property in the Helsinki centre. The buyer is a fund managed by Real I.S. AG. The acquisition is Real I.S. AG’s first investment in Finland.

The first in a planned €2.0 billion investment programme of 100 ‘energy-positive ‘Elithis’ residential towers across Europe, aimed at providing affordable and sustainable homes, has been acquired in Saint-Etienne near Lyon in France, by the Catella European Residential Fund III (CER III). These projects will be delivered between 20-to-30 years ahead of the EU’s ambitious 2050 carbon-neutral timeline target for the built environment and already outperform Europe’s climate goals for cutting CO2 emissions.

There is hardly a survey among corporates on the market-changing topics of the future in which the topic of ESG is not placed among the TOP 3 - no matter in which country we are in Europe. Working groups that explore standards and market practices are springing up everywhere. Especially the aspect of capital flow into real estate vehicles or assets is of great interest here.

Catella acted as Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company’s advisor in the sale of an office property located in Herttoniemi, Helsinki. The well-known property was originally constructed as the headquarters of the Rautaruukki corporation and it has a gross area of over 10,000 square metres. The buyer is a group of private investors.

Catella Fondförvaltning AB today publishes the funds' annual report for 2020.

An annual survey on the commercial real estate market in France, summarising the major trends of 2020/2021.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM) and Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) have acquired an affordable residential complex in Dos Hermanas, Seville for €17.5 million on behalf of the Catella Wohnen Europa (CWE) fund. The transaction will boost the volume of the fund’s Spanish portfolio to approximately €170 million. The property will be managed by Catella Asset Management Iberia S.L, which already has a portfolio of 1,700 units under management in Spain. The acquisition was made through CREAG’s AIFM platform.

We cannot look very far into the future with a precision landing, but we can analyse the past and the current situation, interpret it and derive recommendations for action from it. Above all, we can "price in" the current corona situation on the commercial real estate markets - you only have to talk to the corporates, landlords tenants and investors, and a robust picture will emerge of what will happen in the coming quarters. To put it in a nutshell: The German office markets are by no means immune, in view of the economic situation - but so far they have shown themselves to be largely crisis-resistant. Vacancies are rising only moderately; rents and purchase prices are holding steady.

Catella’s mandate comprises leasing management and advisory services for the landmark property Kirjatalo in Helsinki CBD anchored by the Academic Bookstore.

Berlin, 15 March 2021, Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) has acquired two residential properties in Berlin and Rostock for €30 million on behalf of one of Germany’s largest co-operative banks. The deals follow on from recent acquisitions for the mandate in Münster and Leipzig and are part of the bank’s investment programme to spend at least €300 million over the next two to three years in German residential real estate, with a focus on affordable housing.

The Covid-pandemic has undoubtedly turned many preconceptions on their head – in everyday life, but also in the financial markets.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) has acquired a €50 million energy-efficient apartments complex project in Heidelberg, in one of the largest and most sustainable urban developments in Germany, on behalf of a separate mandate for a southern German pension fund. The investment will lift total assets managed for the mandate, structured as a German institutional ‘spezial’ fund to invest in four countries across Europe, to more than €800 million. The vendor was Kreer Development.

Munich-based investment manager Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) has acquired an office development in Luxembourg for the Sarasin Sustainable Properties - European Cities Fund (SSP) million from Lafayette S.A. The building is located in the emerging Howald office district and offers 8,000 sqm of lettable space. Upon completion in Q1 2021 it will be occupied by the Saint-Paul Luxembourg media group, now part of the Belgian Mediahuis Group, owner of e.g. the Luxembourger Wort, Luxembourg Times and Radio Latina, on a long-term lease.

Catella acted as an advisor in the sale of a light industrial portfolio including five properties located in Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere and Oulu. The buyer is Elite Alfred Berg’s real estate fund Elite Finland Value Added Fund II Ky.

After 12 months of pandemic, the office spaces in the 38 European locations we studied are suffering from below-average intensity of use. We assume that currently between Oulu and Madrid, between Dublin and Warsaw, only about 20% of the offices are regularly visited by employees on a weekly basis. Even more, a complete return to the office after the end of the pandemic seems less and less likely. 

The Board of Catella has appointed Christoffer Abramson as CEO and President of Catella Group. Christoffer will begin his role no later than by the Annual General Meeting, May 25 2021. Christoffer has been the Chief Financial Officer since October 15 2020.

Jac Huijsmans joined Catella IM Benelux (CIMB) in January as Senior Acquisition Manager where he will focus on new developments, conversions and existing investments. Jac’s career spans 20 years with leading Dutch residential and commercial real estate developers and he brings particular expertise in large-scale and complex inner-city developments. As project director he was responsible for the redevelopment of the former Dutch ministry of social affairs and employment in The Hague, a major scheme of over 1,000 apartments and 40,000 m2 of office space.

DSB and Danica Pension has formed a joint venture to undertake a 25,000 square meter development project with prime location in the inner city of Copenhagen next to the Central Train Station and Tivoli Gardens.

Catella Fondförvaltning AB is happy to announce that we will launch two Luxembourg-based property funds, one index fund and one actively managed fund. Both funds aim to offer an investment opportunity that from a return perspective are more similar to a direct investment in property.

There is no question that the asset class "retail" is under enormous restructuring pressure throughout Europe. Although the current downward trend was announced at the latest in the last decade and was only masked by the very good economic situation in the last few years, the current pandemic crisis clearly shows the breaking points. 

Active property transaction year despite the pandemicThe transaction volume of the property market was EUR 5.7 billion in 2020. The transaction volume decreased slightly from 2019, which can be at least partially explained by corona crisis and resulting travel and other restrictions, that hampered transactions. Despite the exceptional conditions, foreign investors interest towards Finnish property market remained strong. In 2020, Finland gained property investments worth EUR 3.0 billion by foreign investors, which was circa 53% of all investments.

The Board of Directors of Catella SICAV has decided to close Catella Nordic Long / Short Equity fund as of February 26, 2021.

Munich, February 5th 2021 – Catella Real Estate AG – has completed the acquisition of an office property, located at 37-39 rue Crozatier, in Paris. The purchase was made on behalf of the Sarasin Sustainable Properties - European Cities fund (SSP), an institutional fund jointly managed by CREAG and Bank J. Safra Sarasin with Assets under Management of more than EUR 600 mil.

2020 was an eventful year. The pandemic hit brutally, both equity and fixed income markets, before a record quick recovery during the latter part of the year. The world's governments and central banks have acted forcefully to support the economy and the expectations for 2021 are in many places high - so high that at the start of the year, the equity market has started in a bullish fashion

Catella acted as Metsäliitto Cooperative’s and Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution Mela’s advisor in the sale of their headquarters in Espoo, Tapiola to NREP.

Catella acted as FinCap Kiinteistökehitys Oy’s financial advisor in the sale of an elderly care property under construction in Nikinmäki, Vantaa. The property has been fully leased to Esperi Care Oy with a long lease agreement. The buyer is an international real estate investor Cofinimmo with its investment manager Mirabel Partners Oy. Cofinimmo is listed on Euronext Brussels (BEL20) and the transaction is the company’s second investment in Finland.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) has purchased two residential properties in Leipzig and Münster for overall €30 million on behalf of one of Germany's largest cooperative banks. This is the first deal within a new €300 million mandate for CRIM from the bank, which will focus on investments in affordable housing.

Catella acted as an advisor for Työväen Opintorahasto sr in the sale of a residential building and retail premises in Oulu. The residential building comprises in total 32 rental apartments with a total lettable area of 1,726 square metres. The total lettable area of the retail premises is approximately 584 square metres. The buyers are private investors.

Catella Property Consultants GmbH, the German investment consultancy of the Swedish Catella AB, starts the new year with a new partner. Unverzagt joins Catella Property Consultants GmbH with effect from January 1st 2021. 

Maastricht-based Catella Investment Management Benelux (CIMB) and Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) have acquired the ‘Project Twin’ residential complex in Osdorp, a suburb to the west of Amsterdam, from Heitman LLC, a global real estate investment management firm. The two 11-storey buildings – Tower I and III – are located by a canal and park on the Jan van Zutphenstraat and comprise 196 mid-range rental apartments spread over approximately 20,000 sqm, as well as 208 parking spaces. The properties were purchased on behalf of an institutional mandate, managed by CRIM. Financial details were not disclosed.

Maastricht-based Catella Investment Management Benelux (CIMB) and Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) have acquired the ‘Project Twin’ residential complex in Osdorp, a suburb to the west of Amsterdam, from Heitman LLC, a global real estate investment management firm. The two 11-storey buildings – Tower I and III – are located by a canal and park on the Jan van Zutphenstraat and comprise 196 mid-range rental apartments spread over approximately 20,000 sqm, as well as 208 parking spaces. The properties were purchased on behalf of an institutional mandate, managed by CRIM. Financial details were not disclosed.

2020 goes to history as the year when the Covid-19 pandemic changed our lives, as well as enormous effects on the economic development. During the start of the year we had knowledge of the disease and could see from distance how the Chinese authorities tried to handle the spread. It however took until end of February before the market started to understand the gravity of the situation.