HighBrook quickly fills up ‘QUARTER OFFICES’ portfolio in Amsterdam

27-11, 2018

HighBrook Investors has signed 15 new lease agreements for Quarter Offices over the last 6 months totalling 21,000 square meters. HighBrook acquired the three Quarter Offices buildings between December 2016 and April 2017 and re-introduced the properties to the market earlier this year after completing major renovations at each building. Since then, the leasing activity has been robust and the overall portfolio occupancy has gone up from 8% to almost 90%. New tenants include major companies such as AON, Maandag, Calco Group and Robert Half International.

HighBrook Investors’ approach to Quarter Offices is based on an extensive Asset Management plan that adds value to the properties through revitalisation, modern workplace concepts, integrated hard (technical) and soft (hospitality) property management & facility services managed by D&B The Facility Group and JLL, as well as a pro-active marketing and leasing strategy. Equity Estate is the overall asset manager for all three Quarter Offices and advised HighBrook Investors on all leasing transactions, together with the real estate advisors Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Van Gool Elburg and Savills. 

Blaak16 in Rotterdam first building in The Netherlands with a WELL Gold Certificate

23-11, 2018

In November 2018, Blaak16 received a WELL Gold certificate. Blaak16 is the first building in The Netherlands receiving the WELL certificate. After already being awarded with a BREEAM Excellent (four stars) and the A+++ EPC label earlier this year this is the third confirmation of the strong sustainable characteristics of this completely re-developed office building.

The 14,500 m² multi-tenant building is equipped with state of the art technology ensuring high levels of comfort and sustainability. The most important eco-friendly aspects comprise the use of solar panels, the heat and cold storage installation (WKO), sustainable use of materials and incentives to use the public transport as a result of its close proximity to the Blaak station. Upon completion, the Blaak 16 office building has proven to be successful. Within one year from completion, the occupancy rate reached 100%. Key words for this high-end office building are comfort, flexibility and openness. Furthermore, the building is equipped with shared meeting rooms on the top floor, combined with a panoramic roof terrace that provides stunning 360 degree views on the skyline of Rotterdam.

WELL is the leading tool for advancing health and well-being in buildings globally. The WELL rating system follows performance-based criteria that measure, monitor and certify parts of the built environment that have an innate impact on wellbeing and health of humans. Its aim is to help prevent chronic diseases by using the built environment through the improvement of nutrition, mood, fitness, sleep patterns and performance of its occupants.

The building was acquired by Blue Horizon Investors in March 2018. Equity Estate performs both the asset and company management for this building as the local partner of Blue Horizon Investors in The Netherlands.

Equity Estate sells Lipariweg 6 in Amsterdam to Gramercy

6-11, 2018

Gramercy has purchased the Lipariweg 6 in Amsterdam from Equity Estate.

Lipariweg 6 is a modern building with a total lettable floor area of approx. 24,965 sq.m. of warehouse space and 979 sq.m. of office space and is fully let to Stora Enso Timber DIY Products B.V.

The building was owned by one of the joint ventures of Equity Estate with an institutional investor from the Middle East, AB CPFM Real Estate Holding Group. The joint venture has approached the end of its term and has been fully divested. With this last transaction, a total of approx. € 80 million was sold, including 9 buildings in Germany and Belgium, and 2 in the Netherlands (Schiphol-Rijk and Amsterdam), a cross boarder team of Knight Frank advised in all different countries.

Gramercy was legally advised by Houthoff. Seller was advised by NL real Estate - Knight Frank and legally advised by DLA Piper.

HighBrook divests Parktoren in Amstelveen

1-11, 2018

HighBrook Investors, the New York based private equity investor, has sold the multi-tenant office building Parktoren to Aspen Real Estate Investments B.V.

The building was acquired by HighBrook Investors in April 2017 with 40% vacancy. Following to the acquisition, Equity Estate managed the building and co-invested in the transaction. HighBrook and Equity Estate managed to lease out the vacant space completely. Reputable companies like Rabobank and Regus are located in the Parktoren. The building - with a total LFA of approximately 9.870 m² divided over ten floors and 84 parking spaces – is located at the Van Heuven Goedhartlaan 7-13 in Amstelveen, located at the edge of the lively city centre of Amstelveen and is easily reachable by public transport and by car. Parktoren has been fully renovated recently and has an energy label A.

HighBrook Investors was advised by Equity Estate, Van Gool Elburg Vastgoedspecialisten and Loyens & Loeff during the sales transaction. Buyer Aspen has been advised by their investment manager APF International together with DLA Piper, Nivab en PWC.

‘Met deze metamorfose blazen we nieuw leven in historisch Pand Noord’

12-10, 2018

Vastgoedjournaal heeft deze week een mooi artikel gepubliceerd naar aanleiding van de officiële opening van Pand Noord op 4 oktober 2018. Hieronder het betreffende artikel.

Pand Noord in Amsterdam-Noord is een ware metamorfose ondergaan. Sinds het pand eind 2017 in handen is gekomen van private equity belegger HighBrook is er flink geïnvesteerd in het bedrijfsverzamelgebouw en VJ was afgelopen week bij de officiële opening om te spreken met de betrokken partijen over de renovatie.

Op vijf minuten loopafstand van de recent geopende Noord-Zuidlijn, ligt het multi-tenant gebouw van circa 10.000 m2 BVO oftewel 7.800 m2 VVO. Het pand, gelegen aan de Meeuwenlaan, heeft een rijke historie en stamt al uit 1917, toen de loods nog onderdeel was van de scheepswerf van ADM. Vanaf de jaren ’90 onderging Amsterdam-Noord een ware metamorfose van industrieel gebied naar bedrijvigheid en trok het gebied ondernemers aan die zich gingen vestigingen in de oude loodsen en hallen. In 2000 kreeg Pand Noord er een nieuwe functie erbij: een filmcentrum. In 2006 wordt het gebouw uitgebreid vanwege de grote vraag naar bedrijfsruimte en nemen circa 50 grote en kleine bedrijven hun intrek.

HighBrook Investors
Eind 2017 krijgt het pand een nieuwe eigenaar, private equity belegger HighBrook Investors. De Amerikaanse belegger, bekend van aankopen zoals het Groothandelsgebouw en de Mesdag portefeuille, heeft als doel om het pand te renoveren en verduurzamen. In samenwerking met asset manager Equity Estate, property manager Square Four, projectmanager Savills, architectenbureau Hollandse Nieuwe en exploitant D&B The Facility Group, is de belegger aan de slag gegaan om Pand Noord nieuw leven in te blazen.

VJ sprak met Gijsbert Witteveen, asset manager bij Equity Estate, over de renovatie: “We zijn zo’n vier maanden bezig geweest, ondertussen is het gebouw open gebleven voor de gebruikers en hebben we de overlast tot een minimum proberen te beperken. Er is lang niets met dit kantoor gedaan, dus er lagen veel kansen. Behalve een nieuwe, frisse uitstraling waarbij we de industriële identiteit van het gebouw hebben behouden, worden er ook structurele aanpassingen gedaan. Zo worden alle installaties dit jaar vervangen om het gebouw aan de duurzaamheidseisen te laten voldoen.”

Van receptie tot catering
Behalve een fikse verbouwing is er ook een nieuw exploitatieconcept ontwikkeld samen met D&B The Facility Group. Zij verzorgen de receptiedienstverlening, de beveiliging, de schoonmaak en de catering op Pand Noord met hun horecaconcept WeCanteen. Tevens heeft D&B een handyman geplaatst en wordt het gehele team aangestuurd door de community manager van D&B die tevens ondersteunt bij de vele events die op Pand Noord plaatsvinden.

Jan-Willem de Bruijn, CCO van D&B The Facility Group vertelt aan VJ: “Wij zien veel potentie in Pand Noord. Zeker ook gezien onze samenwerking met HighBrook Investors en Equity Estate. We hebben met hen inmiddels een aantal mooie projecten lopen. Dit gaf ons het vertrouwen dat Pand Noord naar een nieuw ambitieniveau gebracht zou worden”.

Community
Tot slot zegt De Bruijn: “Op Pand Noord is een stabiele en loyale huurdersgroep aanwezig met diverse creatieve achtergronden op welke wij ons integrale service concept hebben afgestemd. Wij zijn er dan ook van overtuigd dat wij met dit concept een positieve bijdrage gaan leveren en een inspirerende omgeving creëren voor de huurders. Bovendien zullen we een bijbehorend community programma draaien om meer verbinding te creëren.”

Nieuwe huurders gezocht
Op dit moment telt Pand Noord zo’n 40 huurders, de meeste actief in de creatieve sector. Maar binnenkort komt er een aantal meters vrij, vertelt Witteveen: “De komende maanden zal er zo’n 1.350 m2 vrij komen. We hebben er vertrouwen in dat dit gevuld zal worden. Deels door middel van organische groei vanuit het gebouw zelf, zo zijn er huurders die er meters bij willen omdat ze aan het expanderen zijn. Maar we merken ook dat er vraag is van buitenaf.”

Als laatste geeft Witteveen mee: “Het is belangrijk om te investeren in een gebouw om je kantoorgebruikers tevreden te houden. We merken dat een goede operator het verschil maakt en het belangrijk is om transparant te zijn met je huurders. Met deze renovatie hebben we waarde kunnen toevoegen aan dit gebouw en kunnen we zo het verschil maken tijdens het verlengen van de huurcontracten en het aantrekken van nieuwe huurders.”

Bron: Vastgoedjournaal.nl

Equity Estate has divested a 16,500 sqm logistics building in Schiphol-Rijk

5-10, 2018

Equity Estate has successfully divested the logistics building located at Koolhovenlaan 35-45 in Schiphol-Rijk to a data center operator. Koolhovenlaan 35-45 is a modern logistic warehouse with a total lettable floor area of approximately 16,500 sqm. Since 1998, the building was fully let to Ricoh Europe (Netherlands) BV. Ricoh left the building just before closing. The buyer will transform the building into a data center.

The owner was a joint venture between Equity Estate and a institutional investor from the Middle East. Over the past few months 9 buildings in the joint venture were divested, amounting to an investment volume of EUR 82.5 mio, spread over Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands.

Knight Frank's European Capital Markets team and DLA Piper advised the seller on the sale.

Blaak 16 in Rotterdam obtains BREEAM Excellent certification

4-10, 2018

In September 2018, the Blaak 16 office building in Rotterdam, received a BREEAM Excellent (four stars) quality mark from the Dutch Green Building Council. After already being awarded with the A+++ EPC label earlier this year this is the second confirmation of the strong sustainable characteristics of this completely re-developed office building. The 14,500 m² multi-tenant building is equipped with state of the art technology ensuring high levels of comfort and sustainability. The most important eco-friendly aspects comprise the use of solar panels, the heat and cold storage installation (WKO), sustainable use of materials and incentives to use the public transport as a result of its close proximity to the Blaak station.

Upon completion, the Blaak 16 office building has proven to be successful. Within one year from completion, the occupancy rate reached 90% and currently only has one vacant floor left. Key words for this high-end office building are comfort, flexibility and openness. Furthermore, the building is equipped with shared meeting rooms on the top floor, combined with a panoramic roof terrace that provides stunning 360 degree views on the skyline of Rotterdam.

The building was acquired and developed by Cairn Real Estate in cooperation with Kadans Vastgoed before it was sold to Blue Horizon Investors in March 2018. Equity Estate performs both the asset and company management for this building as the local partner of Blue Horizon Investors in The Netherlands.

Regus signs lease in Le Mirage in Utrecht

4-10, 2018

Regus and HighBrook Investors have signed a lease agreement for a new business center in Le Mirage in Utrecht. It concerns 1.304 sq. m. With this lease, Regus expands the number of branches in Utrecht to nine.
Regus leases a part of the second and the entire third floor of the building. 23 parking spaces are available for Regus customers in the adjacent car park. The center is located at Vliegend Hertlaan, close to the motorway. In addition, bus and tram stops are within walking distance.

Le Mirage was designed by the American architect firm Kohn Pedersen Fox. It has 21 floors and has a lettable floor area of 18,000 m². The special shape and the height of the office building make the building one of the most recognizable office buildings in Utrecht.

Equity Estate is the asset manager of the building. CBRE and Ans de Wijn advised the lessor on the transaction.

Equity Estate successfully divests 6 German properties to M7 Real Estate

3-9, 2018

Equity Estate has successfully divested the German assets in the Qube portfolio to M7 Real Estate. The portfolio includes five modern Light Industrial properties and a temperature-controlled logistics- and production property, each of which is 100% let. The average remaining term of the leases (WALT) totalling 22,000 sqm of space amounted to 5.7 years.

The six properties, which are predominantly located in industrial estates, are spread over various metropolitan regions in Germany: Berlin / Brandenburg (Wildau), North Rhine-Westphalia (Bergisch Gladbach). Hesse (Michelstadt), Baden-Württemberg (Albstadt, Friedrichshafen) and Bavaria (Kempten).

Seller is one of the Funds managed by Equity Estate B.V., which carried out the transaction through its own real estate company AB CPFM Real Estate B.V. This joint venture with a Middle Eastern investor is approaching the end of its term and has already successfully divested 11 of its assets spread over Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany. Knight Frank's European Capital Markets team and DLA Piper advised the seller on the sale.

Equity Estate appoints Birgitta Padberg as Managing Director Groot Handelsgebouw

12-8, 2018

HighBrook Investors became the new owner of the so-called Groot Handelsgebouw in Rotterdam since 27 July 2018. Equity Estate has taken on the management of the Groot Handelsgebouw together with the current operations team. In addition, the ownership announced that Birgitta Padberg has been appointed as Managing Director. 

On 1 September 2018 Birgitta Padberg will start in her new function at the Groot Handelsgebouw. She has more than 20 years of work experience in commercial real estate and is at present Associate Director at Cushman & Wakefield. Birgitta is a commercial real estate expert and has 14 years of experience in leasing, selling and acquiring properties in the Rotterdam market. ‘I know the Groot Handelsgebouw well. It is a sturdy and authentic nationally listed building with a large diversity of tenants,’ says Birgitta Padberg.

HighBrook Investors has the ambition to further unlock the largest multi-tenant business building in The Netherlands and to enlarge the multi-efficiency. Birgitta Padberg is enthusiastic. ‘There are still a lot of undiscovered spots in the Groot Handelsgebouw. It would be nice if the enormous roof terrace of 7,000 m² could be accessible to the public. We also want to optimize the routing in and around the building. I look forward to taking up this challenge, together with HighBrook Investors, Equity Estate and the current team that has many years of experience with management of the Groot Handelsgebouw’.