Warburg - Henderson increases transaction volume to over one billion Euro
- Warburg - Henderson invests 715m Euro in Europe
- New equity commitments of over 500m Euro
- 2012: German assets are still top of the shopping list of institutional investors
Warburg - Henderson Kapitalanlagegesellschaft für Immobilien mbH, Hamburg, has transacted around 1,095bn Euro during the calendar year 2011. That is nearly 14 per cent more than in 2010. Total investment volume amounted to 715m Euro, while disposals totalled 380m Euro. With these figures Warburg - Henderson was one of the most active investors in the German property special fund business. „We are delighted with the result. Our market access allowed us to identify attractive investment opportunities in Europe at an early stage and to utilise these for our acquisitions and disposals“, says Dr. Henning Klöppelt, Speaker of the Management Board of Warburg - Henderson.
During 2011 Warburg - Henderson received 510m Euro in equity commitments. „Again, we were able to gain and confirm the trust of our investors. There is a clear trend towards individual fund products aimed at the specific needs of investors“, says Klöppelt. A rather significant share of the new equity was raised for a separate account and the Club Deal Warburg - Henderson KOOP.
With 11 assets acquired and a total volume of 460m Euro, investments were focussed on Germany, followed by Austria with four assets and 80m Euro. „Investors’ needs for safety are clearly mirrored in our focus on Germany and Austria with their very stable property markets. Further to that we have utilised attractive opportunities in other European cities and have acquired assets with a core to core plus risk/return profile for our funds”, explains Eitel Coridaß, Managing Director and responsible for Portfolio Management at
Warburg - Henderson. A total of 175m Euro was invested in properties in France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. With 214m Euro, more than half of all the disposal proceeds were realised in Germany, followed by the UK with 96m Euro and a further 70m Euro in Austria and France. „The investment focus in 2011 was clearly on retail assets”, Coridaß adds and further: “We have acquired considerably more in this segment than we did in the office sector.”
The previous investment story will continue in 2012 and will focus even further on individual investor requirements. „Due to increasing regulatory pressures it is important to re-think and amend previous fund structures at an early stage in order to offer sustainable, attractive products“, Klöppelt says explaining the influence of Solvency II, Basel III and the AIFM-Guideline on the German property special fund sector. To do so
Warburg - Henderson has recently established its own Business Development Department. In addition to that distribution capacities will be strengthened further over the coming months.
For 2012 Warburg - Henderson plans to invest nearly as much as in 2011. „Germany is still valued highly by investors, but also Austria, France and Scandinavia will become the focus of attention for property purchasers in the core to core plus segment“, says Coridaß. In addition, investors will be considering the Benelux countries and the UK. Generally speaking, retail and office investments in European main cities will continue to be the focus.
The Austrian property market is enjoying enduring popularity. „On one hand there are many similarities with the German property market, for example the stability. On the other hand the economic drivers of both countries differ enormously, which allows for very good diversification. This is very appealing to institutional investors“, Coridaß says explaining the continued interest in Germany’s bordering neighbour. Institutional investors wishing to invest in Austria are invited to use the property special fund Warburg - Henderson Österreich Fonds Nr. 2. The fund invests in structurally high quality Austrian assets with stable rental income and asset management potential. The investment focus is on retail properties in all of Austria and office properties in Vienna. It targets a yearly Total Return (IRR) of seven per cent and an Income Return of six per cent per year.
In 2011, Warburg - Henderson has acquired a total of 20 assets in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK for its property funds. It disposed of a total of ten assets in Austria, France, Germany and the UK. The Assets under Management amount to c. 4.1bn Euro as at the end of 2011. To date Warburg - Henderson has launched 17 property funds for institutional investors.
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ergo Kommunikation, Susanne Edelmann / +49 40 180 493 95 / susanne.edelmann(at)ergo-komm.de
About Warburg - Henderson
Warburg - Henderson KAG was founded in 2001 and is a joint venture between the renowned German private bank M.M.Warburg & CO and the British asset manager Henderson Global Investors. Warburg – Henderson is a capital investment company and so far has launched 17 property funds for German and international institutional investors. The investors are mainly insurance companies and pension funds. The assets under management currently amount to c. 4.1 billion Euro.
