Cording purchases retail and office investment in Utrecht

Cording Real Estate Group, the Northern European real estate investment and asset management firm and majority owned by Edmond de Rothschild (Suisse) S.A., on behalf of the Benelux Commercial Real Estate Fund, has purchased the investment of Ganzenmarkt 2-6, in Utrecht from a private investor.

Situated in the historic centre of Utrecht, the mixed-use retail and office investment has a lettable floor area of circa 3,000 sq m. The property is located in the historic city within the centre of the prime shopping area at the Oudegracht canal and includes a popular supermarket and several office units.

The property, which was refurbished and extended in 2014, consists of three linked buildings of different heights.The property is fully let to a diversified pool of tenants. The retail space in the basement, ground and first floor levels, is occupied by a supermarket (trading as Boon’s Markt) and held on a long-term lease. Office occupiers within the investment include Snelvertaler, Accent Circonflexe Groupe and Keypoint Consulancy.

René de Heus, Head of Investment Benelux for Cording Real Estate Group, said: “This third purchase underlines our interest in the office market in Utrecht. The high level of demand within the occupier market, combined with the favourable economic fundamentals, is why Utrecht is considered to be strategically an important city pertaining office investments for the Benelux Commercial Real Estate Fund. During a rather short period of time we have acquired ten properties. We aim to double this amount in 2019”.

Cording was advised on the legal and tax due diligence aspects of the deal by Van Doorne and on the technical aspects by Stevens van Dijck. The vendor was represented by JB Retail.

Launched in December 2016, the Benelux Commercial Real Estate Fund invests in office and retail property in economically strong cities within the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The fund has a gross target volume of €400 million, including €250 million of equity.