Press Releases

• Assets under management grow by more than 500 million euros in 2021
• Annual transaction volume doubled from 247 million to 448 million euros
• Project volume significantly expanded from 630 million to more than 900 million euros
• Plans for 2022: growth together with third-party investors, new products

In 2021 HANSAINVEST Real Assets GmbH once again consistently continued along its clear growth path of recent years. For the first time ever the assets under management totalled more than seven billion euros thanks to an increase of some 500 million euros. The drivers for this positive development were, on the one hand, the sharp increase of 448 million euros (2020: just 247 million euros) in the transaction volume, and, on the other hand, the significantly greater project volume in the real estate new construction segment (2021: 904 million euros, 2020: 629 million euros). Both the real estate segment (5.77 billion euros) and the renewable energy infrastructure segment (1.23 billion euros) contributed to the overall growth. In 2022 business with institutional third-party investors is to be expanded above all, among other things through the issuance of several new investment fund products.

“We were able to successfully pursue our key objectives for growth in 2021. In the coming year our focus will again be on office, residential and logistics, both with existing properties as well as in the form of project developments. In this respect we attach enormous significance to sustainability. Accordingly we have developed a scoring system together with other industry representatives in the framework of ECORE and already implemented this to a large degree,” comments Nicholas Brinckmann, the chairman of the management of HANSAINVEST Real Assets.

“On our path to even more sustainable business dealings in keeping with our Hanseatic values we intend to mobilise all our stakeholders. Naturally this will begin with our own workforce and will be headed by our ESG officer, but will also take in external partnerships with service providers and our tenants. Here the topic of green leases will play an increasingly important role, for instance,” adds Martina Averbeck, the managing director of HANSAINVEST Real Assets.

Strategic acquisitions: US residential real estate, Polish logistics and high-quality office projects

The real estate transaction volume in 2021 grew from 215 million to about 400 million euros. With just under 390 million euros virtually the entire volume of this sum was accounted for by acquisitions. The flagship signing last year was the purchase of the landmark office tower Generation Park Y in Warsaw. The property with its 47,000 square metres was the year’s largest individual deal in the CEE region. In addition, there were further purchases by HANSA European Logistic Fund (HELF) in Poland and Finland, as well as the expansion of the US residential portfolio by nearly 15,000 square metres in Dallas, Texas.

When it came to the leasing performance the asset management team again posted a strong result in 2021 despite a challenging market environment at times. While the number of leases increased from 3,357 to 3,757, the leasing ratio across the entire portfolio remained a solid 93.53 per cent. In the course of the year 82 lease agreements were successfully concluded, whereby 37 of these were accounted for by new leases.

• Biggest office transaction 2021 in CEE with 285 million euro
• Landmark skyscraper reaches 140 meter height in central commercial Wola district
• Fully leased and newly built asset in line with ESG principles

HANSAINVEST Real Assets GmbH has purchased the office property Generation Park Y, an 47,000 square meter skyscraper, from leading European developer Skanska for 285 million euros, making the transaction the biggest of 2021 in the entire CEE region. It is already the fourth major transaction between the two parties in CEE and Scandinavia. Generation Park Y is a 38-storey building (140 meters) and part of a broader office development project in Warsaw situated at Rondo Daszyńskiego (Wola District). 100 percent of the asset's office space is leased for ten years to leading Polish insurance company PZU for its headquarters.
 

Generation Park Y, which was completed in the first quarter of 2021, was designed and built according to ESG principles in line with environmental and social aspects. Thanks to innovative solutions such as green concrete, energy-efficient devices and gray and rain-water recovery system, Generation Park Y using low consumption of resources. The building uses 100% renewable energy. A quarter of the materials used to build Generation Park Y contain recycled components. It has already received recognitions to prove this in the form of: LEED Core & Shell Platinum certificate and WELL Health & Safety Rating. The building is also applying for WELL Core & Shell and Building without Barriers certification.
 

„Core office properties fulfilling ambitious ESG criteria continue to be sustainable long-term investments, particularly new developments in dynamic markets such as Warsaw or comparable metropolitan areas. Generation Park Y therefore fits very well into our overall acquisition strategy. We are looking forward to further diversifying our European and US real estate portfolio in 2022,“ comments Nicholas Brinckmann, the chairman of the management board of HANSAINVEST Real Assets.
 

„Being our first skyscraper in CEE, Generation Park Y is our flagship project not only in Poland but also in the entire region. Therefore, we are happy that our asset was again chosen by our long-term business partner HANSAINVEST Real Assets. This new acquisition, alongside its scale on the market in 2021, confirms that the whole Generation Park project is of the highest quality and has been built according to ESG principles. This is what distinguishes our projects on the market,“ explains Arkadiusz Rudzki, Executive Vice President Leasing & Sales at Skanska's commercial development business unit in CEE.
 

MFC Real Estate acted as advisor on the buyer side, while Greenberg Traurig provided legal counsel. Tax consultancy on the buyer side was provided by TPA Poland.

• Acquisition of properties with a total area of 23,900 m² in Wroclaw and of 19,800 m² in Poznan
• Newly built and fully leased logistics properties with tenants with strong credit ratings

HANSAINVEST Real Assets GmbH has purchased two properties in Poland with a total area of 43,700 m² for the HANSA Europe Logistic Fund (HELF). The properties were built in 2021 and are located in the established logistics markets of Poznan and Wroclaw in western Poland.

"Two state-of-the-art multi-tenant properties with good third-party usability at two top logistics locations in western Poland's transport hubs - the two properties ideally suit the acquisition profile of our fund. Thanks to this purchase we are specifically enhancing the diversification of our portfolio and once again making use of our in-house logistics expertise," comments Nicholas Brinckmann, the chairman of the management board of HANSAINVEST Real Assets.

The main tenants in Poznan are the international parcel service DPD, the consumer goods group Brandline and the food wholesaler Agart Pro. A total of 1,600 m² of the space is used for office purposes, while the rest is classic logistics space. The Wroclaw property is leased to Mask Authority, the Polish market leader for the manufacture of face masks, and Selsey, a furniture specialist. The logistics space is complemented by around 1,900 m² of office space. The occupancy rate of both properties is 100 per cent.

MFC Real Estate acted as advisor to the buyer, while Greenberg Traurig provided legal support. Tax advice on the buyer side was provided by TPA Poland. The seller is Panattoni Development Europe.

"Investor appetite for logistics and industrial assets has increased significantly in the era of the pandemic as they have proved resilient to the economic turmoil and lockdowns caused by COVID-19. They have thus become an important part of the investment market and an increasingly important component of investors' portfolios. Awareness of the good prospects offered by the industry and the logistics services sector, including the rapidly growing e-commerce sector, in turn, translates into an expected good rate of return on investment," explains Robert Dobrzycki, CEO Panattoni.

• Project volume grows by 50% to more than 950 million euros with developments in Hamburg and Munich, among others
• Strategic expansion of logistics real estate portfolio moving ahead: some 480 million euros in assets under management already
• Strong leasing performance despite the coronavirus: more than 250,000 m² leased, following on from 150,000 m² in 2019

HANSAINVEST Real Assets GmbH has started 2021 with a new record for assets under management. As a consequence of the sustainable growth path in recent years, the assets under management as of the end of 2020 were 6.5 billion euros, following on from 5.9 billion euros in the previous year. The infrastructure segment accounted for nearly 1.1 billion euros, while the real estate segment saw strong year-on-year growth of more than 600 million euros to 5.4 billion euros.
 

It was also possible to expand the project development volume, which now totals more than 950 million euros. This figure encompasses challenging, major new construction projects in Hamburg's city centre and its "City North" district, with the company also represented in Munich city centre with the premium office project Lumen.
 

The logistics real estate segment, in which HANSAINVEST Real Assets has already been active since 2006 and which has increasingly been at the heart of the growth strategy since 2018 - two years before the coronavirus crisis-driven growth therefore - was able to post a further major expansion in 2020. In the meantime, the logistics segment comprises some 480 million euros in assets under management, following on from nearly 300 million euros at the end of 2019.
 

"We are proud that we have been able to continue on our growth path in 2020, which was an exceptional year for everybody. In this respect, the strategic orientation of our real estate portfolio is being consistently continued - and the particular focus has not just been on the residential and logistics asset classes since the coronavirus crisis began. Alongside the German top 7 cities, selected international markets such as the east coast of the USA, Benelux, Helsinki and others are of interest for us for additional acquisitions," explains Nicholas Brinckmann, the chairman of the management of HANSAINVEST Real Assets.
 

Strong leasing performance despite the coronavirus: more than 250,000 m² leased, following on from 150,000 m² 2019
 

The leasing performance increased in 2020 to a total of 251,200 square metres in new leases and extensions, following on from 150,800 square metres in 2019. As a result, the leasing ratio has also remained stable across the entire real estate portfolio at nearly 95%.
 

"This tremendously strong leasing result also speaks volumes for the enormous competence and commitment of our asset management team. We have demonstrated our leasing competence in an impressive manner under in part incredibly difficult conditions, for which I would like to thank the entire team," comments Martina Averbeck, the managing director of HANSAINVEST Real Assets.