Geneva: Deka Immobilien invests in Carouge
The German Deka Immobilien has secured an office building in Geneva by means of a sale and leaseback transaction with the private bank Pictet & Cie.
Deka Immobilien is acquiring the Acacias 60 building in the municipality of Carouge, south of downtown Geneva, from the private bank Pictet & Cie SA. JLL advised on the seller side of the transaction, which is considered the largest sale-and-leaseback deal ever in western Switzerland.
The property is to be contributed to the two open-ended real estate funds WestInvest InterSelect (66%) and Deka-ImmobilienEuropa (34%) via a joint venture.
The purchase offers "the rare opportunity to acquire a top property with a renowned and creditworthy tenant in the Swiss real estate market, which is dominated by domestic investors," says Victor Stoltenburg, managing director of Deka Immobilien. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction marks WestInvest InterSelect's entry into the Swiss real estate market. The Deka-ImmobilienEuropa fund has so far only invested in Zurich.
The Acacias 60 building was completed in 2006 as the headquarters of the Pictet Group and will reportedly continue to be fully used by the financial services provider on a long-term basis. Designed as a multi-tenant property with three independent building blocks, the building comprises around 38,000 sqm of leasable space as well as 368 car and 459 motorcycle parking spaces. The property is part of the PAV (Praille Acacias Vernets) urban development area.
According to the Pictet Group, the sale of the property is connected with the new corporate headquarters Campus Pictet de Rochemont, which is also to be built in Carouge from 2025. The transaction and the leaseback will enable the bank to finance the new building project itself.
The Pictet de Rochemont campus will consist of a quadrangle of buildings offering around 2,500 workplaces and 100 residential units with a total area of 10,000 square meters on 54,000 square meters. Plans also include an auditorium that can be used for external conferences and cultural events. In the center of the complex there will be a publicly accessible park. (bw/ah)
