PGIM invests in three prime office properties for European core strategy

PGIM Real Estate has acquired three prime office properties in Amsterdam, Paris and London on behalf of its European core strategy.

The office in Amsterdam, the Warehouse, is a fully let 6,983 sqm Grade A office building located in the heart of the city. It is fully occupied by a single tenant, a leading software company. Within walking distance of Amsterdam Central Station, the vibrant city location is surrounded by restaurants, hotels, and museums.

This historic property was extensively refurbished to a very high standard in 2017, achieving a BREEAM ‘very good’ certification, and is already operating close to net zero carbon.

The Paris office is a fully let 2,899 sqm building located on Rue de Taitbout, near the Opéra in the 9th arrondissement, which was historically home to many large financial institutions and international organisations but is now also the epicentre of the French tech scene.

The building benefits from exceptional accessibility, with three metro lines located within 250m and is a 10-minute walk from the Saint-Lazare transport hub. The building has a BREEAM In Use ‘good’ certification. 

The London property, C-Space, is a fully let 5,757 sqm building on the north-east of the City of London, which straddles the traditional banking and finance area of the City, as well as the start-up, tech and creative hub of Old Street/Shoreditch – commonly referred to as the ‘Silicon Roundabout’. The property is well-connected to public transport links – a three-minute walk to Old Street station and a 10-minute walk from Liverpool Street station. The building has a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating, with a clear identified pathway for the building to be net zero carbon ready from an operational perspective.

Christine Fritz, co-portfolio manager of European core strategy at PGIM Real Estate, said: “Despite mainstream sentiment, many prime continental European office markets have seen steady rental growth throughout the last 24 months. With expected positive recovery across European economies, we see demand for prime offices stabilising and continued decline in office vacancy rates.

“As we focus on submarkets with innovation and technology clusters, the locations for these acquisitions were key to the investments. Tech hubs in European cities are continuing to benefit from a growing workforce, as demand remains strong for tech jobs, and workers are drawn by dynamic and vibrant locations. These locations, therefore, benefit from attracting leading global tenants, thus maintaining sustained rental growth and low vacancy rates. Moreover, each office property has strong existing fundamentals with contemporary features, which combined with our focus on improving ESG-credentials, means we see a clear pathway to enhance value across these investments.”