Axa Investment Managers - Real Assets has undertaken transactions in Germany totalling €756m ($857m) over the past nine months on behalf of clients.
Axa IM - Real Assets, part of the Axa insurance group, said there had been a significant increase in transaction volumes across Germany since the start of 2015, and the firm had led some of the country's largest deals, "many of which were completed alongside or on behalf of some of the most active investors from Europe through funds, joint-ventures or third party mandates."
Axa IM - Real Assets said it had been able to source successfully diverse income-accretive assets across key German cities, comprising offices, retail, logistics and hotels.
These assets included a 35% stake in Ruhr Park Shopping Centre, as part of a joint venture with Unibail-Rodamco; the Twenty 8 office building in Munich city centre; the Elisenhof office complex, also in the city centre of Munich, acquired on behalf of Axa Insurance Companies from Tishman Speyer; and permission to redesign the well-known office complex Die Welle, in the heart of Frankfurt, which Axa IM - Real Assets acquired in 2012.
Matthias Leube, managing director of Axa Investment Managers Deutschland dedicated to real assets, said, "We will continue to source and consider transactions which we believe offer the upmost in value for our clients, including new investments within the alternatives sector -- healthcare assets, data centres and hotels."
Separately, Axa IM - Real Assets completed, on behalf of one of its clients, the acquisition of a core office building in the European Union area of Brussels, Industrie 10. The seller was a fund managed by CBRE Global Investors, and the price about €9m. The building is fully let on a long-term basis.