Record lettings for IVG project developments
09.09.2009
In the midst of this international financial and economic crisis, IVG has announced outstandingly successful lettings in its project developments. Since the start of the year, agreements have been concluded with renowned tenants for around 72,000 square metres of rental space. By way of comparison, IVG let some 81,000 square metres in development projects in the whole of 2008. Since January, therefore, the number of pre-lettings in the projects currently undergoing implementation has risen from 48% to over 61%.
Andreas Barth, member of the IVG Board of Management: “To achieve this level of success in this difficult economic climate is absolutely remarkable, particularly in the case of projects currently undergoing implementation, and is testament to their quality and to the professionalism of our employees.” He points out the trend towards long-term rental agreements where buildings, at least in this area, have not suffered from a slump in rental prices in the different sub-markets. The incentives provided also stayed within a reasonable range for tenants and lessors. According to Barth, key factors in the success of the project developments of IVG are the location and construction quality of the properties. Climate protection is also an important factor in the new IVG buildings. As Barth says, “In high-end projects, sustainability (“green building”) is becoming an increasingly important factor in clinching rental agreements. As part of their corporate social responsibility, many companies have already expressly committed themselves to using only environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient buildings.” Many of IVG’s project developments already fulfil these quality requirements. Plans are underway to obtain the required certification (where this has not already been provided).
In some towns and cities, IVG has even managed to achieve record lettings. With its “An den Brücken” project in Munich, for example, IVG announced this year’s single biggest office letting in the Bavarian capital after concluding an agreement with Frosch Touristik GmbH for over 22,000 square metres. With the recent completion of the initial stage of construction “Broadway One” in Glasgow, IVG concluded a record-breaking letting agreement for 11,500 square metres with “Tesco Personal Finance”, one of the UK’s largest retail banks. This was the single biggest letting in the history of the city. Among the biggest lettings this year was the conclusion of an agreement with Deutsche Telekom for over 9,200 square metres in the Artquadrat in Bonn. This is followed by lettings for 7,000 square metres for “Am Hauptbahnhof 18” in Frankfurt, 6,800 square metres for the RiverPark project in Budapest and 5,400 square metres in the final stage of construction of the Infopark, as well as several small-scale acquisitions covering more than 4,200 square metres in the recently completed Horizon Plaza in Warsaw.
This year, IVG has in total (i.e. investments and funds managed by the company) concluded new rental agreements and extended existing ones for over 370,000 square metres, which makes IVG one of the most successful office lessors this year. The letting rate for the entire portfolio with a value of almost EUR 23 billion is 91.7%.
IVG Immobilien AG
IVG Immobilien AG is one of Europe’s largest real estate companies. The company manages assets worth €22.7 billion at 19 sites with around 700 employees. Through its network of branches in German and European cities, IVG manages, among other assets, office buildings in its own portfolio with a market value of €5.1 billion. It also constructs and operates underground caverns for the storage of oil and gas in northern Germany. In the fund sector, IVG is the market leader for special property funds for institutional investors. Together with closed-end real estate funds for private investors, IVG manages funds and mandates with a volume of €15.6 billion.
Press contact
Jens Friedemann
Tel.: 0228 / 844-133
Fax: 0228 / 844-338
E-mail: jens.friedemann@ivg.de
