Frankfurt am Main / Osaka, August 6 2019

CBRE Global Investors and Universal-Investment Dispose of Office Investment, and Acquire a Portfolio of Residential Assets in Osaka on Behalf of BVK

CBRE Global Investors and German investment company Universal-Investment have sold the Midosuji Grand Tower, a landmark office asset in Osaka which was acquired in 2015, to Osaka-based real estate company Phoenix Co. Ltd. and in a parallel transaction, acquired a portfolio of residential assets in Osaka, Japan from Phoenix. The disposition and acquisition were made on behalf of their client, Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), one of Germany’s largest institutional investors.

The office, which is located on Midosuji Street in Osaka’s central business district, was built in 1994, with a gross rentable area of about 30,000 square metres. It provides excellent access to the city’s main subway lines and is within walking distance to the Shinsaibashi shopping and entertainment district. Considerable capital appreciation driven by a successful refurbishment and lease-up of the property as well as favorable market fundamentals that have outpaced forecasts over the four-year investment period led to the decision to dispose of the office building.

The property is located directly on the renowned Midosuji Street which is well-known for the annual Festival of Lights. Photo: istockphoto.com/cheng feng chiang

The residential portfolio that was acquired comprises 18 properties, with more than 1,000 units across the central Osaka area. With a blended occupancy of more than 95 percent, the assets primarily feature compact residential units of excellent quality that are well-located near public transportation, making them well-positioned to provide long-term stable performance for BVK.

“The disposition of the office investment achieves a major milestone by realizing strong investment performance for BVK, while simultaneously shifting capital to a more stable investment class, at a time when market fundamentals are expected to peak and alternatives remain expensive. Demand for residential apartments continues to remain buoyant in Japan’s major cities. The portfolio is an excellent complement to the Client’s existing residential investments in Japan,” said Jean-Antoine Robert, Portfolio Manager for CBRE Global Investors. “The quality, composition and pricing of this portfolio position it to outperform the broader market during our projected long-term investment period.”

“The residential portfolio is the third investment in Japan and the thirteenth overall executed on behalf of the BVK global mandate,” said Michael Pierce, APAC Portfolio Manager for CBRE Global Investors. “The stable income profile of this asset class coupled with the high demand for this segment of compact residential units make this investment a great fit for the BVK mandate.”

About CBRE Global Investors

CBRE Global Investors is a global real asset investment management firm with $106.7 billion in assets under management* as of June 30, 2019. The firm sponsors investment programs across the risk/return spectrum for investors worldwide.

CBRE Global Investors is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE). It harnesses the research, investment sourcing and other resources of the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2018 revenue) for the benefit of its investors. CBRE Group, Inc. has more than 90,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 480 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. For more information about CBRE Global Investors, please visit www.cbreglobalinvestors.com.

*Assets under management (AUM) refers to the fair market value of real asset-related investments with respect to which CBRE Global Investors provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real asset-related loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Global Investors’ presence in the global real asset market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers.

About Bayerische Versorgungskammer

Bayerische Versorgungskammer is the competence and service center for occupational and communal pension schemes and Germany´s largest pension scheme group under public law. As a public authority of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, it is the joint executive body of twelve liberal professions´ and communal pension schemes. Bayerische Versorgungskammer covers about 2.2 million insured persons in total, with contributions of € 4.8 billion and € 3.4 billion pension payments annually. It currently has € 77 billion assets under management and 1,315 employees.

Visit www.versorgungskammer.de for more information.