We announced today the acquisition of three properties in HafenCity, Hamburg.

This is our first acquisition in Hamburg and the three properties will join our existing German portfolio in Munich. Norrporten announced the sale as part of their strategy of focusing on the Swedish market and Copenhagen.

The three properties – Hamburg America Center, Coffee Plaza and Skai – encompass more than 32,000 sqm of modern office and retail space and are situated in a fully developed quarter of the HafenCity district. HafenCity is Europe’s largest inner-city urban development project, where some €10.4bn is being invested through public and private partnerships to create a modern extension of the traditional Hamburg CBD. HafenCity has already emerged as one of Hamburg’s top 5 office submarkets.

HafenCity is a dynamic new urban district in Hamburg with an excellent mix of working and living space said Johannes Haug, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Acquisitions & Dispositions.

Demand for office space in Hamburg has been increasing steadily and these three properties demonstrate this with occupancy at 90% and most recently, the law firm Kapellmann, has signed an agreement to lease more than 1,300 sqm in Skai. HafenCity is a strong addition to our global portfolio and an ideal fit with Pembroke’s long-term investment approach

There is high demand for modern office properties in Hamburg and it has been exciting to participate in such a large urban development product; although our volume in Hamburg has been too small to create our own administrative organisation. Since announcing last autumn that we were planning to sell, we have been contacted by some twenty interested parties. Following negotiations, we opted to sell to Pembroke says Jörgen Lundgren, CEO of Norrporten