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Nordic Light, Budapest, Hungary

CATEGORY
Investment deal of the year, CEE
Providing 26,200 sqm GLA, the Nordic Light was commissioned for use in September 2016 and is nearly 100% leased to major international companies such as: BASF, Harman, Schneider Electric, Monsanto, M&C Energia, Mercedes-Benz, Sony, Rail Cargo Hungária, dwp Software and Cofidis. It is a seven-story office project located close to the heart of Budapest, in District XIII (the Inner Váci Corridor office district), along Váci Road - the main North-South arterial road of Pest. Its location spans the CBD, Central Pest and Non-Central Pest submarkets, and is still the most rapidly developing area in Budapest. Nordic Light, due to its modern appearance, applied sustainable solutions and LEED Gold certification, is certainly one of the capital’s most up-to-date office buildings, offering a great location to both its tenants and their employees. The building is easily accessible from all directions, both by public and private transportation. When Nordic Light was being built, the building’s immediate surroundings were also being revamped. The passageway connecting Váci road and Visegrádi street has created a pleasant environment for tenants and local residents. New trees were planted around the building and the new public passage now connects the community to a garden and other amenities.
Name of the deal
Nordic Light, Budapest, Hungary
The date of closing the deal
Q1 2017
Value of the transaction (in EUR)
EUR 67m
Yield
confidential
Seller, plus brief information about the company
Skanska is one of the world’s leading project development and construction companies, with an almost 130-year history. In Central and Eastern Europe the company operates in 10 cities located in four key real estate markets: Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary. This year Skanska’s commercial development business in CEE celebrates the 30th anniversary of its operations in the region. With the largest presence in CEE among office developers, the company enjoys the trust of tenants and investors, who are willing to continue working together successfully, expanding their businesses in Skanska’s other office buildings. The company provides futureproof flexible office space tailored to the needs of modern companies, meeting the highest requirements of sustainable development, which is confirmed by their LEED certification and implementation of newest solutions such as WELL standard.
Consultancy which advised Seller
Colliers International acted as the exclusive agent to Skanska and Dentons acted as a legal advisor.
Purchaser, plus brief information about the company
Erste Asset Management Ltd offers investment fund management, portfolio management, investment advisory, security lending and asset management for private pension funds in Hungary. Erste Asset Management Ltd was the second largest company in the Hungarian investment fund market in Q3 2016 with a market share of 16.8%. The Company is 100% owned by Erste Asset Management GmbH.
Erste Asset Management GmbH coordinates, and is responsible for, the asset management activities (asset management based on investment funds and portfolio solutions) within Erste Group Bank AG. At its locations in Austria, Germany, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, it manages assets of about EUR 55.9bn (as of August 2016).
Consultancy which advised Purchaser
CBRE acted as a commercial advisor and NGYL Partners acted as a legal advisor.
Financing institution
own equity
Current occupancy level
100%
Please say why this deal should be considered for the award
Skanska sold Nordic Light, to Erste Alapkezelő Zrt, a subsidiary of Erste Asset Management GmbH. It was the first transaction between the two companies. This newly constructed, prime office asset in the center of the Váci Corridor – by far the most established office submarket in Budapest – was 86% leased at the moment of the sale to major international companies such as: BASF, Harman, Schneider Electric, Monsanto, M&C Energia, Mercedes-Benz and Cofidis. Nordic Light is the seventh office project developed by Skanska in Budapest during the 30 years the company has operated in Hungary.