05 October 2022 – Catella Real Estate AG has acquired 116 new apartments in two locations in the metropolitan regions of Stuttgart and Düsseldorf from project developer GBI for two of its special funds.
The 41 units in Ehningen are fully publicly subsidised and will be part of the "KCD-Catella Immobilien mit sozialer Verantwortung " special AIF. "Affordable housing is hard to come by in this economically powerful region, so this project is allowing us to create an important additional proposition for single people and families who otherwise struggle on the free market," explains Florian Stiefel, investment manager at GBI Capital. "In comparison to rents on the open market in equivalent locations in the greater Stuttgart area, such as the neighbouring technology locations of Böblingen and Sindelfingen, the subsidised housing project offers tenants a sizeable expenditure advantage of around 30 to 50 percent."
In Heiligenhaus, North Rhine-Westphalia, the public AIF "KCD-Catella Nachhaltigkeit IMMOBILIEN Deutschland" is acquiring 75 apartments - of which almost 40 percent are subsidised. "A significant need for subsidised housing still exists in the tri-city area of Düsseldorf-Wuppertal-Essen," explains Simon Hübner, CEO of GBI Holding AG. This is not least true due to the location's close proximity to the city centre, while numerous destinations for shopping, leisure and culture are nearby or readily accessible by public transport.
These acquisitions mean that the two special funds now include a total of four GBI project developments. The apartments on the two new sites will be completed by the end of 2023, and the first tenants will be able to move into their new homes.
"It is our intention to take on social responsibility together with our investment partners," says Thomas Kübler, Head of Portfolio Management at Catella Real Estate AG. "Alongside ecological and social sustainability criteria, we also review background information on the property - such as architectural aspects relating to accessibility - to gain a comprehensive overall picture. In this regard, the projects acquired from GBI once again fully satisfy our expectations."
Catella also ensures that the properties are managed responsibly over the entire investment period and operational phase. "The four real estate projects delivered by GBI to date demonstrate the diversity of the options for developing real estate with a social component," emphasises Simon Behr, authorised representative of GBI Holding AG and managing director of GBI Capital. In the completed project in Regensburg, 36 subsidised apartments have been combined with a kindergarten with space for 74 infants. In Kunigundenstraße in the centre of Nuremberg - just one suburban "S-Bahn" station away from the main railway station - 169 furnished apartments with an average living space of 25 square metres have been built since construction began this summer.