News and Press releases

Catella APAM, a specialist real estate asset and investment manager, has completed a landmark 10-year lease agreement with EE, the UK’s leading telecommunications and technology retailer, for a state-of-the-art 5,800 sq. ft. experience store at Chantry Place, Norwich. The deal was negotiated on behalf of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF).

Catella APAM is delighted to announce the successful completion of a 10-year lease agreement with TJ Hughes at The Mander Centre in Wolverhampton. The retailer will occupy the former Wilko unit, a prime location within the centre, spanning approximately 19,000 sq. ft. This marks the return of TJ Hughes to The Mander Centre after almost a decade, following the closure of their previous store at the centre.

Catella takes a cooperative and innovative approach to residential construction, making it affordable and profitable. What is considered a challenge in the current market environment is made possible with 12 solution modules and partnership constellations, as the first project implementations show. Catella Project Management discussed the realization of around 5,000 apartments in the Rhineland with around 100 key players from politics, administration, the construction industry, banks, investors and academia at a non-public conference in Düsseldorf City Hall.

Residential markets across Europe are undergoing significant shifts: While demand in major cities continues to drive rental prices upward, housing prices are stabilizing after previous declines. Despite economic uncertainties, there are signs of a recovery in several countries. This is due, above all, to lower financing costs and the decline in construction activity across Europe. These insights and more are presented in the latest Catella Residential Market Overview Q3/2024, which examines trends in 58 cities across 16 European countries.

Munich, 03.12.2024: Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG), Munich, is acquiring a logistics property portfolio consisting of three cross-dock logistics halls in Nuremberg, Mainz and Iserlohn from a DWS real estate fund for the ‘Catella Logistik Deutschland Plus’ (CLD+) special fund. The three buildings, built in 2016, have a total lettable area of 15,163 m² as well as lorry, van and car parking spaces. The sole tenant is Deutsche Post, which uses the properties as last-mile cross-dock sorting and delivery bases.

Catella APAM, acting on behalf of Britannia Invest A/S, is pleased to announce the completion of a 16-year lease agreement with Victoria College of Art and Design at Bridgewater House, Manchester.

Catella APAM, a leading UK investment and asset management specialist and a subsidiary of the Catella Group, has launched its inaugural fund, Catella APAM Strategic Equities I (“the Fund”), to invest in UK listed property companies.

Catella APAM, acting on behalf of Greater Manchester Pension Fund, is excited to announce the openings of Rosa’s Thai and ProCook at Chantry Place, further enhancing the destinations mix of retail and dining offerings.

Catella APAM, on behalf of Danish Pension Fund Britannia Invest A/S, has secured a 10-year lease for the 7th floor of One Colmore Row, Birmingham, with Harworth Group, a leader in land and property regeneration.

Catella Project Management hires Marco Evangelista Julio as a new investment manager and thus further expands the team for principal investments in Germany.

The CREDI Main Index increased by more than ten points from the previous survey, reaching 56.4 points. This is the first time since the rise in interest rates that the Main Index has surpassed the neutral 50-point threshold.

Catella Project Management gains Oliver Zähr as new Head of Finance & Contract Management, further expanding the management team.

Kaktus Towers has been awarded the category Europe's Best Tall Building by an international jury of architects at the CTBUH (Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat) conference in London. Bringing together the world's leading architects and urban developers, the conference celebrates the development of extraordinary buildings and urban environments globally. Kaktus Towers is a collaboration between Catella, Høpfner and BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group.

Catella is using the newly approved development plan as an opportunity to invite people to the Seestadt Festival on 25 September 2024. The public, press, politicians, administration, tenants and neighbours, project participants, etc. will gather in the marquee - all eagerly awaiting the next steps in the neighbourhood development that will shape the cityscape.

Munich, 19 September 2024: As part of the repositioning of the ‘CUBE’ in Taufkirchen, Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) has leased around 400 m² of office space to Spectre GmbH. The internationally active company specialises in the development and production of functional clothing and has been a competent partner for global outdoor and sports brands for more than 40 years. The ‘CUBE’, which is centrally located next to the Taufkirchen S-Bahn station, consists of two buildings and comprises approx. 16,500 m² of office and commercial space.

Catella APAM, a real estate asset and investment management firm, is delighted to announce a new 10-year lease agreement with prominent law firm Mills & Reeve at One City Square, Leeds, on behalf of its client, Danish pension fund Britannia Invest A/S. Mills & Reeve has expanded its presence within the building, upsizing from 6,400 sq. ft. to 10,400 sq. ft. on the 4th floor.

The Finnish real estate investment market remained subdued and the H1/24 transaction volume totaled ca. EUR 1.2 billion. Last year’s H1 volume of EUR 1.4 billion was reached by the end of July. Foreign investors accounted for 51 percent of the acquisitions, indicating that foreign investors have maintained their interest in the Finnish real estate market.

Catella Asset Management has been appointed as Asset Manager of Spektri Business Park the first Business Park in Finland.

Catella APAM, a leading real estate asset and investment manager, is pleased to announce the successful sale of St Stephen’s Place Leisure Park in Trowbridge on behalf of our client for £11.37 million.

Munich, 21.08.2024: Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG), Munich, successfully concluded 56 rental agreements for a total of around 51,000 m² of space in the first half of 2024. Around €3.1 million was invested in the continuous energy-efficient refurbishment of the portfolio and maintenance during the same period.

Catella APAM, a leading real estate asset and investment management firm, is pleased to announce the exchange of an agreement for lease with Superbowl UK at the Mander Centre in Wolverhampton. Under the terms of the agreement, Superbowl UK will occupy approximately 17,000 sq. ft. on Victoria Street for a 15-year term.

Catella APAM, a leading UK asset and investment manager, is delighted to announce that two of its team members, Melissa Baldwin and Carrie Howey, have been named finalists in Property Week’s Inspiring Women in Property Awards. Melissa Baldwin is a finalist for Woman of the Year, whilst Carrie Howey is a finalist in the Unsung Hero category.

eQ Community Properties has sold a hospital property located in the Pori city centre to NIAM.

Catella Corporate Finance Denmark has acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Bonum Development and SEBC in the divestment of the 6.500 sqm newly built student apartment and co-living complex Englandshaven, located near the inner city of Copenhagen.

Catella acted as financial advisor to the funds managed by OP in the sale of two modern logistics properties in the Helsinki region in Tuusula. The buyer is Logian, a joint venture between Keva and Mrec Investment Management Oy.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company has sold a modern healthcare property in the city centre of Oulu to a fund managed by Swiss Life Asset Managers, which is dedicated to pan-European healthcare investments.

The Catella European Residential III Fund (CER III) has acquired a 177-unit fully rented student housing development in Leipzig, in the eastern German state of Saxony for around €23 million from the Family Office Drengenberg. This latest investment takes CER III’s total assets under management to EUR 800 million. The Fund is managed by Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM).

Catella Corporate Finance Denmark has acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) in the divestment of the 6000 square meters historical Rosenborg-Annex, with a prime location in the inner city of Copenhagen.

Catella has appointed Petteri Kokko, current Head of Transactions, as new Managing Director at Catella Corporate Finance Finland succeeding Antti Louko. Petteri Kokko will start his new position 1 July 2024.

The Catella European Residential III Fund (CER III) has, in cooperation with Catella Asset Management Oy, acquired a portfolio of 243 new-build apartments, six commercial units and 122 parking spaces in the Finnish cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa, for approximately €50 million from Oivat Kaupunkikodit Ky, a fund managed by eQ Asset Management Ltd.   

Helsinki, 30th May 2024 – Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM) has acquired four residential properties for the Article 9 compliant ‘dark green’ investment fund Catella European Residential III (CER III). The properties were acquired from Oivat Kaupunkikodit Ky, managed by eQ Asset Management Ltd. The properties are located in Helsinki, Vantaa, Tampere and Turku in excellent locations close to daily services. Catella Asset Management Oy (Catella AM) will manage the portfolio.

Demand for housing in major European cities and urban centres remains high and is not being met by constrained construction supply, which is continuing to pushup rents. Following the downturn in recent quarters, the price trend for owner-occupied apartments is in a stabilization phase. High inflation is putting pressure on net household incomes and, together with the price trend of recent years and increased financing costs, is making private buyers much more cautious. These are the key findings of the latest Catella Residential Market Overview Q1/ 2024, which analyses the residential markets of 63 cities in 20 European countries.

Greenpoint, a multi-family housing complex in Copenhagen has achieved a double platinum certification, a first-of-its-kind achievement. The project has been awarded the first DGNB Platinum green-building rating for a Built-To-Rent project in Copenhagen, as well as the first WiredScore Home Platinum certificate in Denmark for its digital connectivity. The complex includes 445 affordable rental apartments designed for multi-generational living.

Jussi Artema joins Catella Asset Management Finland (CAM Finland) as Associate.

CORUM Origin and CORUM EURION (Corum) owns a Finnish real estate portfolio consisting of 21 properties with a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 142,000 sqm. The portfolio’s assets are located across Finland, and they are mainly leased to a single tenant on a long lease.

Catella Group Management are happy to announce the promotion of Shauna Mehl as Head of ESG. The appointment underscores Catella’s steadfast commitment to sustainability excellence and corporate responsibility. In alignment with the group’s values, identifying the ideal candidate internally further emphasizes growth opportunities and empowerment of the employees retaining our talented workforce.

Retail is suffering across Europe! No, especially as generalized statements indicate a general trend, but a more in-depth market analysis reveals major differences within the EU member states and the UK. The fact is that there are many solutions in the largest retail sub-segment, shopping centers, to "return to pre-pandemic figures". However, this is where the first error in thinking lies: it was already foreseeable in the middle of the last decade that the times of steadily rising transaction volumes and increasing customer frequency had reached their peak - on a European average, mind you. There was hope immediately after the pandemic. However, this turned out to be a classic catch-up effect - in combination with the turnaround in interest rates, the war and consumer restraint.

Catella’s latest European Residential Vision 2024 research report concludes that the acceleration in global warming is building-up pressure on residential real estate investors to integrate fundamental ‘climate finance’ strategies into their portfolios if they are to avoid the risks of a stagnation in values and being left holding stranded assets.

More than ever, global developments are having a significant impact on the transportation, transport and logistics markets. On the surface, the tense geopolitical and economic environment, such asthe war in Ukraine, Houthi attacks in the Gulf of Aden, volatility in inflation rates, interest rate turnaround, and rise in freight rates is reflected in global supply chains and therefore also in the European transaction markets. According to data from Real Capital Analytics (RCA), the transaction volume on the European market for the industrial asset class in 2023 was around 46% below the previous year's level.

Catella acted as the exclusive financial advisor of Paavo Nurmi Foundation in the sale of two residential properties located in the districts of Töölö and Kallio in the inner city of Helsinki to Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company.

Catella Residential Investment Management has acquired an Elithis ‘energy-positive’ residential tower and attached low-rise building development in the city of Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France on behalf on an institutional mandate for an estimated investment of approx. € 29 million.

The intense inflation that started in 2022, coupled with fast rise of interest rates, ultimately caused real estate transaction volume to collapse. We entered year 2023 with a very quiet market after the rapid increase in yields, and despite high hopes, the market did not show signs of recovery at any point. Last year’s transaction volume resulted in ca. EUR 2.5 billion, closely resembling the levels seen in the record weak years after the financial crisis.

The property is located at Lönnrotinkatu 20, and was built in 1972. The total lettable area is approximately 5,800 sqm. The ground floor is fully rented to Lidl, while the four upper floors are vacant. Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) acquired the property in 2011 for the Special Fund Catella Scandia Chances. Due to several trends affecting the office market, the property was sold as a development project. Slättö, on behalf of the Slättö Value Add II fund, plans to convert the property for hotel use.

Jermu Kujanpää joins Catella Asset Management Finland (CAM) from Catella Property on January 29th, 2024.

Catella acted as the exclusive financial advisor of Ålandsbanken Asuntorahasto Erikoissijoitusrahasto in the sale of two new-built residential properties located in Espoo to CapMan Residential Fund in 2023.