Ashurst advises HIH Invest

Ashurst advised HIH Invest Real Estate (HIH Invest) on the sale of a commercial building in Speyer / Germany to Spiramax. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

The centrally located commercial property in Speyer's pedestrian zone consists of two four-story buildings at Maximilianstrasse 70-71 and Korngasse 26 with a total of 2,368 sqm of rental space. The space is almost fully let to clothing chain C&A for another three years. The two parts of the building were constructed in 1648 and 1983 respectively and are connected to each other via a glazed bridge. Modernisations and conversions took place in 2001 and 2005/2006; the older part of the building with a listed facade was completely refurbished in 1972. The property had belonged to the portfolio of an individual fund of a German pension scheme since 2014.

Spiramax already owns the neighbouring Kornmarktpassage, which is connected to the newly acquired property by a shared underground car park. Maximilianstrasse is one of the busiest shopping streets in Speyer. The historic city is part of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.

The Ashurst team was led by partner Dr Liane Muschter. She was assisted by senior associate Christopher Jeschor and associate Carolin Siebeck (all Real Estate). Advice on tax law aspects was provided by partner Dr Anders Kraft and associate Andreas Hofmann.

HIH Invest is one of the leading investment managers for real estate in Germany and Europe. Currently, assets with a volume of €16.4bn are being managed across 90 funds. Ashurst regularly advises HIH group, most recently for example on the acquisition of an office property development in the Westend district of Munich / Germany.