EURO REAL ESTATE, a member company of the Wilhelm von Finck Group, has acquired the City Tower Vienna, one of the most prominent office properties in Vienna, from IMMOFINANZ. With a purchase price of more than €150 million, this sale is the largest transaction in the office segment of Austria’s real estate market to date in 2024.
United Benefits Holding realised the acquisition through an individual mandate and will now support asset management as a local partner. Based on the early demonstration of taxonomy eligibility, United Benefits Holding was also able to optimise the financing conditions with a major domestic bank. The tower has 24 upper and 4 underground floors with roughly 26,600 sqm of usable space as well as 100 underground parking spaces. It is leased in its entirety to the Republic of Austria and houses the judiciary centre in Wien Mitte. The transaction was brokered by EHL Investment Consulting.
This 87-meter complex comprises a high-rise tower with a rotated head structure and two partially elevated side buildings, each with a height of 28 meters. It is located at a central site on the Marxergasse, directly near the urbane Wien Mitte railway station, one of the most important inner-city traffic hubs with stations for the U3 and U4 underground lines, the rapid transit railway, long-distance trains, the CAT and numerous tram and bus lines. Vienna International Airport can be reached in 16 minutes, and the Main Railway Station and West Railway Station in 10 minutes.
Michael Klement, CEO of United Benefits Holding: “The City Tower Vienna is an iconic property that has become a landmark on Vienna’s skyline. The success of our efforts in identifying and realising an investment opportunity of this size in the current difficult market phase underscores the confidence of institutional investors in our company. The tower is a landmark property we plan to develop with a top tenant into a green asset over the coming years. From deal sourcing to transaction and active asset management, this project is proof of concept for our integrated service portfolio.”
Ralf Peter, Managing Director of EURO REAL ESTATE, commented on the transaction: “The acquisition of the City Tower Vienna by EURO REAL ESTATE underscores our commitment to sustainable and stable value investments in first-class properties. We are proud to work with United Benefits Holding as our transaction manager, whose expertise and extensive service offered enabled this complex transaction’s successful conclusion. This acquisition demonstrates our confidence in the Vienna market and our strategy to invest in trophy assets that create long-term value for the Wilhelm von Finck Group.“
“The successful sale of the City Tower Vienna shows that we are making very good progress with our strategic sales programme. We were able to sell this landmark property at an attractive price around book value. The sale price of over 150 million Euros is the largest transaction to date this year on the Vienna office market and, in times where the investment market is characterised by noticeable restraint on the part of buyers, it demonstrates the outstanding quality of our properties and the high real estate expertise of our team. In line with our strategy, we plan to invest the proceeds in higher yielding retail and office properties to create additional value“, explained Radka Doehring, Member of the IMMOFINANZ Executive Board.
“We are very proud to have brokered this trophy property to a sustainability-oriented investor in these challenging times. The long contract term with the Republic as an optimal tenant at one of the most attractive locations in Vienna is the basis for this transaction“, explained Franz Pöltl, Managing Partner of EHL Investment Consulting. “Investors with strong equity resources are beginning to stretch out their feelers in the absolute top segment and anticipate the expected recovery of the investment market.“
United Benefits Holding and its subsidiaries were responsible for the deal sourcing, structuring and financing of the transaction as well as the due diligence and contract negotiations. Professional support was provided by Schönherr Rechtsanwälte (legal); TPA Unternehmensberatung (tax), United Climate (ESG check) and Salzmann Capital (financing).
