Swiss Life Asset Managers aims to strengthen its position in the life sciences sector with the acquisition of Schlieremer Gewerbe- und Handelszentrum AG(GHZ), as detailed in a press release. GHZ has developed the Wagi site that belongs to it. A total of around 250 companies and organizations from the life sciences sector are now based there on a rental area of 143,000 square meters, providing more than 2,400 jobs. The Bio-Technopark Schlieren is also located on the site.
The GHZ site will be retained, the employees will be kept on and GHZ Managing Director Walter Krummenacher will continue to act as a contact person for the tenants and develop the site with his employees. “We are very happy to have found a reliable partner in Swiss Life Asset Managers that shares our values and our long-term commitment to real estate and life science as a contribution to society. In this way, the vision of our founder Leo Krummenacher will be carried into the future”, Walter Krummenacher is quoted as saying in the press release.
With the acquisition of the “dynamic and fast-growing center with long-term value creation potential”, Swiss Life Asset Managers wants to underline its focus on investments in the Living, Logistics, Light Industrial and Life Science and Tech (“4L”) sectors. “We are delighted to continue the impressive development of the site with the experienced team at GHZ. Swiss Life Asset Managers is convinced of the attractiveness and future strength of life science real estate, as it is of great importance for our economy as well as for our society,” says Paolo Di Stefano, Head of Real Estate Switzerland at Swiss Life Asset Managers.
Planon has announced a strategic partnership with PROMOS consult, a Berlin-based SAP partner specialising in residential and commercial real estate and facility management. The collaboration covers the DACH region. The globally active Dutch proptech company, which is represented in Switzerland with a branch in Technopark Zurich, also offers software solutions for property and facility management.
According to Planon’s press release, the aim of this partnership is to optimise processes, simplify workflows and increase tenant satisfaction. Planon’s innovative solutions for facility management will be combined with PROMOS’ in-depth industry knowledge and broad portfolio of services for the core processes of property management.
“We are convinced of the extensive opportunities that this partnership offers,” Planon COO Stephan Mau is quoted as saying. “Together, we will offer Promos SAP customers a forward-looking solution for property management.” PROMOS CIO Volker Schulz is “convinced that our customers will benefit from the combined expertise of both companies and that we will transform the German-speaking market in the long term”.
Immatica AG was granted planning permission for a commercial building on the site of Matica AG in Kaltenbach, to which it belongs, at the beginning of 2024. Matica AG specialises in the manufacture of energy-efficient storage tanks and the construction of special containers. Post AG will be the tenant of the 1,500 square metre new building from the beginning of 2025, as the previous site in Stein am Rhein SH has become too small, according to a press release.
The flat roof will be equipped with a 1000 square metre photovoltaic (PV) system. A new type of storage technology will also be able to supply the building with solar energy in winter. With a sorption heat pump (SWP), the potential of solar energy can be stored for any length of time using a chemical process. The reversal process produces heat that can be used for heating in winter. The SWP solves several challenges of the energy transition: From the system operator’s point of view, it increases the PV system’s degree of self-utilisation and thus better cushions energy price fluctuations, according to the press release. It also helps to reduce seasonal fluctuations in the electricity grid. This relieves pressure on the grid and reduces the need for grid expansion. The use of the PV system with an annual output of around 215 kilowatt peak could save 33 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Post AG wants to deliver all its letters in a climate-neutral way by 2030. The electricity generated by the PV system will be used to power all electrical systems in the building as well as the electric charging infrastructure for the electric vehicles. The SWP in Kaltenbach is the second pilot plant to be realised by Matica AG in collaboration with Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Helbling Technik AG. In summer 2024, the first system will go into operation at the carcass collection centre in Frauenfeld.
Activity in the global real estate investment markets was significantly affected by the Corona crisis in 2020. The total volume of global commercial transactions between January and September 2020 was approximately $ 510 billion, a decrease of 31% from the same period last year. The greater risk aversion of investors and their wait-and-see attitude in view of the further course of the pandemic, the increased fragility of the rental markets and the problems with property inspections are responsible for this. Still, there were signs of recovery in the third quarter (+ 23% QOQ) after hitting a ten-year low in the second quarter of 2020. This increase in transaction activity was favored by the gradual relaxation of restrictions on movement and the gradual adjustment of the players to the new market environment.
American continent hardest hit by the crisis, weaker recovery in Europe However, the pace and extent of the upswing show clear geographical differences:
In Asia, where health crisis management is often seen as the most effective, investor sentiment improved significantly between the second and third quarters of 2020, allowing trading volume to rise again (+ 39% QOQ).
The American double continent, which was harder hit by the pandemic, saw slight growth again this summer, but was unable to compensate for the decline in investment volume of -44% (YOY) that had accrued up to September.
Thanks to a record quarter in the first quarter, Europe in the first nine months of 2020 is only slightly below the level of 2019 (-11% YOY). The UK and Spain are among the countries hardest hit by the investment slowdown, while Germany has held up better. On average, however, the upswing in Europe in the third quarter of 2020 was not very pronounced (+ 9% QOQ).
Swiss investment market defies the crisis Switzerland is the only European country that recorded an increase in trading activities in the first three quarters of 2020 (+ 5% compared to the 2015-2020 average). Although trading volumes fell slightly in certain regions during the lockdown in the second quarter, the Swiss market benefited from a catch-up effect in the third quarter. This summer, CBRE was able to process the largest single transaction in the history of the country (also the second largest in Europe this year): the sale of the Glattzentrum in Wallisellen (ZH).
Like the rental market, the Swiss real estate investment market is increasingly characterized by geographical and sectoral differentiation, which has been reinforced by the pandemic. Investor demand is more concentrated in the core cities and the housing market, while interest in logistics real estate is increasing. Indeed, the fundamentals of these segments have proven to be the strongest since the beginning of the year. In contrast, retail properties and, in some cases, office properties in secondary locations are the subject of greater caution. The liquidity and the price structure on the Swiss real estate investment market have remained intact, as institutional investors continue to have high investment pressure. In particular, the dominance of Swiss investors in the local investment market has contributed to the high level of resilience, in contrast to countries such as the United Kingdom or the Netherlands, which are significantly more exposed to international capital flows. While the recovery in transaction activity picked up even further at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2020, there are many indications that the market will continue to be very dynamic in 2021.
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