Nuveen Real Estate acquires prestigious heritage estate in the heart of Amsterdam

Nuveen Real Estate has acquired Gouden Bocht (the “Golden Bend”), a prime office-led estate located in the canal district of Amsterdam, Netherlands, on behalf of their Cityhold Office Partnership for a total consideration of approximately €126m.

Gouden Bocht is considered one of the most iconic office complexes in the Canal District of Amsterdam, located on the Herengracht canal. The estate was predominantly built in the 17th Century and has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, retaining many of its original features.

The estate comprises 16 freehold buildings across 15,525 sq m (167, 110 sq ft) of net lettable area, with a further 34 underground parking spaces, and benefits from a stable diversified tenant base, including occupiers like Werkspot, Expedia, AKQA, Euroclear and Fabienne Chapot.

Jasper Gilbey, Director at Nuveen, comments, “This acquisition represents a unique opportunity to acquire a flagship office-led estate located in the heart of the canal district of Amsterdam – arguably one of the most attractive office sub-markets in Europe. The prime location and diversity of the 16-building estate provides significant potential to add value in the longer-term through active asset management to drive performance.”

“The Gouden Bocht asset is a great diversifier for the wider CHOP portfolio and increases our exposure to the thriving Amsterdam market following the acquisition of the Edge Olympic asset in the South Axis sub-market last year. The CHOP venture remains committed to acquiring both stabilised and value-add office-led opportunities in core locations across Europe as it seeks to selectively grow assets under management to €4bn+ in the short-term”.

Amsterdam is a Tier 1 city in CHOP’s investment strategy, with the tight supply dynamics and attractive quality of life driving occupier demand and, therefore, rental growth prospects. CHOP remains committed to acquiring best-in-class office-led opportunities in Tier 1 cities across Europe – such as Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Amsterdam – as recently evidenced by the acquisition of EDGE Olympic in Amsterdam, Morland in Paris and EDGE Grand Central in Berlin.

CHOP was advised by CMS (legal), E&Y (financial), Arcadis (technical) and NL real estate - Knight Frank (commercial). NL asset management have also been appointed as local asset manager of the estate.

The seller group was represented by Global Equity Management BV assisted by PYGG (corporate advisor), VAD Notarissen (legal) and IMV (commercial).