LaSalle and Universal-Investment acquire Ploum & Blaak House in Rotterdam on behalf of BVK

LaSalle Investment Management (“LaSalle”), the global real estate investment manager, together with Frankfurt based fund manager Universal-Investment, have acquired Ploum & Blaak House, two connected office properties in Rotterdam, on behalf of BVK from Real I.S.

The two properties are modern, high-quality office spaces behind a historical façade and offer a combined rental area of c.17,000m². Ploum House is a six-storey building currently undergoing a renovation scheduled for completion in Q4 2019 and is fully let to amongst others the Dutch law firm Ploum. Blaak House is a seven-storey property that has been recently fully redeveloped internally and is let to the service operator Tribes, with additional space to be filled under LaSalle’s management. The two buildings are located at Blaak, a major thoroughfare of the Rotterdam CBD with strong road, metro and tram connections. 

The Rotterdam office market is the second largest in the Netherlands and benefits from falling vacancy rates, which have more than halved since 2015, driven by conversions reducing supply, tenants migrating from the outskirts to the city centre and demographic growth. With the Dutch government promoting the growth of the Randstad economic region, the market performs strongly against LaSalle’s proprietary DTU+E criteria assessing assets’ long-term resilience to changes in demographics, technology, urbanisation and the environment.

Christian Rust, Fund Manager at LaSalle, says: “As a state-of-the-art asset located in a central area of a major and growing European city, Ploum & Blaak House represents a strong addition to the fund. We’re pleased to be able to offer our client exposure to a prime office location and the upside potential of an excellent location in one of the Netherlands’ largest office markets.”

Nadine Gelke, Head of Investment for the Netherlands at LaSalle, said: “I am delighted that we have acquired this excellent asset on behalf of our client. It is a good example of our strategy to diversify our investment activities in the Netherlands while taking on leasing risk in DTU+E rich locations. We’ll be working to let the remaining space within the coming year through our proactive approach to asset management.”

LaSalle was advised by JLL, legal advisor Weebers Vastgoed Advocaten and technical advisor Drees & Sommer while the seller was represented by Savills and Loyens &Loeff.

About LaSalle Investment Management 

LaSalle Investment Management is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers. On a global basis, we manage approximately $77 billion of assets in private equity, debt and public real estate investments as of Q4 2021. The firm sponsors a complete range of investment vehicles including open- and closed-end funds, separate accounts and indirect investments. Our diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, governments, corporations, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. For more information please visit www.lasalle.com and LinkedIn.

NOTE: This information discussed above is based on the market analysis and expectations of LaSalle and should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice regarding LaSalle funds or any issuer or security in particular. The information presented herein is for illustrative and educational purposes and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy in any jurisdiction where prohibited by law or where contrary to local law or regulation. Any such offer to invest, if made, will only be made to certain qualified investors by means of a private placement memorandum or applicable offering document and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Past performance is not indicative of future results, nor should any statements herein be construed as a prediction or guarantee of future results.