The German manager Catella buys an office building on Via Augusta for 25.8 million

The office sector has been one of the most affected by the pandemic, which has led to an unprecedented advance in teleworking. Real estate operations in this segment are recovering, especially in Barcelona, which has concentrated 68% of all investment executed in Spain this year, according to the consultancy BNP Paribas. One of the latest operations in December was the purchase by the AVW European Real Estate Fund, advised by the German manager Catella Real Estate, of an office building on Via Augusta from Renta Corporación for 25.8 million euros.

The property, located at number 123, housed the headquarters of the Institute of North American Studies for many years and is now undergoing rehabilitation by Renta Corporación. It will have nine office floors, with a total leasable area of 3,902 square meters and 781 square meters of terrace. The facade and the original design by architect José María Bosch Aymerich will be respected. The works are expected to finish in the last quarter of 2022.

The acquisition of this office building is the first operation of the AVW European real estate fund in the Iberian Peninsula. Catella, which has acted as asset manager, negotiating and closing the purchase, will be responsible for the local management of the investment. In this operation, CMS, Hogan Lovells and Mace have been Catella's legal, tax and technical advisors, while Renta Corporación has been advised by the real estate consultancy Savills Aguirre Newman.

Other operations that have recently closed in the office sector in Barcelona have been the purchase of the Banco Sabadell Tower by Hines, or that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) offices in 22@ by BNP Paribas Reim, according to Expansión. The building, located at Tànger street 66, had been in the hands of the UK&European Investments fund since 2016, which subjected the building housing the technological multinational to a comprehensive rehabilitation. The renovation made it the first to obtain LEED Platinum certification in Barcelona. With five floors and a total area of 7,200 square meters, HPE moved in in 2018.