GENEVA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/02/10 -- Westcore Europe, an affiliate of San Diego-based Westcore Properties, announces it has acquired Satigny Business Park, a two-story industrial building located at Rue du Pre-de-la-Fontaine 10, Satigny in Geneva, Switzerland for CHF 29'200'000. The building is one of two located in Satigny Business Park, both of which have until now been fully occupied by the seller, Charmilles Technologies SA, one the most prominent industrial companies in Geneva.
"Westcore Europe is actively seeking acquisition opportunities in key markets that strengthen its portfolio," said Marc Brutten, founder and chairman of Westcore Properties. "Satigny Business Park is ideally located in an established submarket of Geneva where demand for industrial space is increasing due to the rezoning to residential and retail of the nearby Praille-Acacias-Vernets (PAV) neighborhood. Furthermore, interest rates in Switzerland are at historic lows, making this an outstanding time to acquire this high caliber and well-positioned property."
According to Michael Wolfson, vice president of acquisitions at Westcore Europe, Charmilles Technologies SA, is downsizing its Geneva operations following a consolidation program at its Ticino plant in southern Switzerland. The company will leaseback approximately 25 percent of the industrial building acquired by Westcore under a 13.5-year term for the high-bay area and five-year term for R&D and prototyping lab. The company will also continue to own and occupy the adjacent office building, which totals 8'380 SM.
"Satigny Business Park represents approximately 20 percent of the industrial vacancy in Geneva and will be the beneficiary of tenants looking to relocate as other areas are re-zoned away from industrial," said Wolfson. "We anticipate that leasing efforts will progress quickly, and are very pleased to already have a strong credit tenant such as GF Agie Charmilles in the building," he said. GF Agie Charmilles is owned by the Georg Fischer Group, a Swiss-listed company with circa $3 billion in annual turnover.
Located on 31'429 SM of freehold land, the building acquired by Westcore Europe offers industrial space including a warehouse/production area, high bay storage unit and covered docking stations, as well as a cafeteria with 350 seats and 1'805 SM of central office space. The building has a state of the art sprinkler system and is fully air conditioned.
Built in 1988, Satigny Business Park is a design of Suter & Suter Architects. Neighboring tenants in the area include Firminich, Hewlett-Packard and DuPont. The Roger Dubuis facility, Chopard headquarters and newly constructed Red Cross logistics and storage facility are also nearby.
Charmilles Technologies SA was represented in the transaction by Olivier de Rivoire of Naef. Westcore Europe represented itself.
Westcore Europe reports that leasing efforts for the building are being handled by Thomas Larsson (Swiss Action); Anna Briffod (DTZ); and Pierre Chevrot (SPG Intercity/Cushman & Wakefield).
For additional information, please contact Marc Brutten, in the U.S. (mbrutten@westcore.net) or Michael Wolfson in Geneva (mwolfson@westcore.net).
About Westcore Europe
Westcore Europe is an affiliate of Westcore Properties (www.westcore.net). Westcore Properties is a private, entrepreneurial commercial real estate investment firm with a specialized focus in the western United States and key European markets. Since its founding in 2000, the company and its affiliates have acquired and managed more than $3.9 billion in industrial and office assets comprised of 550 buildings totaling over 25 million square feet. In addition to its U.S. headquarters in San Diego, Calif., Westcore Properties has regional offices in San Francisco, Calif. and Denver, Colo. The firm's European offices are located in Geneva, Switzerland and London, England.
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