Henderson Global Investors’ EUR900m pan-European retail property fund Herald has acquired the Real Hypermarket & Gallery, a retail warehouse park in Giessen, Germany, for approximately EUR30m from the Metro Group, reflecting a yield of around eight per cent.

The 17,996 square metre (193,700 square foot) property is fully let to 16 tenants and is anchored by a Real Hypermarket and Saturn, a German electrical retailer.

The recently refurbished asset is situated close to major highways near Frankfurt, the largest city in the state of Hesse and Germany’s financial capital.

Herald’s primary focus is on acquiring prime retail assets across France, Germany and Italy. The acquisition follows the recent EUR64.4m purchase of Centre Sud Shopping Centre, Le Mans, France in December 2009. The fund expects to acquire additional assets over 2010, with an emphasis on prime, dominant assets in its core markets.

David Turner, Herald’s fund manager, says: "Deals of this nature in Germany, where the income is secured on long leases to strong covenants, offer very attractive initial yields when compared to other core European markets. The attraction is further enhanced by the favourable finance terms available from German banks. Following on from this transaction and the recent acquisition in Le Mans, France we are continuing to look at a number of similar investment opportunities across Europe.”