Henderson Global Investors' EUR 900 mln pan-European retail property fund Herald has acquired a retail warehouse park in the German city of Giessen for around EUR 30 mln from the Metro Group, reflecting a yield of around 8%.

The Real Hypermarket & Gallery is a 17,996 m2, fully let property anchored by a Real Hypermarket and electrical retailer Saturn. 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 Giessen acquisition follows the EUR 64.4 mln purchase of Centre Sud Shopping Centre in 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.

Commenting on the transaction, David Turner, Herald’s Fund Manager, said: '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.'