Union Investment Real Estate has returned to the French office property market for the first time in over two years with the EUR 128 mln acquisition of a speculative project in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris.

The Kinetik office building will offer 15,200 m2 offices and 650 m2 of retail space on completion at the end of 2013. Union has secured a rental guarantee from the developers, Vinci Immobilier and Nexity Entreprises. The purchase was made for Union's open-ended Unilmmo: Europa real estate fund.

Designed by architects Sauerbruch Hutton, the scheme is aiming for High Environmental Quality and BREEAM green certification.

'Working with two highly-experienced and financially solid development partners means that we are guaranteed first-class building quality and can expect Kinetik to be let quickly,' commented board member Karl-Joseph Hermanns-Engel.

Clifford Chance and notaries Cheuvreux & Associés advised the German open-ended fund manager. Law firm White & Case and notaries Théret & Associés acted for the vendors.

Union has a history as a forward funding party. In the past year, the Hamburg-based property fund manager acquired the new head office of the Admiral Group in Cardiff at the project stage for UniImmo: Europa. In addition, at the end of December the Forum Kayseri shopping centre in Turkey, which was also acquired at the project stage for Unilmmo: Europa in 2008, was completed and opened - and almost fully let, with 200 shops.