The company paid 16m for multi-let office buildings at Bielefeld, resulting in a net initial yield of 7.3%.

Built in 2002, the property contains one 10-storey office block and three "ve-storey blocks, extending to 11,800sq m of of"ce "oor area, along with 228 parking spaces. The anchor tenant is Commerce Bank.

Estate agent Ganly Walters acted on behalf of the purchaser. "We see Germany as being an increasingly important investment destination, " says Ian McKee of Ganly Walters.

"The generous yields being offered for quality buildings with strong tenant line-ups is the major reason for investing in properties such as these."

Ganly Walters this week also completed the purchase of six buildings at a business park at Moulin a Massy outside Paris for 10.5m on behalf of its client Le Premier Property Funds. The total assets acquired by Ganly Walters for the funds company now approach 40m.

Meanwhile, Kendar Global Properties has just launched the "rst phase of a residential development aimed at investors in the Prenzlaurberg area of Berlin.

The development near Alexanderplatz on the east side of the city is a joint venture between Kendar and GV GmbH, a Germanbased property development company.

The 36 apartments range in price from 147,000 for a 71.2sq m unit to 350,000 for 174.4sq m. Rental income in the area of the city is estimated to be between 7.60 and 9 per square metre per month according to Rohrer Immobilien, a Berlin-based property management company The apartments come with a generous incentive that allows 88% of the construction cost to be deducted against all German income over a period of 12 years.