Two subsidiary companies of Germany’s second largest bank Commerzbank have merged to form a new company.

Commerz Grundbesitz Gruppe, known as CGG, and Commerzleasing und Immoblien, known as CLI, have joined operations and will be called Commerz Real.

The merger will create one of the world’s largest real estate asset managers with assets under management of around €42bn (£29.5bn), including the world famous Lloyds of London building in the City of London.

Commerz Real will offer a range of structured investment services such as its public property funds, its opened-ended funds hausInvest Europa and hausInvest global, several institutional property funds, the French REIT CeGeReal, and more than 160 close-ended funds that invest mostly in property, ships and renewable energy.

The combined staff of 800 people will be spread between the company’s two locations in Dusseldorf and Wiesbaden, as well as in several branch offices throughout Germany.

Hubert Spechtenhauser, management spokesman at Commerz Real said the merger ‘pooled the competence and revenue power of two successful companies with a comprehensive range of investment and financing options’.

He said the move was needed to ‘stay on top’. ‘The expertise of CGG in portfolio and asset management issues will combine with the comprehensive financing and structuring know-how of CLI. All of these factors secure significant competitive advantages for us.’