(BERLIN) - Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that it has purchased the Zalando Campus in Berlin on behalf of a Luxembourg-based real estate fund. The property, situated in the Mediaspree office property submarket and still under construction, is to remain part of the fund's strategic portfolio in the long term. Hines participated in the transaction as the acquisition manager and will handle the long-term asset management for the property.
The Zalando Campus was initially sold last year to L’Etoile Properties and a South Korean fund managed by Capstone Asset Management by way of a forward deal. L’Etoile Properties managed the purchase process and since then has monitored the construction and sale processes for Capstone. The acquisition was structured by way of a share deal.
The Zalando Campus consists of two buildings and offers approximately 42,000 square meters of rental office space across seven floors along with 156 parking spaces. The property has been fully let to Zalando under long-term leases. Zalando, Europe's leading online platform for fashion, will establish its corporate headquarters at the site.
Dr. Kai-Magnus Schulte, director Hines Immobilien GmbH: "We have had great confidence in Berlin's excellent long-term prospects and the outstanding qualities and future outlook of Mediaspree for a long time. The Zalando Campus will be among the most advanced and sustainable buildings around, and will occupy one of the last available sites in the vicinity of the Mercedes-Benz Arena. With this purchase, our investor is pursuing a long-term strategy."
The building offers modern, open floor plans optimally designed to meet Zalando's evolving space requirements and enabling flexibility and ease of communication. The property will be accessed via an open, welcoming lobby, a two-story auditorium and atrium as high as the building itself. To underscore the sustainability of the Zalando Campus, the project is seeking gold-level certification under the DGNB system.
The cornerstone of the building was laid in September 2016, followed just 15 months later by the topping-out ceremony in January 2018. The project is due for completion in the fourth quarter of 2018. The new building is at a prominent location on a 10,000 square meters site in Valeska-Gert-Strasse in the Berlin office property submarket of Mediaspree. It was designed by the renowned architecture firm HENN.
Hines was advised on the acquisition by BLP Berwin Leighton Paisner and PwC. The seller was advised by Clifford Chance. The off-market transaction was also initiated by Colliers International.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 201 cities in 24 countries. Hines has approximately $111 billion of assets under management, including $60 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $51 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 108 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,295 properties, totaling over 422 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 506 properties, representing over 210 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world.
Since the opening of its site in Germany in 1991, Hines has acquired or developed a total of 37 properties with an overall surface area of just under 1.6 million m² for Hines or on behalf of external clients, including properties such as the Main Tower and the Silberturm in Frankfurt, Zoom and Wohnpark Südkreuz in Berlin, Hofstatt, Uptown München and OSKAR in Munich, the Überseequartier Nord district in Hamburg, the Benrather Karree and Kö-Quartier in Düsseldorf, and the Postquartier and Kronprinzbau 1+2 in Stuttgart. Hines currently manages property in Germany with an overall value of around €4.5 billion as an asset and development manager.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include a presence in 55 cities in 13 countries and Hines Europe currently has over €15.0 billion of assets under management in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Further information is available at www.hines.com and www.hinessustainability.com for more details about the sustainability program and the objectives of Hines.
About L’Etoile Properties
L’Etoile Properties is an international property service provider. The company established its Paris headquarters in 1990 and now maintains seven additional offices in London, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Madrid, Seoul, Singapore and Luxembourg. L’Etoile Properties serves as a long-term partner for international investors, accompanying them through the entire investment cycle of a property. L’Etoile Properties currently manages €6.5 billion AuM in it’s European core markets.
About Capstone Asset Management
Capstone Asset Management was established in 2009 and became one of the fastest growing asset managers in Korea. Capstone is currently managing AUM of €1.3 billion including retail blind fund for NPS and has built a long -term relationships of trust with most Korean institutional investors.