(BERLIN) - Hines, the international real estate firm, has sold the Zalando Headquarters (HQ) in Berlin to a real estate fund which was set up for Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) on the Luxembourg platform of Universal-Investment. The modern office complex with DGNB Gold certification is located in a prestigious area in Berlin's Mediaspree office submarket. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Hines Germany previously advised the seller of the property, a Luxembourg real estate investment fund, when it acquired the property in 2018, which was still under construction at the time, in an off-market transaction. Hines Germany took over the asset management of the property on acquisition by the seller, which Hines will continue to be responsible for following BVK’s acquisition.
The Zalando Headquarters consists of two buildings with a total leasable area of around 42,000 square meters spread over seven floors. Completed in October 2018, the complex includes modern office space as well as a dedicated daycare center, a food court, a roof terrace for sports activities and 156 parking lots. The property is fully leased on a long-term basis to Zalando, Europe's leading online platform for fashion and a Dax40 company since 2021.
Dr. Kai-Magnus Schulte, Managing Director at Hines Immobilien, says: "The building impresses with its excellent location in the Mediaspree area, its innovative and sustainable building concept and Zalando as a long-term tenant. We are pleased that we have found a reputable buyer with Bayerische Versorgungskammer and continue to manage the property as an asset manager in the long term."
Christoph Reschke, Senior Managing Director at Hines Immobilien, adds: "We remain committed to, and convinced by, the ongoing positive and sustainable development of Berlin. Both Zalando and the Mediaspree location have greatly improved in recent years and this sale takes this positive development into account. We will continue to identify such attractive and promising projects, develop them further and thus create sustainable value for our investors."
Felix Becker, Deputy Head of Real Estate Investment D-A-CH at Bayerische Versorgungskammer, says: "With the Zalando HQ in Berlin, we are making a very targeted investment in a property with outstanding building and location qualities in Berlin's Mediaspree submarket. We are convinced that the property will be another key component of our sustainable real estate strategy. We look forward to a long-term collaboration with Hines Immobilien, who will continue to be responsible for managing the property."
The Zalando HQ offers modern open-space floor plans that are optimized for the tenant's changing needs and provide maximum flexibility and communication. The property is accessed via an inviting, open lobby, a two-story auditorium and a building-high atrium. Thanks to DGNB Gold certification and various social offerings, such as the building's own daycare center, the two buildings also meet future ESG criteria. The complex is located in an excellent area of Berlin's Mediaspree office submarket and has closed two of the last remaining construction gaps in the neighborhood of the Mercedes-Benz Arena. In the immediate vicinity, there are the suburban railway and underground stations Warschauer Straße (approx. 7 min walk) and Berlin East (approx. 8 min walk).
Hines was advised on the transaction by Colliers, GSK Stockmann, PwC, Arcadis and Kompass Engineering. On the buyer side, Allen & Overy, Ernst & Young and CBRE acted as advisors. Universal-Investment manages the Luxembourg real estate fund.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 255 cities in 27 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management valued at approximately $83.6 billion¹. In addition, Hines provides third-party property-level services to more than 367 properties totalling 138.3 million square feet. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired approximately 1,486 properties, totalling over 492 million square feet. The firm has more than 171 developments currently underway around the world. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a foundational commitment to ESG, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world.
¹Includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of 30 June 2021.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include offices in 16 cities as well as a presence in 62 cities in 13 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management valued at approximately €21.7 billion and provides third-party property-level services totaling 3.9 million square meters in Europe, in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Since the opening of its site in Germany in 1991, Hines has acquired or developed a total of 47 properties with an overall surface area of over 1.8 million m² for Hines or on behalf of external clients, including properties such as Werfthaus and Silberturm in Frankfurt, Zoom and Stadtquartier Südkreuz in Berlin, Hofstatt, Uptown München, OSKAR, Tucherpark, aer and MediaWorks in Munich, the Überseequartier Nord district in Hamburg, the Benrather Karree and Kö-Quartier in Düsseldorf, Friesenquartier in Cologne and the Postquartier, Karlshöhe and Kronprinzbau 1+2 in Stuttgart. Hines currently manages a portfolio of €8.5 billion in assets under management and also provides third-party management services for numerous properties.
Visit www.hines.com for more information.
About Bayerische Versorgungskammer
The Bayerische Versorgungskammer is the competence and service center for occupational and communal pension schemes and Germany´s largest pension group under public law. As a public authority of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, it is the joint executive body of twelve liberal professions´ and communal pension schemes. The Bayerische Versorgungskammer covers about 2.4 million insured persons in total, with contributions of € 5.2 billion and about € 3.8 billion pension payments annually. It currently has € 97.2 billion assets under management (market value) and more than 1,420 employees. The Bayerische Versorgungskammer has been a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2011. It became a member of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) in March 2020 and joined the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance in May 2021.
About Universal-Investment
The Universal-Investment Group is one of Europe's leading fund service platforms and Super ManCos with around EUR 733 billion in assets under administration, about 2,000 mutual and special fund mandates and a workforce of more than 1,000 at locations in Frankfurt am Main, Luxembourg, Dublin and Krakow. Founded in 1968, the company is an independent platform for asset managers as well as institutional investors offering structuring and administration solutions as well as risk management for Securities, Real Estate and Alternative Investments. The companies UI Labs, UI Enlyte and CAPinside complement the group’s innovative service offering. Universal-Investment is a signatory of the UN Principles of Responsible Investment. (as of 30 November 2021)
More information available at: www.universal-investment.com
