Cording acquires landmark Carrée Seestrasse office building in Berlin for €225 million
Frankfurt, 27 June 2019 – Cording Real Estate Group, a member of the Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management Platform, has advised a separate account client on the acquisition of the office building Carrée Seestrasse in Berlin for € 225 million, reflecting a price of around €3,480/sq m of lettable area. The change of ownership of the property will take place on 31 December 2019 after full payment of the purchase price. The seller was Deutsche Real Estate AG.
The property occupies half the block of Seestrasse, Oudenarder-Strasse and Groninger Strasse in Berlin’s up-and-coming Wedding submarket. Built in 1880 and formerly used as an industrial building for light bulb production by manufacturer Osram, it comprises around 64,700 sq m of office, retail and leisure space and provides a loft-style ambiance from its brick stone façade and high ceiling heights of between four and six metres. Cording will manage the property from its Berlin office. The property is let in small units and currently has an occupancy rate of around 82%. The largest tenant with 8,500 square metres is Charité, one of the largest university hospitals in Europe.
Stephan Schaal, head of investment Germany at Cording, said: “This acquisition represents an opportunity to enhance the profile of the property through selected asset management initiatives. We see clear potential for an uplift in capital values in this up-and-coming location”.
PGIM Real Estate, on behalf of its investors, will provide mezzanine financing to part fund the purchase, with Hamburg Commercial Bank providing senior financing.
Andrew Macland, Head of European Debt at PGIM, said: “PGIM is delighted to have had the opportunity to support Cording in this acquisition, which is our first transaction together in Germany”.
Cording was advised by Clifford Chance on the signing of the purchase agreement as well as on the structuring and financing of the transaction and by Cushman & Wakefield on commercial matters. CBRE Preuss Valteq was responsible for the technical due diligence. Goodwin Procter advised PGIM. BNP Paribas Real Estate acted on behalf of the seller.