Private equity investment firm Ardian has purchased an office in the centre of Berlin from a fund managed by JP Morgan Asset Management.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The office complex at Lützowstrasse 105/106 represents the second investment by the Ardian Real Estate Europe Fund (AREEF) in Berlin and its fourth in Germany. The fund has assets of more than €700 mln under management.
'The high demand for office space in central Berlin, combined with limited availability, enables significant rental and value growth potential for modern and attractive projects such as the office complex at Lützowstrasse,' said Bernd Haggenmüller, managing director of Ardian Real Estate.
'We are particularly pleased that this transaction represents the first co-investment in Germany with an investor from our real estate fund,' Haggenmüller added.
Built in 1974, the complex was last renovated in 2000. Ardian said it would execute another modernisation programme, targeting completion by the end of 2019.
Comprising around 30,000 m2 of rental space, it consists of a main building with six floors, an eleven-story tower and a car park with more than 200 parking spaces. At present, 87% of the building is rented out to more than ten companies. The long-term main tenant is the internet provider I/P/B. A significant portion of the rental area is up for renewal or reletting in the coming years.
Other investments made so far by Ardian Real Estate include an office building at Spichernstrasse in Berlin, the Konrad office complex and the Heinemann Bogen office complex (both located in Munich), four office buildings in Paris and an Italian portfolio with office properties in Milan and Rome. AREEF focuses on transactions between €50 mln and €150 mln
