Benson Elliot offloads Berlin office building nine months after purchase

UK-based fund manager Benson Elliot has disposed of an office building in Berlin after receiving an unsolicited offer.

Kurfürstenstraße 87, a 6,192 m2 building in the City West district, was sold at a 4.0% rental yield to a fund backed by a German professional pension scheme advised by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors.

The private equity firm bought the eight-storey building last March together with another property at Budapester Straße 35, in a joint venture with Projektentwicklung and Rockstone Real Estate. The two assets were acquired in a sale-and-leaseback transaction from Berliner Volksbank eG, with the aim of renovating both buildings and consolidating them into a single headquarters. The total value of the deal was estimated to be €100m.

Benson Elliot said the sale underlined its ability to make the right stock selection as the property cycle advances. Managing partner Marc Mogull said: ‘This disposal will enable us to make an early distribution to investors, and to recycle the profits into other opportunities.’