US investors Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers and Westbrook Partners have acquired the Berlin headquarters of energy company Vattenfall in a sale-and-leaseback transaction.
The investment volume for the acquisition of the property at Chausseestrasse 23 in Berlin-Mitte was not disclosed.
The joint venture that acquired the building is comprised of Westbrook Partners, a privately owned real estate investment company which is headquartered in New York, and the German subsidiary of Cornerstone, a global real estate investment manager based in Hartford, Connecticut. The management team of Cornerstone Germany are participating in the transaction and Cornerstone Germany is taking over the asset management of the property.
Vattenfall was the vendor and has taken a lease of the entire building. Owned by the Sedish state, Vattenfall is a power company active in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and the UK.
Vattenfall's Berlin office was built in 1998 and provides 18,500 m2 of lettable space as well as 100 underground car parking spaces.
Nick Puschkasch, branch manager of Cornerstone Germany's Eastern region, commented, 'With this transaction, we have not only made an interesting investment in one of Berlin's fastest-developing areas but have also acquired a new client, Westbrook Partners, for Cornerstone Germany. We are delighted with this new collaboration.'
Grossmann & Berger advised the vendor. Hogan Lovells acted as legal adviser to the purchasers. Berlin Hyp has financed the transaction.
Two months ago Hamburg-based fund manager Union Investment Real Estate acquired Vattenfall's new corporate headquarters in the Solna district of Greater Stockholm for SEK 2.25 bn (€240 mln).
