Investment and project development company Quest Investment Partners has acquired the former Deutsche Bahn headquarters at Stephensonstrasse 1 in Frankfurt's Europaviertel district for a fund of funds of an occupational pension scheme.
Financial details were not disclosed.
Quest Funds acted as initiator and asset manager in the off-market transaction. The acquisition was carried out via a newly established institutional alternative investment fund (AIF), which is managed by Intreal.
The property, which comprises 51,000 m2 of rental space and is considered an architectural icon of Brutalism, will be repositioned through modernisation and relet, according to Quest. The rental agreement with Deutsche Bahn, which had been using the building for almost 30 years, expired at the end of March 2021. It has only recently been declared a listed monument.
The vendor is the closed-end retail fund Hesse Newman Real Estate No. 3, managed by Quest Funds. Constructed in 1993, the property will be transferred to the new AIF under a leasehold agreement.
Roland Holschuh, managing partner at Quest Funds, said: 'We firmly believe in the long-term potential of this outstanding property.
'Its conservation is absolutely worthwhile, if only for sustainability and architectural reasons. We have structured this transaction in such a way as to combine the interests of first-time investors with those of the new institutional investor.
'While the new AIF secures a unique and stable long-term asset through the early entry, the existing retail fund receives an attractive and secure ground rent.'
Designed by architect Stephan Böhm, the asset comprises six wings connected by pavilions and a central tower measuring 65 metres in height.
Its exposed concrete has inspired a name-change to Raw, while the repositioning will aim to inject a campus feel to the project. The entrance hall is to serve as a communication and service hub, complemented by contemporary restaurants, co-working and conference spaces.
The buyer received legal and tax advice from Mayer Brown and legal advice from Greenberg Traurig Germany.
Technical advice was provided by Drees & Sommer. The seller was advised on legal matters by REIUS Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbB and on tax matters by Jebens Mensching.
