Segro developing major business and logistics centre at new Berlin airport

UK listed property company Segro said it has signed a major partnership agreement with the Berlin Airport Authorities to develop a maximum 230,000 m² business and logistics park on a 38 hectare site in the immediate vicinity of the new Berlin Brandenburg International (BBI) Airport terminal currently under construction.

Segro will pay EUR 34 mln for the land site, with payments phased up to the completion of infrastructure, while a further investment of about EUR 120 mln is expected for construction and related costs for the development. Segro says it expects project returns at least in line with its previously published risk adjust targets. The agreement also gives Segro the option to purchase a further 24 hectares up to the end of 2011.

‘A key objective for the group was to expand our presence in Germany outside our historical heartland in the Ruhr Valley and into new strategic locations with attractive business growth drivers. We have already made significant acquisitions in Frankfurt and in Munich which will now be complemented by this flagship investment in Berlin,’ said Udo Titz, Segro general manager in Germany.

From 2011, BBI will be the only airport serving Berlin following the closure of Berlin-Temphelhof in October 2008 and the subsequent closure of Berlin Tegel when the new airport opens. The BBI site will be developed in three phases with the Berlin Airport Authorities. Specifically, the premises are expected to comprise an 86,000-m² logistics park, 82,000 m² of flexible business space and a 60,000-m² office park/warehouse space.