Springer sells part of Hamburg base to city government for €130m

German media giant Axel Springer has sold part of its Hamburg office complex to the city state’s government for €130.6 mln.

The 55,000 m2 property between Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse and Caffamacherreihe is expected to serve as the new headquarters for Hamburg-Mitte borough council. The formal handover will take place on 1 January 2016.

The borough council had initially planned to move to a new building in the Hammerbrook area, but the project was abandoned in July in favour of acquiring the Springer building.

Axel Springer is in the process of moving its broadcasting editorial operation to new offices elsewhere in the city, reducing the need for office space in its main building, which is a protected monument.

A spokesman for Axel Springer said the company wanted ‘to take the opportunity to adapt its publishing base in Hamburg to its new structures’.