AXA IM Alts has acquired Sellerstraße 31, an office building in Berlin, from a pharmaceutical company in a sale and leaseback transaction.
The acquisition has been made on behalf of clients through AXA IM Alts’ market leading Real Assets platform, which is the leading real estate portfolio and asset manager in Europe and is in joint venture with minority partner Quest Investment Partners.
Constructed in 1992, the property is located at 31 Sellerstrasse in the south-east corner of one of Berlin’s leading research campuses. It provides 15,573 sqm of lettable space over seven floors, with a roof terrace offering panoramic views across Berlin.
The building benefits from its proximity to the Reinickendorfer Strasse underground station, which is located directly in front of the building, whilst BER airport is within a short drive time (25 minutes).
The campus is a key global hub for innovation and growth and occupies a central inner-city location between the extended government district, Europacity and Berlin-Wedding. The sub-market, which has a high concentration of businesses operating in the research, education and health sectors, has been characterised by a significant fall in office vacancy, underpinned by strong take up and a lack of new development. Berlin is one of Europe’s up-and-coming international centres for innovative business start-ups and records high annual growth rates in employee numbers.
Subject to the necessary approvals, AXA IM Alts intends to undertake a significant repositioning programme on expiry of the current lease, to deliver a highly amenitised modern building with strong sustainability credentials which is aligned with the future way of working.
“This is a rare opportunity to acquire an income producing building in one of Europe’s fastest growing submarkets. The short lease offers the potential to reposition the asset to deliver a modern, fit for purpose office building that will be a beneficiary of both the shortage of Grade-A stock as well the sub markets burgeoning position as research and innovation hub, which has been earmarked for significant private and public sector investment. Our local team has a track record of delivering successful asset management and development projects in recent years and we look forward to starting on this latest scheme,” said Ulrike Haack, Head of Transactions Germany, AXA IM Alts.
