Ardian real estate acquires office complex in Berlin together with co-investor

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announces today it has signed an agreement with an investor in its fund to acquire an office complex at Lützowstrasse 105/106 in the central district of Berlin from a fund managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed. 

The property is the second investment by the Ardian Real Estate Europe Fund (AREEF) in Berlin and the fourth in Germany. The fund has assets of more than €700 million under management. 

Built in 1974, the complex was last renovated in 2000 and fulfils modern office standards. Ardian will further modernize the office complex extensively by the end of 2019. The property is located in the direct vicinity of Potsdamer Platz and the city park at Gleisdreieck, one of Berlin’s most sought-after office locations, and has excellent connections to local public transport. The complex has approximately 30,000 square meters of rental space and consists of a main building with six floors, an eleven-story tower and a car park with more than 200 parking spaces. At present, 87 percent of the building is rented out to more than ten companies. The long-term main tenant is the internet provider I/P/B. A significant portion of the rental area is up for renewal or reletting in the coming years. 

Bernd Haggenmüller, Managing Director of Ardian Real Estate, said: “The high demand for office space in central Berlin, combined with limited availability, enables significant rental and value growth potential for modern and attractive projects such as the office complex at Lützowstrasse. We will utilise our asset management expertise to realise added value both for our investors and the tenants of the building. Berlin is well-known for its thriving and diverse business landscape and is therefore an important market for AREEF, which focuses on acquiring and developing attractive core-plus and value-add properties in key European cities. We are particularly pleased that this transaction represents the first co-investment in Germany with an investor from our Real Estate fund.”

Other investments made so far by Ardian Real Estate include an office building at Spichernstrasse in Berlin, the Konrad office complex and the Heinemann Bogen office complex (both located in Munich), four office buildings in Paris and an Italian portfolio with office properties in Milan and Rome. AREEF focuses on transactions between €50 million and €150 million.