AXA IM Alts has completed the acquisition of Sellerstraße 31, an office building in Berlin. Purchased from a leading pharmaceutical company in a sale and leaseback transaction, AXA IM Alts intends to undertake a significant repositioning of the building.
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 15,573m² 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.
Ulrike Haack, Head of Transactions Germany, AXA IM Alts, commented: “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 submarkets burgeoning position as a 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.”
