Barings, one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers, has acquired Medienzentrum, a 15,700 sq m office building in the MedienHafen (media harbour) district of Düsseldorf, on behalf of a pan-European core strategy. The seller is Blue Colibri Capital Partners Fund II SCA, a Luxembourg-based SICAV-SIF. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. 

The property located at Zollhof 11-14 / Kaistrasse 7-8 offers more than 12,000 sq m office space, along with Event and F&B accommodation. It also features a number of terraces overlooking the harbour, as well as 337 parking lots in the underground car park. The atrium benefits from abundant natural lighting. The eight-storey asset was built in 1995 and has since been refurbished to provide modern, attractive office space. Tenants include the Culture Office of the City of Düsseldorf, Wacom, a specialist for digital ink, as well as software company, Infor and advertising distributor, Seven.One Media. 

Medienzentrum is located in the MedienHafen district. Since the 1980s, the former industrial harbour has been transformed into one of the most sought-after office and residential locations in Düsseldorf. Occupiers benefit from its world-famous architectural highlights, including the Gehry Buildings, as well as a substantial F&B offer and excellent connectivity via the Franziusstrasse tram station and Völklinger Strasse local train station. 

Sascha Becker, Managing Director and Country Head Real Estate Germany at Barings, says: “This was an exciting opportunity to acquire a prominent office property with extensive upside potential for our core strategy and is the second office asset in a creative and media hub that we have acquired this year following our acquisition of the Mediapark 6 in Cologne in August. As part of our worldwide ESG strategy, we will undertake specific measures for Medienzentrum in order to create a sustainable and future-proof asset.”

Gunther Deutsch, Managing Director Germany and Head of Europe Real Estate Transactions, adds: “This building represents exactly the type of asset we are looking to acquire in Germany and across our six other jurisdictions across Europe: core properties with the opportunity to improve cash flow over a medium- to long-term holding period. We are strong believers in well-located office locations. Aside from offices, we also see opportunities in the residential and logistics sectors.”

The transaction was brokered exclusively by Colliers. Barings was advised by Ashurst (legal) and TA Europe (technical).
 

Contacts
Tali Robinson/Polly Warrack (SEC Newgate) 
barings@secnewgate.co.uk
 

Barings Real Estate

Barings Real Estate (BRE) offers a broad range of global investment opportunities across the private debt and equity investment markets. BRE invests in all major property sectors and offers an expansive range of financing solutions to real estate borrowers.  Follow us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/showcase/barings-alternative-investments.
 

About Barings

Barings is a $387+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment. Learn more at www.barings.com.

*as of September 30, 2021