Off-market transaction: CMS advises property fund BERENBERG Real Estate Berlin on acquisition of district shopping centre in Berlin

Hamburg – Open-ended property special fund BERENBERG Real Estate Berlin, which was launched by Berenberg in conjunction with Universal-Investment as the investment management company, has acquired the Kasino Frohnau shopping centre in the Reinickendorf district of Berlin. The seller is Concarus Real Estate. The parties agreed not to disclose the financial details.

A CMS team headed by lead partner Dr Sebastian Orthmann advised BERENBERG Real Estate Berlin on all legal and tax aspects of the transaction.

The neighbourhood shopping centre, whose 35-metre-high tower is the landmark of the garden town of Frohnau, is located directly next to Frohnau station. It offers around 5,000 square metres of rental space, of which some 2,800 square metres are let to food retailers and health & beauty stores. Other occupiers are medical practices, food outlets and residential units. The real estate fund focuses on investing in office properties in and around Berlin. Its acquisition of this district shopping centre is aimed at expanding the existing portfolio to include important use types with steady cash flows. The fund already holds another urban shopping centre in its portfolio. The overall goal is to build up a portfolio of eight to ten properties with a total target size of around EUR 350 million.

Hamburg-based Berenberg was established in 1590 and is a leading European private bank. The banking house is run by personally liable partners and in addition to Hamburg has a strong presence in Frankfurt, London and New York. The bank’s real estate focus is primarily on identifying suitable properties for structuring both open-ended and closed-ended alternative investment funds (AIF) as defined in the German Investment Code (Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch – KAGB).

CMS Germany

Dr Sebastian Orthmann, Lead Partner
Dr Hans Fabian Kiderlen, Counsel
Dr Benjamin Schirmer, Counsel
Sarah Kolodzik, Associate
Christopher Schmeckel, Associate
Cihan Cömert, Associate, all Hamburg, Real Estate & Public
Tobias Schneider, Partner
Paul Volkwein, Senior Associate, both Stuttgart, Tax

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