A superlative building:
Tower 185

An aluminium/glass façade, a natural stone base, an arcade forecourt with offices and restaurants: Germany's fourth tallest high-rise building, Tower 185, is located at the intersection between the banking quarter and the exhibition centre. It is characterized above all by the quality of its construction, its architectural beauty and the unique combination of user benefits. The 200-metre building has a total of 55 storeys, 10 computer-controlled lifts and a 20-metre-high entrance lobby, the like of which has never before been seen in an office building in Germany's financial centre. Usable office space: 102,438 square metres distributed across a building and space structure which offers endless floor plan options. The 551 underground parking spaces are also a rarity for office buildings. In addition to this, the building has a modern LEED- and DGNB Gold-certified energy concept. A balanced tenant mix, including one of the world's largest auditing and consulting companies as the principal tenant, ensures a secure, long-term cash flow. In a nutshell: a premium landmark par excellence.

Accordingly, the sales commission, awarded to us in spring 2017 by the owners CA Immo, the project developer and key catalyst behind the new Europaviertel district, and its joint venture partners, WPI Fonds and a pension fund, was very special. The greatest challenge was the transaction volume, which was unusually high for the German market. It is difficult to find a purchaser with investment sums of this magnitude at their disposal. A further complication was the fact that, despite its central site, investors did not yet perceive the Europaviertel district as a core location.

The task was thus to highlight the attractiveness of the location. Although the tower is not in the traditional central business district, its direct proximity to the exhibition centre, event centre, hotels and the new Europaviertel district means that it is still located centrally and has excellent infrastructure connections. The idea of the "European Business District" (EBD) was born. In line with this, our marketing story focused not only on the secure long-term cash flow, but also on the location and building quality, which was clearly reflected in the marketing documentation which we compiled. A subsequent roadshow in Europe and Asia laid the foundations for the marketing phase.

A comprehensive analysis of the bidder field was essential. Who had sufficient equity, and was the external capital already secured? Who could guarantee transaction certainty - as documented by deals of a similar volume which had already been completed?

At the end of November 2017, the sale had been agreed. The new owner, Deka Immobilien GmbH, signed the contract for what was, to that date, the largest single-property transaction on the German investment market. The sale price: 775 million euros.