Cross dock facility deal secured in just 2 months

The city of Recklinghausen, at the centre of Germany's most populous administrative district, is not only the host of the annual Ruhr Festival, it is also one of the Ruhr area’s logistics hotspots. The city has an inland port for freight traffic on the Rhein-Herne Canal, which leads directly into the heart of the Ruhr area and towards the River Rhein. It also lies on the A2 motorway, a particularly important east-west transport axis for Germany and for Europe. And right there, in the immediate vicinity of the Recklinghausen intersection, is the cross dock facility operated by Redemann Grundstücksverwaltungs- GmbH & Co. KG. One of its subsidiaries, Norbert Redemann KG Spedition, handles large volumes of goods for the retail trade in the six-metre high reinforced concrete hall with its solidly built office tract. The decision was made to sell the facility together with a more than 16,000 square metre plot of land and its dedicated filling station in a Sale and Leaseback transaction to achieve additional liquidity to finance further market access by its core business in the short term. In addition to a profitable sale, the Client planned to lease back the building for five years with a contractual renewal option for a further five years.

An extraordinarily successful sales sprint

JLL impressed its Client with its marketing strategy and after a successful pitch, was awarded the exclusive mandate to sell the cross dock facility. This mandate came with numerous challenges: to achieve the highest possible sale price; to complete the notarised signing of the purchase contract as soon as possible; and find an investor who respects and supports the interests of the future tenant in all respects. The market situation was good and, due to the increasing scarcity of space and land, a large number of both national and international potential purchasers came forward. This made it all the more important to manage the sales process in a structured and targeted manner. In a tightly managed bidding competition, the highest bidder - a private domestic investor - was identified within just two months and the purchase contract was notarised.

A win-win for both sides

The bidding process was a complete success, not only in terms of time, but also in the sale price achieved; one which clearly exceeded the Client’s initial expectations. Ultimately, this was a clear win-win situation for both sides.