GARBE Institutional Capital has acquired “The Lab” in Berlin for the GARBE Science and Technology Real Estate Fund 1 (GARBE STREF#1). The fund was launched together with the capital management company (KVG) INTREAL and is structured as a club deal of institutional investors. Through this asset acquisition, GARBE Institutional Capital has secured for its fund investors a property under long-term lease to a tenant with a strong credit rating in the Adlershof Technology Park, an established innovation cluster in the southeast of Berlin. The site offers further development potential. The acquisition has been arranged as a sale and lease back transaction. Mellum Capital structured the transaction as financial advisor and liaised the buyer to the local savings bank Berliner Sparkasse, which acts as strong, local debt capital provider.
“The Lab" is a complex located on a 21,200 sq.m. parcel in the Treptow-Köpenick district of Berlin (Wagner-Régeny-Strasse 8+9), with total rentable floor space of some 18,900 sq.m. and 122 parking spaces. The structure’s seven component parts were built between 2014 and 2019. With its desirable location in the Adlershof Technology Park and flexibly dividable areas, "The Lab" offers ample opportunities for potential future tenants in addition to the existing flagship tenant. With this strong and renowned core tenant, the property fulfils the fund’s primary investment criteria.
The sole current tenant is the Institute for Product Quality (IfP), which is a respected market leader in the field of laboratory and food analysis as well as the analysis of animal feed, drinking water and pharmaceuticals. IfP’s scope of activities also encompasses the development and production of diagnostics for use in examination and test laboratories. The company uses the sale & lease back to generate additional funds for further growth and the strengthening of its leading market position.
“With an innovative tenant in place along with the further potential offered by the Adlershof Technology Park, this prime property in an established innovation cluster fits perfectly into our fund strategy,” says Thomas Kallenbrunnen, Managing Director of GARBE Institutional Capital. “We see considerable strength and very dynamic growth in this market segment. Through this acquisition, we have secured a property for our investors with stable cash flow in a location with excellent future potential.”
With more than 1,200 companies, scientific institutions, and laboratories and offices of Berlin’s famous Humboldt University, the Adlershof Technology Park is one of the largest science and technology parks in Germany. While most of the land parcels at the location are owned by the state and under leasehold, GARBE Institutional Capital was able to acquire freehold for GARBE STREF #1. The local area offers a number of nearby food markets, the Johannisthal Landscape Park within walking distance, and good infrastructure, including convenient public transportation connections. GARBE Institutional Capital was advised on the transaction by Greenberg Traurig (legal due diligence) and WITTE Project Management (technical due diligence). JLL advised the seller and brokered the transaction. White & Case acted as legal counsel to the seller.