JLL swallows luxury residential broker Zabel in further integration

Property adviser JLL in Germany has taken over Berlin-headquartered Zabel Property, a broker group best known for selling high-end residential in cities such as Berlin (mainly) and Frankfurt to high net worth domestic and international buyers.

Zabel also advises developers on the conception, marketing and sale of their projects and, if necessary, assumes the entire project management. With 270 apartments sold to buyers from 28 nations, the company generated a transaction volume of €118m and a fee volume of about €9m in 2015.

Zabel's largest ongoing mandates include the exclusive sale of Frankfurt's 'Grand Tower' units as well as planned buildings in the city's Stiftstraße. The 172m-tall Grand Tower is the highest residential property in Germany with around 400 apartments, and is due for completion in 2019.

According to JLL Germany boss Dr. Frank Pörschke, "With the takeover, JLL is continuing its strategy of selective growth in identified, future-oriented business segments. The urbanisation trend that is being observed all over the world and in Germany also makes residential real estate an extremely interesting growth area for our company. In the UK, JLL has successfully established this business model for many years and we also look forward to excellent market opportunities in Germany's major cities.'

Thomas Zabel will continue to head up the 25-year old company's activities under the umbrella of JLL and will work closely with Rüdiger Thräne, a member of the board in Germany and regional manager Berlin at JLL, as well as Konstantin Kortmann, JLL's chief of residential investment for Germany.

All of Zabel Property's 45 employees will be taken over by JLL according to the company. The Zabel brand will be integrated into the JLL brand after a transitional period, in line with the JLL philosophy.