DIC Asset invests in Berlin and Bremen, integrates with GEG

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German asset manager DIC Asset has bought an office building in central Berlin for €111m from Real I.S., the property arm of Munich-based bank BayernLB.

The “Safe” building at Taubenstrasse 7-9 in Berlin Mitte has 10,100 sqm, with bank DKB as the principal tenant. The building has a WALT of 5.1 years, and generates about €3m in annual rent after a major refurbishment in 2004-5.

Jochen Schenk, CEO of Real I.S. said, ‘Germany’s capital city and the Berlin-Mitte submarket in particular are considered two of the country’s most attractive office locations.

With prime rents on the rise, and given the extremely low vacancy rate, a good price level is ensured, an opportunity we are seizing through the sale on behalf of our investors.”

DIC Asset also bought an office complex in Bremen for €41m for its “Office Balance” -Spezialfonds, comprising two buildings and with a total lettable space of 17,200 sqm. One of the buildings is 80% leased to tenants from the insurance and logistics sectors, while the other is now vacant, with DIC planning a full refurbishment. The seller is Basler Versicherung, which is the company vacating the second building.

Meanwhile DIC is gradually morphing into a new entity following its majority takeover of GEG in June, which plans to see the new merged entity grow to €10bn of assets under management. The merger will help the listed DIC Asset to increase its institutional investor base and strengthen its capacity in the development business.

DIC said that, following the integration of GEG, it plans to keep expanding its business in Germany. This year alone DIC has completed transactions for more than €1bn, and expects AUM to have grown to €7.5bn by year-end, and €10bn in the medium term.

As part of the merger, DIC Assets current CEO Sonja Wärntges will be taking over the GEG Supervisory Board chair on October 1st, succeeding long-term boss Ulrich Höller, who is moving to the ABG Group. Dirk Hasselbring, DIC board member in charge of fund business, is moving to the GEG management board where he will manage institutional business together with Christian Bock, who has been responsible for setting up the investment and asset management platform since GEG’s formation in 2015.