Ivanhoé Cambridge announces that it has entered into an agreement with German firm Universal-Investment to lease more than 11,000 m2 (approximately 118,000 ft2) of office space in Building C of the IBC Complex, an Ivanhoé Cambridge property in Frankfurt, Germany.
Universal Investment is the biggest independent fund manager on the German market that has been enjoying sustained growth. As a result of the company’s 360-degree strategy, its assets under management have more than doubled within the last five years, reaching more €170 billion.
“The IBC Tower offers us the opportunity to manage the growth that we have been experiencing for several years, giving us all the flexibility we need,” said Oliver Harth, CEO of Universal-Investment.
Universal-Investment is one of the few fund managers of this size located in Frankfurt’s financial centre. Supporting its growth are its more than 500 employees based in Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Vienna. The company’s move to the IBC Tower will take place gradually, to be completed by the summer of 2014.
“Universal-Investment settled on Ivanhoé Cambridge’s IBC Complex after conducting an in-depth analysis of the office real estate market in Frankfurt,” said Meka Brunel, Executive Vice President, Europe, for Ivanhoé Cambridge. “Our property won out over several Other buildings in the same class, because of its quality and the significant flexibility offered by our managers.”
The complex boasts a total of 35,000 m2 (approximately 377,000 ft2) of leasable space and offers an extensive range of best-of-breed services and equipment worthy of the finest head-office buildings. The IBC Complex has obtained LEED® Gold EBOM (Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance) certification.
This major transaction is the Ivanhoé Cambridge’s second in 18 months with leading German companies. In the spring of 2012, Ivanhoé Cambridge welcomed state bank KfW to the same building, signing a lease for 14,000 m2 (approximately 151,000 ft2) of space.
Knight Frank acted as broker for Ivanhoé Cambridge in this transaction, one of the largest in 2013. Ivanhoé Cambridge also retained Linklaters for legal advice.