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Hamburg, 29. September 2022. The investment and project development company QUEST Investment Partners has sold the commercial and residential building at Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 54 in Frankfurt am Main, originally acquired in November 2021, in an off-market transaction. The buyer is an international bank that intends to use the asset as its headquarters. The new owner plans to renovate the currently vacant office space of the architecturally impressive building and to provide the façade with a visual refurbishment. The seven-storey property, which lies in an established location between the Central Business District and the sought-after Westend, was constructed in 2002 and comprises 3,600 m2 of office and over 200 m2 of residential rental space. Furthermore, the building features 29 underground parking spaces. Each floor of the building, which is embedded in the street layout in the shape of a triangle, offers a flexible space suitable for single, double or open-space offices.

“The property’s prime location and exquisite view of the Frankfurt skyline and trade fair are compelling. Despite the current hesitancy on the investment market: Demand for centrally located, high-quality office space with modern working environments persists,” explains Luis Walther-Kraft, Chief Investment Officer at QUEST Investment Partners.

Due to its central location, the property is well connected to all transport routes: The underground stop “Messe” is only a minute’s walk away, the international airport can be reached in ten minutes and the central train station in three minutes by car.

Aengevelt acted as intermediary in the transaction. QUEST Investment Partners was assisted by SNP Schlawien on legal matters and by HANSA Partner Rommel & Meyer on tax matters.

About QUEST Investment Partners
QUEST Investment Partners is an owner-operated real estate investment company. Its offices are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. With a portfolio of around €3.4 billion in assets under management, the company which is a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in selected locations of major German cities. QUEST Development develops and finances high-quality real estate projects both independently and in cooperation with co-investors. The sister company QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors. The QUEST Property Management team handles around 550,000 m2 of usable space in its own and third-party projects. For further information please visit www.quest-investment.com

Copyright: beyond visual arts GmbH

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Hamburg, 22 September 2022. The investment and project development company QUEST Investment Partners has sold the listed building at Hohe Bleichen 15 in Hamburg on behalf of the property’s holding company. The sale of the 680 m2 rental property to May & Co. was recently completed in an off-market asset deal. The owners had acquired the building in 2011 and subsequently renovated and extended it in an elegant manner.

The classicist building, erected in 1859, stands as an architectural rarity in Hohe Bleichen: It is the last remaining structure of a cluster of former residential homes that lined the street in the 19th century. Aside from office spaces, the asset accommodates the Hamburg branch of the fashion designer Paul Smith. The building was sold with the rental area, which is spread over four floors, being fully let.

“The listed property in Hohe Bleichen shows that real estate in top locations in major German cities is in demand in all phases of the market”, says Luis Walther-Kraft, Chief Investment Officer of QUEST Investment Partners.

QUEST Investment Partners was advised on legal and tax matters by SNP Schlawien. Grossmann & Berger acted as advisor to the purchaser.

About QUEST Investment Partners
QUEST Investment Partners is an owner-operated real estate investment company. Its offices are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. With a portfolio of around €3.4 billion in assets under management, the company which is a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in selected locations of major German cities. QUEST Development develops and finances high-quality real estate projects both independently and in cooperation with co-investors. The sister company QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors. The QUEST Property Management team handles around 550,000 m2 of usable space in its own and third-party projects. For further information please visit www.quest-investment.com

Hohe Bleichen 15: Classicist and listed building
Copyright: Carsten Brügmann

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Hamburg, 19 August 2022. New plans for the Überseehaus in Hamburg: The co-investors QUEST Investment Partners and Allianz are taking extensive measures to guarantee a future-oriented project development with an extension at Baumwall 5-7. A new glass building in the courtyard combined with a stately entrance, a new head building, an expressive roof structure with a terrace and a view of the Elbphilharmonie and HafenCity, as well as new balcony areas on each floor, will lead the 1980s building into a new utilisation cycle. The new building creates 4,200 additional square metres of rental space, resulting in a total area of around 15,800 m². The goal is to achieve a DGNB Gold certification for the nine-storey building. It will be completely refurbished to be energy and climate friendly. The construction of the extension is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2023, with completion planned for the second quarter of 2025.

Lars Fröhling, Head of Asset Management for Northern and Central Europe at Allianz Real Estate:
“The development of Überseehaus underlines our conviction that well-located, future- and user-oriented offices with strong ESG credentials will deliver long-term value to our investors.”

On the one hand, the careful renovation of the existing building is CO2-efficient. On the other hand, attention is paid to a CO2 analysis during construction, as well as to future-oriented needs such as e-charging stations and the use of low-emission materials. New recreational areas in the courtyard, on terraces and balconies as well as landscaped areas also reflect the social aspects of the ESG-compliant property. The developers are currently exploring the possibility of using their own photovoltaic system. 

Jan Rouven Künzel, Managing Partner of QUEST Investment Partners:
“Large-scale representative spaces in Hamburg’s city centre are rare. With around 15,800 m², the centrally located property is ideally suited for single tenants, but multi-tenant use is also conceivable. The Überseehaus will feature flexible, upscale offices with a high quality of stay.”

The glass façade of the new courtyard building opens the building to the outside, and the additional daylight will provide pleasant lighting conditions in the offices. A green anodised metal structure on the roof creates a uniform body that also provides sun shading.

With the Baumwall underground station directly on the doorstep, the property is well connected to local public transport. Nearby, in the Portuguese Quarter, there are numerous cafés and restaurants.

QUEST Investment Partners
is an owner-operated real estate investment company. Its offices are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. With a portfolio of around €3.4 billion in assets under management, the company which is a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in selected locations of major German cities. QUEST Development develops and finances high-quality real estate projects both independently and in cooperation with co-investors. The sister company QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors. The QUEST Property Management team handles around 550,000 m² of usable space in its own and third-party projects. For further information please visit www.quest-investment.com

About Allianz Real Estate
Allianz Real Estate is a PIMCO Company, comprising Allianz Real Estate GmbH and Allianz Real Estate of America and their subsidiaries and affiliates. It is one of the world’s largest real estate investment managers, developing and executing tailored portfolio and investment strategies globally on behalf of a range of global liability driven investors, creating long-term value for clients through direct as well as indirect investments and real estate financing. The operational management of investments and assets is performed out of 17 offices in key gateway cities across 4 regions (West Europe, North & Central Europe, USA and Asia Pacific). For more information, please visit: www.allianz-realestate.com.

Extension with glass façade in the courtyard

Distinctive metal structure as a connecting element of the existing attics
Copyright: beyond visual arts GmbH

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Hamburg, 01 June 2022. The investment and project development company QUEST Investment Partners is further expanding its Transaction division, bringing real estate expert Nicole Römer on board as Managing Director of the newly founded QUEST Advisory as of June 01 2022. The aim is for her to intensify the collaboration with local brokers. Her tasks include identifying relevant properties for acquisition, making contact with suitable capital and project partners, and representing the Berlin location.
“With the new Advisory division, we want to further expand and professionalise our Investment division. With her long-standing experience at renowned brokerage and investment firms, Nicole Römer is perfectly suited to intensify and further expand the collaboration with our established partners in the brokerage world”, states Luis Walther-Kraft, Chief Investment Officer at QUEST Investment Partners.

“Especially in challenging times, where acquisitions have to be sharply calculated, maintaining close contact with sellers and brokers has become all the more important”, adds Jan Rouven Künzel, Managing Partner at QUEST Investment Partners.

Nicole Römer has been working in the real estate industry for 25 years. The business economist comes from Cushman & Wakefield, where she spent more than three years as Head of Retail Capital Markets Germany. Her experience includes 14 years at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Germany in the fields of retail leasing and retail investment, most recently as National Director of JLL. Before the takeover by JLL, she worked at Kemper’s for a further six years.

About QUEST Investment Partners
QUEST Investment Partners is an owner-operated real estate investment company. Its offices are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. With a portfolio of around €3.4 billion in assets under management, the company which is a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in selected locations of major German cities. QUEST Development develops and finances high-quality real estate projects both independently and in cooperation with co-investors. The sister company QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors. QUEST is also engaged in property management through its majority share in Albrecht Gebrüder & Co.

Copyright: Nicole Römer/QUEST Investment Partners

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Hamburg, 12 April 2022. A new company for sustainable and environmentally friendly energy: the real estate investment company QUEST Investment Partners has founded QUEST Energy GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg. In cooperation with service providers, the wholly owned subsidiary installs and operates photovoltaic systems on the roofs and outdoor areas of QUEST projects — with the prospect of also expanding to third-party sites in the future. The electricity produced on site is to be offered to the tenants at below-market rates. To realise the photovoltaic projects, QUEST Energy will be leasing the roof areas and thus securing the operation of the solar power plants even after a possible sale of the property. Solar power generation increases the value of the property and also offers considerable advantages for the tenants: in this way, QUEST will be providing carbon-free electricity as well as a reduction in electricity costs with at least partial price security.

“QUEST Energy reinforces our long-term climate strategy and our goal to modernise in a CO2-optimised way wherever possible. The current events in the news demonstrate in dramatic detail just how sensible and important sustainable and at least partially self-sufficient electricity production is”, says Theja Geyer, Managing Partner at QUEST Investment Partners.

The partner for the planning and tender management of the plants is the Hamburg-based photovoltaic specialist greentech. With more than 100 employees, the company develops, plans, builds and operates solar power plants and is one of the largest independent managers of solar plants in Europe. Various feasibility studies and implementation plans are already available.

QUEST is a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment.

About QUEST Investment Partners
QUEST Investment Partners is an owner-operated real estate investment company. Its offices are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. With a portfolio of around €3.4 billion in assets under management, the company which is a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in selected locations of major German cities. QUEST Development develops and finances high-quality real estate projects both independently and in cooperation with co-investors. The sister company QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors. QUEST is also engaged in property management through its majority share in Albrecht Gebrüder & Co.

QUEST Investment Partners focuses on green power from the roof
Copyright: QUEST Investment Partners

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Hamburg, 2 February 2022 – The real estate investment company QUEST Investment Partners is expanding its management team, with Luis Walther-Kraft (31) appointed Managing Director as of 1 February 2022. He is assuming the newly created position of Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at QUEST Development and will thus be in charge of the entire investment division along with acquisitions and sales at the company’s four branches in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich. In addition, he will be responsible for the strategic development of the company as well as business development.
Walther-Kraft joined QUEST as Investment Manager in June 2018. Most recently, he headed up Transactions & Partnering and was responsible for joint venture partners in addition to transactions. Together with the commercial Managing Director Dr Ricardo Alvarez, the technical Managing Director Ulrich Rössing and the two Managing Partners Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel, Walther-Kraft will be overseeing the further expansion of the project development and investment business in the future.

“Luis Walther-Kraft has been instrumental in establishing the acquisitions and sales division over the past years and has contributed significantly to the successful growth of QUEST Investment Partners. We look forward to the new momentum he will bring to our future development and are pleased to have found the ideal internal candidate for this new position”, says Jan Rouven Künzel, Managing Partner at QUEST Investment Partners.

Before joining QUEST, Luis Walther-Kraft worked at GLL Real Estate Partners – now Mira Real Estate – in Munich and Paris on the purchase and sale of real estate in the pan-European sector. He was involved in transactions amounting to 500 million euros. A real estate expert, he completed a Master of Science in Real Estate at the IREBS International Real Estate Business School in Regensburg and at Henley Business School in Reading, UK.

About QUEST Investment Partners
QUEST Investment Partners is an owner-operated real estate investment company. Its offices are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. With a portfolio of around €3.4 billion in assets under management, the company focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in selected locations of major German cities. QUEST Development develops and finances high-quality real estate projects both independently and in cooperation with co-investors. The sister company QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors. QUEST is also engaged in property management through its majority share in Albrecht Gebrüder & Co.

Luis-Walther Kraft, CIO QUEST Investment Partners
Copyright: Sebastian Vollmert

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Hamburg, Frankfurt, 18 January 2022. Good news for all sushi lovers in Frankfurt: the Frankfurt team of GO by Steffen Henssler has moved into Düsseldorfer Straße 1-7 right next to the central station. The investment and project development company QUEST Investment Partners has let around 500 m2 of the 1,750 m2 of retail space at the historic office and commercial property Hotel Hohenzollern Office to the team of the successful celebrity chef. The Japanese delicacies will be delivered to offices and private homes from here. Since December 2021, the sushi & sashimi specialities have been available for delivery. An exclusive sushi restaurant with around 80 seats is set to open its doors at the end of February.

Other retailers at the office and commercial building Hotel Hohenzollern include a kiosk, a bar, a café and Eating at Maples, a shop selling only certified organic products. This means that the building’s retail space on the ground floor is almost fully let, except for one unit measuring 80 m2. One third of the modernised office space comprising 5,400 m2 is still to be let.

Working at a hotel
The magnificent building, constructed in 1910 as a hotel, is located right next to Frankfurt’s central station, in the heart of the city. QUEST spent a good year refurbishing the distinctive historic elements of the façade in accordance with monument preservation standards. The works were completed at the end of 2021. The luminous office spaces have been renovated to a high standard and equipped with modern infrastructure, offering flexible usage options. The ambience is hospitable, open and luxurious, just as the architects of the former hotel intended.

Colliers International Germany acted as broker in the letting arrangement with GO by Steffen Henssler.

About QUEST Investment Partners
QUEST Investment Partners is an owner-operated real estate investment company founded in 2016. Its offices are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. With a portfolio of around €3.4 billion in assets under management, the company focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in selected locations of major German cities. QUEST Development develops and finances high-quality real estate projects both independently and in cooperation with co-investors. The sister company QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors. QUEST is also engaged in property management through its majority share in Albrecht Gebrüder & Co.

A magnificent building from 1910: the office and commercial property Hotel Hohenzollern Office
Copyright: QUEST Investment Partners/beyond visual arts GmbH

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Hamburg, Frankfurt, 11 January 2022 – The investment and project development company QUEST Investment Partners has appointed Tanja Gröger (43) to the position of Branch Manager for its growing office in Frankfurt. Since December 2021, she has been leading the QUEST Development team that is currently working on five projects in the metropolis on the River Main.

Tanja Gröger joins QUEST from the global investment management company Invesco Real Estate, where she was in charge of project developments in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria in her role as Director Asset Management. In addition, she also served as co-lead of the European ESG team. Prior to this, the real estate economist (IREBS) worked for LBBW Immobilien in Munich and Frankfurt for more than ten years. Her responsibilities here included the project management of Munich’s inner-city district development “Hofstatt” as well as the repositioning, letting and sale of office properties. Additionally, she oversaw the acquisition of commercial properties and portfolios throughout Germany, both for the company’s own portfolio and for the fund companies and set up a transaction team in Frankfurt during this time. She also holds experience in the banking business. After training at a bank, she worked in corporate client consulting for several years, where she structured real estate financing, among other things.

“I look forward to exciting projects in Frankfurt such as the new “Kreisler” building on Baseler Straße and the modernisation of the former “Bahn-Pyramide” property on Stephensonstraße. Repositioning this architectural icon with a size of over 50,000 m2 and turning it into a modern multi-tenant property is just as fascinating as accompanying the construction of Nestlé’s new German headquarters with its organic shapes”, says Tanja Gröger. QUEST opened the office in Frankfurt in February 2020.

About QUEST Investment Partners
QUEST Investment Partners is an owner-operated real estate investment company founded in 2016. Its offices are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. With a portfolio of around €3.4 billion in assets under management, the company focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in selected locations of major German cities. QUEST Development develops and finances high-quality real estate projects both independently and in cooperation with co-investors. The sister company QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors. QUEST is also engaged in property management through its majority share in Albrecht Gebrüder & Co.

Tanja Gröger, Branch Manager at QUEST’s Frankfurt office
Copyright: Roland Schmid

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• Office property The Graph with 7,484 m2 of rental space extends BVK fund
• QUEST Funds to act as asset manager, Universal-Investment as fund manager
• With its modern façade, The Graph adds a distinctive touch to Berlin’s Zeitungsviertel district

Hamburg/Berlin, 22 December 2021. The investment and project development company QUEST Investment Partners has sold the Berlin office property The Graph, built in 1999, to a fund of Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK). The building at Markgrafenstraße 62/63 comprises 7,484 m2 of rental space and 42 underground parking spaces. It is located in Berlin’s Zeitungsviertel district, in the immediate vicinity of Checkpoint Charlie. With The Graph, the “Urban Office RE” portfolio now consists of five properties, amounting to a total of around 32,400 m2. The portfolio is part of a fund managed by Universal-Investment for Bayerische Versorgungskammer, with QUEST Funds acting as the initiator and asset manager. In April 2021, QUEST Funds and Universal-Investment had taken over the initial portfolio comprising 25,000 m2 with four inner-city office buildings in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich.

“We are planning an innovative and uniform façade for the property, which was only built in 1999 and is characterised by its excellent construction quality”, says Jan Rouven Künzel, Managing Partner at QUEST Investment Partners. In addition to a striking façade, the nine-storey building is also to receive a representative two-storey lobby as part of the refurbishment plan. QUEST Investment Partners had acquired the property in December 2020 and will carry out the refurbishment as general contractor after the sale.

“We are pleased to add another property with strong upside potential and a unique location to the fund managed for BVK”, says Roland Holschuh, Managing Partner at QUEST Funds GmbH, which acts as investment and asset manager.

The buyer received legal advice from Pinsent Masons, tax advice from EY Tax, technical advice from x. project and commercial advice from EY Real Estate. Hansa Partner Rommel & Meyer provided tax advice to the seller during the transaction; Jebens Mensching acted as legal advisor.

The Graph at Markgrafenstraße 62 in Berlin
Copyright: Hans Glave

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