Frankfurt, 3. Mai 2021. QUEST Funds and Universal-Investment have acquired four innercity office properties in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich as part of an investment for Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK). The real estate portfolio named “Urban Office RE” and comprising around 25,000 m² will be part of a fund managed by Universal-Investment. The properties are core/core plus properties in central locations that were acquired by the QUEST Group in recent years and specifically developed to reach portfolio quality. QUEST Funds acts as investment and asset manager of the portfolio.

The Berlin property is known as “P88”. Measuring 8,400 m² in size, it was built in 1965 and extensively renovated in 2010. It is fully let to the security company Securitas and the Bioscentia laboratory. The complex includes 101 parking spaces. The building at Potsdamer Straße 88 is only a few minutes’ walk from Potsdamer Platz and the underground station Kurfürstenstraße.

In Frankfurt, it is the “Hotel Hohenzollern Office” right next to the central station that will become part of the portfolio. The office property was repositioned in recent years by QUEST’s project development division. The building, which is partly listed and dates back to 1910, offers a total rental space of 7,300 m².

At Neuer Wall 54 in Hamburg, QUEST Funds has secured an office and commercial building with 4,700 m² of total rental space, of which 65 per cent is office space and 35 per cent is retail space. Here, QUEST is currently modernising the entrance area and the common areas. The long-term tenant of the entire retail space is the Danish furniture store Illums Bolighus. The office spaces are partially vacant. They are to be upgraded and rented out in the course of the modernisation measures.

The property in Munich is “Fritz”, a project developed by QUEST. In Munich’s Ludwigsvorstadt district, the QUEST Group is revitalising the office and commercial building at Schillerstraße 23a, south of the central station, which was built in 1973. Completion is scheduled for early 2022. Following its modernisation and extension by two full storeys, the property will feature 4,500 m² of total rental space and a new roof terrace. It will be added to the BVK portfolio as part of a forward deal.

“Thanks to the very good micro-locations in Germany’s top four cities and the high degree of diversification, this investment is a strong addition to our real estate portfolio and will generate attractive returns for our clients”, says Norman Fackelmann, Head of Real Estate at BVK.

Roland Holschuh, Managing Partner of QUEST Funds: “The mix of properties offers a strong combination of stable cash flows and upside potential. We look forward to working together and especially to actively further developing the portfolio.”

The buyer received legal advice from Pinsent Masons and commercial advice from EY Real Estate. Hansa Partner Rommel & Meyer acted as tax and Jebens Mensching and Capstone Legal as legal advisers for the seller.

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers. www.quest-investment.com

About Bayrische Versorgungskammer
Bayerische Versorgungskammer is the competence and service center for occupational and communal pension schemes and Germany´s largest pension scheme group under public law. As a public authority of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, it is the joint executive body of twelve liberal professions´ and communal pension schemes. Bayerische Versorgungskammer covers about 2.4 million insured persons in total, with contributions of € 5.2 billion and about € 3.8 billion pension payments annually. It currently has € 97.2 billion assets under management (market value) and more than 1,420 employees.

About Universal-Investment
With fund assets of around EUR 667 billion under administration, there of EUR 458 billion in own vehicles and around EUR 209 billion in, inter alia, insourcing, well over 1,800 mutual and special investment mandates and a workforce of around 750, Universal-Investment is the largest independent investment company in the German-speaking region. With the acquisition of UI labs in January 2019, the industryleading IT data specialist now completes the Group’s service portfolio by adding front office and data solutions. The investment company is the central platform for independent asset management and unifies the investment know-how of portfolio managers, private banks, asset managers and investment boutiques. Founded in 1968, the Universal-Investment Group is headquartered in Frankfurt/Main and has subsidiaries, branches and holdings in Luxembourg, Poland and Austria. It is one of the pioneers of the investment industry and has meanwhile become the market leader in the areas of master-KVG and private label funds. According to the 2020 PwC ManCo Survey, Universal-Investment is the largest AIFM ManCo in Luxembourg; among the Third-Party-ManCos, Universal-Investment ranks second (as of March 31, 2021). More information available at: www.universal-investment.com

Hamburg, 20 April 2021. The investment and asset management company QUEST Funds has concluded lease extensions for more than 2,100 m2 in the office and commercial building Q21 Offices in Hamburg Barmbek. Denn’s Biomarkt has signed a five-year extension for its existing 905 m2 in the property, which was completed in 2012 and holds a DNGB Silver certificate. The same goes for the Targobank branch with 430 m2 and the Budni drugstore (808 m2). All tenants will remain at this highly frequented location at Fuhlsbüttler Strasse 387-399 until at least 2027.

The fully let multi-tenant building is characterised by a mixed use concept that comprises offices, local amenities, restaurants and services and is part of a fund managed by QUEST Funds. The property features 13,657 m2 of office space and 4,830 m2 of retail space. The underground car park can accommodate 299 cars, and a further 15 parking spaces are located in the outdoor area.

Quartier 21 is an ensemble of 21 listed historic buildings and 16 modern buildings on the site of the former General Hospital of Barmbek. It is designed for intergenerational living and working, featuring health care, educational institutions, retail, restaurants and offices in the immediate vicinity.
The Stadtpark, a local recreational area, can be reached on foot. Thanks to the central location and good public transport connections, it takes only ten minutes to get to the airport and 20 minutes to reach the Jungfernstieg shopping street.

BNP Paribas Real Estate acted as advisor on the letting of the property.

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers.

Hamburg, 31 March 2021. The investment and asset manager QUEST Funds has sold an office building in the Rue Montoyer 34 in Brussels to Belgian real estate company Alides. It acquires the property companies Montoyer 34 Leasehold and Montoyer 34 Freehold from the Hesse Newman Real Estate Nr. 8 fund which is managed by QUEST Funds.

The nine-storey property was built in 1993 and encompasses 12,582 m2 of office space which is leased to the European Commission until September 2021. Alides is planning to refurbish the property after the tenant has vacated the building. A restaurant and 216 m2 of retail space are located on the ground floor. The underground car park offers 276 spaces. The purchase price was not disclosed.

The fund was created in 2011 with a conservative investment strategy. “Following the move- out of the European Commission, extensive investments need to be made in order to raise value in the property. During the sales process, we were able to leverage that potential and realise a pricing level from which the fund now profits without taking on any development risks,” says Roland Holschuh, Managing Partner at QUEST Funds. The vast majority of private investors in the fund agreed on the sale.

Brussels’ European District is ideally linked to public transport via the subway stations Trône and Arts/Loi. A number of bus lines stop right next to the office building which is located only a few minuntes’ walk from the Bruxelles-Luxembourg station. Its position close to the R20 Small Ring Road around the inner city also makes it easily accessible by car.

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers.

Hamburg, 1 February 2021. The international law firm Allen & Overy LLP will move into Hamburg’s exclusive Ballinhof property at Ballindamm 17 in early 2022. With the rental agreement for 2,650 m2, QUEST Investment Partners has now fully let the office space measuring a total of 11,300 m2. Since 2019, the project developer has been refurbishing and revitalising the seven-storey office building. A listed property in traditional Kontorhaus style, it is situated in Hamburg’s finest location right on Lake Alster.

“This impressive property embodies the highest standards and an architecture that is historically unique. We are very pleased with the mix of tenants, which includes management consultants, lawyers, software experts, asset managers and shipping service providers. They can look forward to an extraordinary atmosphere in Hamburg’s top location”, says Kira Groth, Senior Investment Manager in charge of the Ballinhof property at QUEST Investment Partners. The first tenants will be moving into the freshly refurbished spaces in spring 2021.

“Since it was opened 20 years ago, our Hamburg office has grown significantly in line with our firm’s success in Germany, and we have now secured a new, highly attractive working environment for our staff in one of Hamburg’s prime locations. We very much look forward to welcoming our clients to our new offices in the Ballinhof complex,” explained Dr. Wolf Bussian, Managing Partner for Allen & Overy Germany.

The prestigious Kontorhaus building dates back to plans by the renowned architects Lundt & Kallmorgen. They designed the office building in 1901/02 for the trading and shipping company A.C. de Freitas & Co.

Jones Lang LaSalle advised QUEST Investment Partners and Allen & Overy on the lease. For further information about the project, please visit: https://ballinhof.de/en

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers.

Hamburg, 22 December 2020. The investment and project development company QUEST Investment Partners is expanding its management team: on 1 January 2021, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez (48) will be assuming the position of commercial Managing Director at the operational subsidiary QUEST Management GmbH. His new role will see him in charge of Finance, Operations and Human Resources. In collaboration with the new technical Managing Director Ulrich Rössing, who joined in May 2020, and the two Managing Partners Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel, he will be steering the future growth of QUEST Investment Partners.

Ricardo Alvarez holds a doctorate in law and spent the last twelve years at Hamburger Schifffahrtsgesellschaft Deutsche Afrika-Linien & John T. Essberger as Head of Controlling, Organisation and Insurance. In latter function he also served as Managing Director. Prior to that, he worked as Project Leader at Deloitte Consulting and as Senior Consultant at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting for more than seven years, of which he spent four years abroad.

He completed his legal studies in Bonn and Mainz and subsequently obtained his doctorate in European business law at the University of Bonn. He also holds a Bachelor Professional of Accounting (CCI) as well as an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, an Executive MBA from Copenhagen Business School and a Master of Law LL.M in Commercial Law from the City, University of London. Dr. Alvarez regularly lectures at the ISM International School of Management on strategy, international management and corporate governance.

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers. www.quest-investment.com

Hamburg, 17 December 2020. QUEST Investment Partners has acquired another property in Berlin. Located at Markgrafenstraße 62/63, the nine-story office and commercial building dates back to 1999 and comprises some 7,600 m2 of lettable space. Office areas account for just under 7,000 m2, while the remaining space is divided between retail and restaurant areas on the ground floor. The floor area above ground is complemented by 42 parking spaces in an underground garage. The multi-tenant building is fully let and accommodates ten tenants, of which the Forschungszentrum Jülich occupies the largest share of the available area. The sellers of the building are two family offices from southern Germany. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. QUEST plans to refurbish the property over the coming years.

“The DUKE property is located at Markgrafenstraße 62/63 in Berlin’s Zeitungsviertel, one of the most dynamic submarkets in Berlin. The neighbourhood is popular amongst many companies, associations and ministries that value the blend of old and new economy here”, explains Jan Rouven Künzel, managing partner at QUEST Investment Partners.

Between 1900 and 1930, Berlin’s Zeitungsviertel (newspaper district) was considered the largest press centre in the world. The property is not far from Checkpoint Charlie, Friedrichstraße and Gendarmenmarkt and boasts excellent public transport links thanks to the underground station Kochstraße.

CBRE carried out the structured transaction process on the exclusive order of the seller. QUEST Investment Partners was advised on legal matters by Clifford Chance Deutschland LLP, on technical matters by Arup and on tax matters by Hansa Partner Rommel & Meyer. The law firm Lupp + Partner acted as legal advisor to the seller.

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers. www.quest-investment.com

Hamburg, 26 November 2020. QUEST Investment Partners and HASPA PeB Projektentwicklungs- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft have established a joint venture for the acquisition and refurbishment of Hamburg’s historic Hindenburghaus property. Built in 1909 as a luxury hotel, the property at Großer Burstah 31 is a listed building and contains 12,600 m2 of office, retail and residential space. QUEST had already announced the acquisition in October 2020.

“We are delighted to have found HASPA PeB as co-investor for this unique Kontorhaus property. With the planned refurbishment, two Hanseatic companies will now ensure that the unique character of this building is preserved for the future,” says Theja Geyer, Managing Partner at QUEST Investment Partners.

Harald Hempen, Managing Director at HASPA PeB, adds: “As a Hamburg real estate company, we are proud to count this local and architectural gem among our projects. We firmly believe in the potential of the building, which we want to leverage together with QUEST.”

The centrally located property is within walking distance of the town hall, the stock exchange, various bus stops and the underground and suburban railway stations Rödingsmarkt and Stadthausbrücke.

The financing bank of this transaction is Haspa AG. In the establishment of the joint venture, QUEST Investment Partners received legal advice from SNP Schlawien while HASPA PeB was advised by BRL Boege Rohde Luebbehuesen.

About Haspa PeB
HASPA Projektentwicklungs- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH was founded as an independent subsidiary of Haspa-Finanzgruppe. From the acquisition of undeveloped and developed plots, to project planning and the procurement of development rights, all the way to execution – HASPA PeB aims to promote real estate project developments at all stages in the metropolitan region of Hamburg and in Berlin. As a reliable and financially strong partner, HASPA PeB participates as a minority shareholder or through individual financing solutions.

For more information about HASPA PeB, please visit www.haspa-peb.de

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers. www.quest-investment.com

Hamburg, 13 October 2020. QUEST Investment Partners has acquired the historic Hindenburghaus property measuring 12,600 m2 from Allianz. Located in the Nikolaiviertel in downtown Hamburg, the seven-storey building at Großer Burstah 31 will be used for retail, office and residential purposes.

“We are always on the lookout for properties with a unique selling point. This office and commercial building is one of a kind — an architectural gem that harbours enormous potential,” explains Theja Geyer, Managing Partner at QUEST Investment Partners. The planned renovation aims to bring the original and distinctive character of this listed building back to the fore. Around 40 percent of the space is currently vacant due to ongoing refurbishment works. Since September 2020, QUEST Investment Partners has been renting out an area of 500 m2 to the pop-up bicycle store Concept Cycles.

A building with a rich history and noble interiors
Built in 1909 by the architects Hiller & Kuhlmann as a luxury hotel, the First World War put an end to the plans for this magnificent project. From then on, Hanseatic merchants used the traditional Kontorhaus as an office, conducting their business from there. The building is unique in many ways: the luxurious sandstone façade, the wood-panelled entrance hall with elaborate carvings, stucco-ornamented ceilings, fine woods, decorative marble floors and the staircase – preserved over decades – where giant chandeliers accentuate the various Art Nouveau elements. The centrally located property is within walking distance of the town hall, the stock exchange, various bus stops and the underground and suburban railway stations Rödingsmarkt and Stadthausbrücke.

CMS acted in an advisory capacity for the seller during the transaction. QUEST Investment Partners was advised on legal matters by SNP Schlawien, on technical matters by Propertunities and on tax matters by Hansa Partner Rommel & Meyer. JLL acted as broker.

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers.
www.quest-investment.com

Hamburg, 13 October 2020. Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, has acquired, on behalf of one of its clients, an office block formed of two interconnected buildings in Hamburg’s Alexanderstraße 1, from Quest Investment Partners.

The building, which together totals approximately 13,200 sq m of lettable floorspace, is fully let to the Municipality of Hamburg as part of a 20-years lease agreement. The rooms are home to the University of Applied Sciences (HAW), Hamburg’s second largest university, which also uses some of the spaces as offices.

Originally two buildings built in 1950 and 1979, the property was subsequently modernised in 2010. It is located in Hamburg’s central St. Georg district close to Lake Alster – between the central train station and the Berliner Tor office and business centre – and offers excellent public transport connections. Premium hotels such as the Grand Hotel Atlantic Kempinski and Le Méridien are all within walking distance, as are the two main shopping streets of Mönckebergstraße and Spitalerstraße, as well as theatres, galleries and the Kunsthalle art museum.

“We are pleased to make a new deal with the transactions team of Aviva Investors, following Neue Burg 1. The sale of this core property confirms our strategy of focusing on central locations in Germany’s top 4 cities,” says Luis Walther-Kraft, Head of Transactions & Partnering at QUEST Investment Partners.

Grégoire Bailly-Salins, Head of Transactions Continental Europe at Aviva Investors, added: “This acquisition adds to our existing portofolio of assets under management in Hamburg, including Neue Burg 1, ABC Straße 35 and Dornbusch 2 – 4. St Georg is an established location in the city, which already attracts core investors and large corporate tenants. We believe this submarket will improve further over the coming years, and add to the long-term potential of our portfolio under management.”

QUEST Investment Partners was advised by Hansa Partner Rommel & Meyer as tax adviser and SNP Schlawien as legal adviser. Aviva Investors was advised by DLA Piper, ARUP and BNP Paribas Real Estate.

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers.

www.quest-investment.com

About AVIVA INVESTORS
Aviva Investors is the global asset management business of Aviva plc. The business delivers investment management solutions, services and client-driven performance to clients worldwide. Aviva Investors operates in 14 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and the United Kingdom with assets under management of £346 billion in assets as at 30 June 2019.

Hamburg, 6 October 2020. It is known as one of the most exclusive shopping locations in Germany and one of the ten high street retail centres in Europe: with the recent acquisition at Neuer Wall 54, QUEST Investment Partners has secured an asset in the centre of the luxurious shopping street with a long-term leasehold. Situated in a prime location, the building comprises around 4,650 m2, split between 65 percent office space and 35 percent dedicated to retail. The seller of the asset, MEAG, previously managed the asset on behalf of Munich Re and ERGO. Looking forward, the ownership will rest with a family-owned company that has signed a long- term ground lease with expiration in 2120. The long-term single-tenant of the retail space is the Danish furniture store Illums Bolighus.

The seven-storey building was fully renovated in 2000. The project developer intends to re-let the office space, to enhance the lobby and to upgrade the common areas.

“Neuer Wall positions itself as its own brand that stands for luxury, design and a Hanseatic way of life. As one of the best locations the city has to offer, the street benefits from an extraordinary flair that also attracts office users,” explains Theja Geyer, Managing Partner at QUEST Investment Partners. In 2005, the street became the first inner-city Business Improvement District in Germany. This was soon followed by the construction of wider walkways for pedestrians, new exterior street furniture and an elegant vegetation concept. The offices, which possess rare views of Hamburg’s canals, are particularly popular amongst law firms, as well as amongst blue-chip tenants from other industries.

The property is located in the heart of Hamburg’s city centre and in the immediate vicinity of Hamburg’s town hall, the Jungfernstieg and the Binnenalster. With its proximity to the central train station, the location offers excellent connections to local and long-distance public transport.

QUEST Investment Partners was advised by Jebens Mensching and Drees & Sommer in the acquisition phase. BNP Paribas acted as broker. GSK Stockmann was the advisor to the future owner of the space.

About QUEST Investment Partners
Founded in 2016, QUEST Investment Partners is an investment and project development company with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. QUEST focuses on investments in commercial properties with upside potential in top locations of major German cities and the Benelux countries. The team has extensive experience in the development of high-quality real estate projects. QUEST Funds is in charge of the fund business of the real estate company and makes individual investments in cooperation with institutional investors. The shareholders of QUEST Investment Partners are the managing directors Theja Geyer and Jan Rouven Künzel as well as the investment holding company of the Hamburg entrepreneur Erck Rickmers.

www.quest-investment.com