ABG Real Estate Group Secures €240 Million Financing for DEUTSCHLANDHAUS – Tenants Begin Operations

Hamburg, May 17, 2024 – A milestone for the flagship DEUTSCHLANDHAUS project in Hamburg: ABG Real Estate Group has secured long-term financing of €240 million for the striking new building at Gänsemarkt. The funds come from a banking consortium comprising UniCredit/HypoVereinsbank, Bayerische Landesbank, and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, led, structured, and coordinated by UniCredit/HypoVereinsbank. The fully leased DEUTSCHLANDHAUS will commence operations at the end of May. It is one of the most significant large-scale projects in the Hanseatic city in recent years.

Hamburger Sparkasse AG (Haspa) is the long-term main tenant in DEUTSCHLANDHAUS and launched full operations of its new headquarters in early May 2024, in addition to opening a branch. As the anchor tenant, Haspa occupies the majority of the rental space with 30,800 sqm of office space and 1,600 sqm for the new neighborhood branch. The handover took place shortly before the turn of the year 2023/2024. Since then, the financial institution has advanced the setup and IT equipment and fully moved in by the end of April.

Among the other tenants is Nord-Ostsee Automobile GmbH & Co. KG, which will present luxurious British sports cars by Aston Martin in a brand-new showroom on approximately 400 sqm on the ground floor. A grand opening gala is planned for this summer. Block House Restaurantbetriebe AG is also preparing to open its 14th branch in Hamburg, with the opening date set for May 31, 2024, featuring 145 seats and an attractive terrace.

DEUTSCHLANDHAUS itself offers over 40,000 sqm of flexible space for offices, gastronomy, retail, and residential use. The retail and gastronomy area occupies about 1,700 sqm, while the 30 rental apartments on Valentinskamp encompass a total of around 2,800 sqm. An architectural highlight is the 1,200 sqm Palm Hall with an impressive 40-meter high light dome. The basement provides generous parking facilities for cars and bicycles.

DEUTSCHLANDHAUS was built according to USGBC quality standards and has already received LEED Gold pre-certification.

The Development History of DEUTSCHLANDHAUS in Hamburg: The new DEUTSCHLANDHAUS building is one of the most significant project developments in Hamburg and Germany in recent years. Designed by star architect Hadi Teherani, a striking new building is being constructed at the historic Gänsemarkt (Dammtorstraße/Valentinskamp). Teherani was inspired by the original design of the predecessor building, which was built in the late 1920s, and interpreted it in a contemporary way.

The predecessor building was constructed in 1928 and 1929 based on designs by architects Fritz Block and Ernst Hochfeld and functioned primarily as an office building, serving as one of Hamburg’s Kontorhäuser. Additionally, it housed the Ufa-Palast with 2,700 seats, the largest cinema hall in Europe at the time, as well as a department store and shopping arcades. The building had eight stories. The old building was largely destroyed by fire during World War II. It was rebuilt by the British occupying forces under the name Hamburg House and underwent several changes in the following decades. The majority shareholder of ABG acquired the building complex in 2014. After intensive assessment and contrary to the original intentions, a new building was decided upon, for which the construction permit was granted by the city of Hamburg in 2019. DEUTSCHLANDHAUS was developed, designed, leased, and built by the ABG Real Estate Group. More information about DEUTSCHLANDHAUS is available at www.deutschlandhaus.com.