Oxford Properties and Madison International Realty have bought the Sony Center, Berlin for €1.1bn (£0.97bn).
The purchase, from NPS Korea, working in partnership with Hines, marks Oxford’s first acquisition in the Berlin market and extends its existing relationship with Madison.
The Sony Center is a 1.2m sq ft mixed-use complex on Potsdamer Platz, at the centre of Berlin’s Mitte district.
It spans nearly six acres and comprises eight buildings, including the Bahn Tower, with 900,000 sq ft of office space, 200,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, and 67 residential units.
Office occupiers include Deutsche Bahn, Facebook, Sanofi, Sony, the State of Berlin and WeWork; retail occupiers include LegoLand, IMAX and Cinestar.
This transaction brings Oxford’s continental European assets under management to approximately €2.3bn, representing 40% of Oxford’s total UK & European AUM.
NPS bought the asset from Morgan Stanley’s MSREF fund in 2015.
Paul Brundage, executive vice-president and senior managing director, Europe at Oxford Properties said: “This acquisition is a meaningful step toward achieving our stated strategy of reaching C$5bn of assets under management in continental Europe by 2020, focusing on Berlin and Paris. This strategy is backed up by our longstanding commitment to the central London office, high street retail and build-to-rent residential sectors. This acquisition gives Oxford the scale to build a platform in Berlin with an ‘on-the-ground’ team.”
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