The Graph in Berlin: QUEST Investment Partners rents out 6,300 m² to SEFE
Hamburg, 18 April 2023. The investment and project development company QUEST Investment Partners has rented around 6,300 m² of the 7,800 m² of office space at The Graph property to the company SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH. Constructed in 1999, the building at Markgrafenstraße 62/63 is now fully let. It is currently undergoing extensive refurbishment and repositioning, with completion expected in summer 2023. With its contemporary and homogeneous façade concept, it lends a new architectural touch to the Zeitungsviertel district. On the inside, modern, transparent design and an attractive lobby create an urban New Work ambience.
The building belongs to the “Urban Office RE” portfolio. The portfolio is part of a real estate fund managed by Universal Investment for the Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK). QUEST Funds acts as investment and asset manager of the portfolio.
“We are delighted to see that SEFE has opted for the unique design of this building and thus for a new headquarters in the immediate vicinity of its current location,” says Kira Groth, Head of Leasing at QUEST Investment Partners.
“The move is a huge step for SEFE towards building its future as an integrated energy company. On our journey to a modern, future-oriented business, we need an office and a working environment that supports this ambition. Together with our partner QUEST, we create the working environment we need in order to continue to secure energy supply and drive the green energy transformation”, explains SEFE CEO Dr Egbert Laege.
The Graph is located in Berlin’s Zeitungsviertel (newspaper district), very close to Checkpoint Charlie. Its vibrant mix of old and new economy makes this neighbourhood popular with many companies, associations and ministries. The property is not far from Friedrichstraße and Gendarmenmarkt and enjoys excellent public transport links via the underground station Kochstraße.
CBRE acted as broker for the letting. QUEST Investment Partners was legally advised by Capstone Legal, Universal Investment by Pinsent Masons.
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. QUEST Funds is responsible for the fund business and makes individual investments together with institutional investors, while the team at QUEST Property Management team handles around 550,000 m² of usable space in its own and third-party projects. QUEST Energy supplies CO2-free energy: the company installs and operates photovoltaic systems on the roofs and exterior surfaces of buildings.
About Bayerische Versorgungskammer
Bayerische Versorgungskammer is the competence and service center for occupational and communal pension schemes and Germany ́s largest pension 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 V ersorgungskammer covers about 2. 5 million insured persons in total, with contributions of € 5. 5 billion and about € 4.1 billion pension payments annually. It currently has € 106.8 billion assets under management (market value) and about 1,490 employees. Bayerische Versorgungskammer has been a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2011. It became a member of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) in March 2020 and joined the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance in May 2021.
About Universal Investment
The Universal Investment Group is one of Europe’s leading fund service platforms and Super ManCos with around EUR 972 billion in assets under administration, about 2,000 fund and investment mandates and a workforce of more than 1,700 at locations in Frankfurt am Main, Luxembourg, Dublin, London, Paris, Hamburg and Krakow. Founded in 1968, the company is an independent platform for asset managers as well as institutional investors offering structuring and administration solutions as well as risk management for Securities, Real Estate and Alternative Investments. The companies EFA, UI labs, UI Enlyte and CAPinside complement the group’s innovative service offering. Universal Investment is a signatory of the UN Principles of Responsible Investment. (as of March 2023)
