KanAm Grund Group buys Kiel′s Sophienkontor – a sustainable property investment for a specialized institutional real estate fund

• Located in a top location, the newly built Sophienkontor complex with long-term, high-quality tenants further diversifies the Fokus Norddeutschland fund’s portfolio. The property is going through the process for obtaining Gold certification by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).
• The specialized institutional real estate fund with an investment focus on northern Germany is offered to institutional investors from the banking and savings bank sectors.

KanAm Grund Group has purchased Sophienkontor property in a prime location in Kiel's city center for its Fokus Norddeutschland fund, a specialized institutional real estate fund. The large multi-tenant complex offers almost 6,400 square meters of office space. Seller is Sophienblatt Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, a project company of urban space Immobilien Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG from Hamburg. The parties have agreed not to disclose the price of the transaction.

The Sophienkontor building further diversifies the Fokus Norddeutschland fund’s portfolio
Given its geographic location and tenant structure, Kiel’s Sophienkontor complex constitutes a core investment asset for the Fokus Norddeutschland fund. The purchase enhances the diversification of the investment fund’s portfolio. The investment spectrum of the fund concentrates on office buildings and the tenant structure is broadly diversified across different sectors. The investment fund offering is addressed to investors from the banking and savings bank sectors only. 

The property is situated right in the city center of Kiel
The building is located at Sophienblatt 40, directly in Kiel’s city center, opposite the central train station and a stone’s throw from the three-segment folding bridge Kieler Hörn at the southern end of the Kieler Förde, the sea inlet around which the regional capital is built. 
The Sophienkontor is just a few minutes away from several landing stages for boats of all kinds, including the Schwedenkai, from where the Stena Line sails to Gothenburg in Sweden. The Sophienhof shopping mall, with around 120 stores, is very close to the Sophienkontor building.
In the vicinity, there are several companies, as well as the offices of authorities of the state capital Kiel and the police department. Kiel’s main shopping street, Holstenstrasse, is only 450 meters away, the historic city center can be reached by car and public transport in approximately ten minutes.

The office complex convinces with an impressive standard of sustainable construction and high-quality office space.
Situated in an outstanding inner-city location with excellent public transport links, the Sophienkontor complex was built to an impressive standard of sustainable construction and offers high-quality office space. The property consists of a building block facing Sophienblatt, with two wings of different lengths to the rear. The building has five full stories and a staggered story. In addition, there are two underground floors with parking spaces and facilities for charging stations, storage and utility rooms. All of the units are accessible by disabled persons. From the second story upwards, every floor has separate terraces for the tenants’ individual use. There is also a bike room and a changing room with showers. The highlight of the building is a roof terrace of 160 square meters on the sixth floor that all tenants can use. 
As proof of the sustainable construction, the Sophienkontor property is going through the process for obtaining Gold certification by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). The building also meets high standards with regard to technical building systems and energy efficiency. With a primary energy requirement of 37 kWh per square meter per year, the office complex is 54 percent below the level specified by law. The share of energy from renewable sources of the total energy requirement is 92 percent. On the basis of the available information, the building is classified as 2-degree ready pursuant to the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) of the European Union.

The multi-tenant property’s leases are long-term with creditworthy tenants.
The modern multi-tenant property, in a good location in Kiel, sets new standards for the office property market in the city in many respects. The building is fully let to various creditworthy long-term tenants, such as the German health insurance company “Die Innovationskasse” formerly IKK Nord; noctua advisors GmbH, a real estate investment and property management company; TeGA-plan Heidemann, a MEP systems design firm; and DATEV eG, the third-largest provider of business software in Germany.

Kiel is among the leading German cities in terms of sustainability and environmental protection
With more than 247,000 inhabitants, Kiel is the capital of the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and the federal state’s most densely populated city. Kiel is the federal state’s most important and biggest office space market. Owing to the very restrictive approach to new developments, there is hardly any space for new construction projects. The vacancy rate is low, at 4.3 percent, and office rents have grown steadily over the past ten years. 
Kiel won the German Sustainability Award in the Large Cities category in 2021. The award recognized the city’s outstanding commitment to climate action, conservation of resources and social justice, among other things. Kiel came in ahead of Munich and Berlin in the ranking. The city also aims to be the first German city to achieve certification as a zero waste city.

Goodwin Procter LLP provided KanAm Grund Group with legal advice on the transaction.