International real estate investment company Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) has successfully closed the sale of the Potsdamer Platz portfolio to a subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners. The portfolio comprises around 267,000 sqm of rental space. As planned, ownership of the 17 properties was transferred to Brookfield at the beginning of January 2016, a mere ten weeks or so after the agreement was signed.

Potsdamer Platz in Berlin is one of Europe’s best-known urban quarters and has won multiple awards for its exceptional and ground-breaking architecture. A defining feature is the variety of its types of use. In addition to seven office and five residential buildings, the portfolio includes the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden shopping centre, the Mandala Hotel, a variety of entertainment venues including the Cinemaxx cinema and the Stage Theater, a large number of restaurants and cafes, and more than 2,000 underground parking spaces.

“We have rapidly executed and successfully completed a highly complex transaction with the sale”, said Axel Kraus, managing director of Savills Fund Management GmbH.

The sale of the package will be included in the results for the SEB Immovest open-ended real estate fund’s next distribution expected to be made end of January 2016.

Demand among international investors within Europe is at a high. Particularly in Berlin, the market is in a phase of high demand and low supply. “This extremely liquid environment showcases our strengths as an international investment platform – our presence on these markets enables our investors to systematically take advantage of both domestic and cross-border purchase and sale opportunities. Potsdamer Platz Quarter has seen extremely positive development over the years. The sale is a milestone in the continuing process of liquidating SEB ImmoInvest’s portfolio in the interests of investors”, said Axel Kraus.