Exterior of Hamburg retail property

VIENNA—In what is reportedly Germany's largest commercial property transaction thus far in 2017, RFR Holding GmbH has traded five trophy assets to SIGNA Prime Selection AG for approximately €1.5 billion (US$1.75 billion). The properties span Germany's four largest cities and include office and retail.

Largest and newest of the five properties is the 34-story Upper West in Berlin, completed this past September. It will be used as an office, hotel and retail location, and its approximately 570,000 square feet of commercial space is essentially 100% leased, with tenants including Motel One and WeWork.

A pair of High Street retail/office assets in Hamburg are also part of the portfolio: the Alsterarkaden, which is based on the historical designs of Alexis de Chateauneuf for the Hamburg Rathausmarkt; and the Kaufmannshaus, built in 1905 and renovated in 2013. The portfolio includes a pair of development projects: the Upper Zeil in Frankfurt and Karstadt at the Munich Main Train Station, in which SIGNA Prime already owns a 50% stake.

“The acquisition of this unique portfolio allows us to continue to build out the market position of SIGNA Prime as one of the leading European real estate companies, and to position itself as one of the largest European real estate companies,” says COO Timo Herzberg at SIGNA Prime. The Vienna-based SIGNA plans a long-term hold for all five properties, which have additional value-add potential.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.