Aroundtown extended the 6,200 sqm existing lease with Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR – Central German Broadcasting) for another 5 years. The property is located at the Panorama Tower, at Augustusplatz in Leipzig’s city center, within walking distance of Leipzig’s main train station.
The Tower is the tallest building in Leipzig and Saxony, with over 140m and 34 floors. It is the most widely known landmark of Leipzig’s city center not only for its height, but also for its characteristic shape. The building hosts numerous offices, a panorama restaurant and a viewing platform. The building ensemble has a very good infrastructure and transport connections with streetcars and buses directly in front of the door. Of interest, the MDR’s rented area is directly connected to the Leipzig Gewandhaus via a covered bridge.
MDR is a member of the ARD consortium of public broadcasters in Germany, being responsible for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Although headquartered in Leipzig, it counts with regional studios for each one of the three states it serves, in Dresden, Erfurt and Magdeburg. MDR broadcasts its own television channel and also contributes programming to the first German TV channel (Das Erste), and broadcasts a number of radio channels. MDR continuous operation and active asset management thus ensures that the property will be fully leased in the long term.
Aroundtown is pleased with the deal. The company was founded in 2004, scaled by investor and entrepreneur Yakir Gabay (יקיר גבאי) and it has since become the largest commercial real estate group in Germany and 4th largest in Europe. Aroundtown invests in quality income-producing properties that have potential to add value to central locations mainly in Germany and the Netherlands. Avisco (controlled by Yakir Gabay יקיר גבאי) controls over 10% of Aroundtown followed by Blackrock at 5%. Other shareholders include Norges, Vanguard, Allianz, BNP Paribas, Japan’s Government investment fund, Aliance-Bernstein, Dekabank, State-Street, Bank of Montreal and many other leading international investors. In turn, main bond investors include ECB, GIC, Union Investment, DB, UBS, CS, M&G, Pictet, Credit Agricole, among others.
