DIC Asset AG opens the new Bienenkorbhaus on Frankfurt's boulevard Zeil

Petra Roth, the Mayoress of the City of Frankfurt and Ulrich Höller, CEO of DIC Asset AG, will together open the new Bienenkorbhaus on Frankfurt's boulevard Zeil. Some 200 guests representing the worlds of business, administration and culture will join DIC in recognising the successful conclusion of the restoration and restructuring of the historic complex, in which many new shops are now opening and making Frankfurt an even more attractive shopping centre.

The complex is now 80 percent let. Main tenants with a 15-year lease each are Ludwig Görtz GmbH, which is opening a large flagship store in the new extension, and Frankfurter Sparkasse, which is opening its largest and most modern branch in the municipal area in the high-rise building. The other residents include Deutsche Angestelltenkrankenkasse (DAK) and Procter & Gamble, which have office space on two floors. The Bienenkorbhaus offers 10,500 sqm in commercial floor space (thereof 3,500 sqm retail and 7,000 sqm office space).

DIC Asset AG acquired the Bienenkorbhaus together with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) as part of the real estate portfolio of Frankfurter Sparkasse in late 2004. The total investment volume comes to roughly EUR 75 million. With the restructuring and the acquisition of new tenants, the new Bienenkorbhaus will make the Zeil more attractive for neighbouring owners, visitors and customers. It marks the entry to Germany's best known and most lucrative shopping mile. The building owes its name to the Frankfurter Sparkasse's logo dating back to 1822: previously, the building was topped by a ring holding a stylised beehive.

Ulrich Höller, CEO of DIC Asset AG: "With this revitalisation, the preservation of a traditional style was both our paramount dictum and, at the same time, our greatest challenge. We have preserved and restored the 1950s architecture and modernised the building by adding an attractive extension. With the new Bienenkorbhaus, we have added an attractive focus to the city centre area of Frankfurt."