DIC Asset: Completion of Bienenkorbhaus Building now on the Finishing Stretch

DIC Asset AG just completed the restoration and restructuring work on the historic Bienenkorbhaus building on Frankfurt's boulevard Zeil on schedule. Meanwhile, 80 percent of altogether 10,500 sqm in commercial floor space (thereof 3,500 sqm retail and 7,000 sqm office space) have already been let and turned over to the new tenants. Main tenants with a 15-year lease each are Ludwig Görtz GmbH and Frankfurter Sparkasse. The most recent tenant is Procter & Gamble, having rented office space on two floors. Among the other residents of the complex is Deutsche Angestelltenkrankenkasse (DAK). The grand opening is scheduled for April 2009.

The total investment volume comes to EUR 75 million. DIC Asset AG acquired Bienenkorbhaus together with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) as part of the real estate portfolio of Frankfurter Sparkasse in late 2004. Originally negotiated up to the end of 2008, the underwriting banks extended the outside financing for the remaining portfolio in an amount of EUR 62 million through 2010. This helped to further push down the company's - anyway low - refinancing rate. Aside from budget considerations, this lays a solid foundation for the unhurried completion and marketing the property.

Ulrich Höller, CEO of DIC Asset AG, had this to say: "In spite of the difficult market environment, we managed to implement our restructuring and letting plans successfully and on schedule, and simultaneously to acquire first-rate tenants. The new Bienenkorbhaus will be a boon to downtown Frankfurt."

source : DIC Asset AG