B-cities, A-locations and a €60 million deal that tells a bigger story

When CLS Holdings announced the €60 million sale of The Brix office complex in Essen last week, the deal attracted attention for reasons that go beyond the transaction itself. In a market where deals of that magnitude in Germany's secondary cities remain, as CLS's own Head of Germany Rolf Mensing put it, "far from a given," the successful exit from a comprehensively repositioned asset tells a broader story about where Germany's office investment market is actually recovering — and where it is not.

The Brix transaction is a textbook illustration of what CLS calls its ABBA strategy: buying B-locations in A-cities and A-locations in B-cities. The property at Kruppstraße 16, around 500 metres from Essen's main railway station, fits the second half of that formula precisely. CLS acquired it in April 2021 with a vacancy rate of around 28%. Following the conclusion of a new 30-year lease with the City of Essen, the company carried out a comprehensive modernisation, improving energy efficiency and the quality of the working environment. The result: a fully let, sustainable office asset with long-term secure cash flows — and a buyer willing to pay €60 million for it.

"This transaction sends a strong signal to the office investment market," said Fredrik Widlund, CLS's Chief Executive. "It underlines our team's ability to successfully realise value even in a challenging market environment." The deal is expected to complete in Q2 2026, with Colliers and BNP Paribas advising CLS on the sale.