From 90% vacancy to 95% occupancy.
And that is only one value that creates new value.

"When an anchor tenant quits and new interested parties are to be found in the middle of the pandemic, you not only have to work on a noticeable repositioning. You also have to take a stand, to go unusual ways."

Prime Tower is located in the heart of the Lyon Quarter in Frankfurt/Main. In this district at Herriotstrasse 4, which is largely dominated by office buildings, the building formerly known as Campus Tower was completed in 1969 as the Hertie headquarter and was gutted and modernised in 2001 by Groning according to plans by architect Prof. Christoph Maeckler.

The 19-storey building has a distinctive façade of curtain wall metal castings, which is a listed building.

"If potential tenants cannot come to the building, then the building has to come to the prospective tenants. Behind the difficult situation of the pandemic was a marketing strategy that worked in a customer-centric way with focused measures."

The Frankfurt market for office space is highly competitive. In order to achieve the desired effect of attractiveness and differentiation with a repositioning of Prime Tower, we take a methodical approach. This includes a deep understanding of the overall market and submarket: the former Niederrad office district had a vacancy rate of 60,000 sqm in 2019. In this situation, the main tenant Nintendo in Herriotstraße 4 moved into a new building, leaving the property with a vacancy rate of 90%.

Now the task is to assert the aging property against the numerous new buildings in the submarket and to price it in the market environment. However, a contemporary standard of fit-out is only one focus of the overall positioning. Especially since for an unusual situation an unusual approach is also required.

In the course of the project, the pandemic came shortly after marketing began. And with it a central question: How can the office space be presented to the potential tenant in the best possible way without an on-site inspection?

For us, effective repositioning always involves the targeted selection and coordination of partners. Within the framework of our mandate, we were able to benefit from a positive starting position, as our client was in initial contact with an architect and a marketing agency. In this setup, we were able to quickly plan, act and implement concretely. An important factor. During a situation of vacancy, speed is an important strategic factor.

Asset Management is one of our 4 services. Our integrated methodology of individual repositioning has included a wide range of measures for the Prime Tower. Directly from the property - and with targeted services for the new perception in the market with the special situation of the pandemic.

• Definition of a comprehensive strategic repositioning concept
• Focused measures for a new attractiveness of the object: new implementations for the entrance hall with reception, waiting area, café bar, restaurant and connected new work area on the 1st floor
• Creation of a new, adapted TI fit-out concept, including a concept for the lift lobbies, kitchens & toilets
• Creation of convincing visuals and space planning to present the concept.
• Steering of the architects to optimise the revitalisation concepts and presentation of the renderings
• Management of the marketing homepage with a high proportion of video content
• Acquisition of new rental space through the correct measurement of space
• Creation of a sample floor and illustration of all room variants in combination with our "Oceans White Rooms" concept
• Definition of two fit-out variants "Economy" and "Luxury" in cooperation with the architects
• Targeted approach of the brokerage houses for optimal distribution of the rental spaces

The basic building blocks of the repositioning required an agile approach to the marketing strategy in the course of the measures. Since on-site inspections were not possible for new prospective tenants due to the pandemic, we created a focus on the possibility of virtual tours on the homepage. Potential tenants were thus able to tour the model office in lockdown from their home offices.

But even beyond this special situation, the project was on the move: After the new anchor tenant was found, a new lobby concept had to be created as quickly as possible, as this tenancy required an interior staircase in the foyer, making the old plans obsolete.

Our overall concept brought quick and very convincing success. Not only for the decisive short-term letting situation - but also from the point of view of long-term value creation.

By the end of 2021, we managed to achieve an occupancy rate of 95%. Through new measurements, additional rental space was also created in parallel, with which fundamentally planned income from letting could be exceeded.

The long-term strategy of targeted asset management demonstrates the superior value of a methodical approach: The investment value of the property was significantly increased after implementation of the measures initiated by Oceans & Company and the new anchor tenant.

"In our view, the hybrid marketing of properties will gain in importance in the future. On-site persuasion and digital experiences must intelligently complement each other in order to increase and control the reach for prospective buyers. We are prepared for this."