Dataport renting space in DFH Deutsche Fonds Holding’s “Hanse Center”

Dataport, provider of IT services to public institutions, has signed a rental agreement for 40,030 m² of office space, 1,616 m² of storage facility and 518 car-parking spaces in the “Hanse Center”, Hamburg. The property belongs to the closed real estate fund “Beteiligungsangebot DFH Immobilienfonds 78 Stuttgart-Hamburg” managed by the DFH Group. The property, located in the Hammerbrook district, has been leased for 20 years, starting in the spring of 2024. This contract, at over 40,000 m² of office space the third-largest such agreement ever signed in Hamburg, was made possible because the bank Hamburger Sparkasse (Haspa) is vacating its offices here in autumn 2023 and moving to its new corporate headquarters in the “Deutschlandhaus” ahead of schedule. Dataport will be able to move its roughly 1,900 employees, currently scattered around various sites in Hamburg, to one central location in the “Hanse Center”. The owners and tenants are committed to the principles of sustainability and energy efficiency and will join together in the task of ensuring this building meets future demands. Both in its search for premises, and during lease negotiations, Dataport was assisted by the property services provider Grossmann & Berger, member of German Property Partners (GPP), and the only broker involved in this let.  

Reliable, long-term tenant for large amount of space

“We are extremely satisfied with the smoothly efficient lease negotiations for the “Hanse Center” and with our new tenant Dataport. It was very important to us to find a tenant for large premises who would be as reliable as the Haspa”, explains Lei Tao, fund and asset manager for DFH Deutsche Fonds Holding. “This means that we can secure full occupancy long-term to the benefit of the fund company. Considering the size of the property, this is not so easily achieved”, adds Jörg-Karsten Hagen, head of Asset Management, DFH Group. The building is one of 40 assets under management by the real estate asset and investment manager headquartered in Stuttgart. Including dividends from the sale of the property in Stuttgart in 2016, the DFH Immobilienfonds 78 has to date disbursed 112.36 % on the paid in limited liability capital. “The success in finding an immediate successor tenant means that the property fund, which is performing well, continues to remain as strong as the investors would want”, remarks Nikolaus von Blomberg, managing director of DFH Group. Deutsche Fonds Holding is part of the Zech Group and currently has real estate valued at over 3.75bn euros under management.  

More efficient networking “under one roof” 

“The new premises allow us space to implement our New Work concept. We are combining the opportunities for mobile working that IT creates with modern spaces for collaboration and working on site. These are important considerations when attracting staff, says Johann Bizer, chairman of the board of Dataport when explaining the reasons why new offices are needed. Dataport is the digitalization partner for public administrative bodies and provides these with all the IT services they need. As an institution under public law (AöR), Dataport is funded by Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the IT Federation Schleswig-Holstein. Dataport currently operates in nine locations in Germany and employs a total of some 4,400 people.

Solutions for three enterprises

“Because so many people and such a large amount of space was involved, negotiations were very complex. Therefore we are proud to have successfully brokered the letting of 72,000 m² of office space and of the fact that we found the right solutions for three companies – DFH Deutsche Fonds Holding, Dataport and Haspa,” says Andreas Rehberg, spokesperson for the managing board of Grossmann & Berger. The latter also assisted Haspa in its search for new headquarters and facilitated the process of renting more than 30,000 m² of office space in the “Deutschlandhaus”. Both Haspa and Grossmann & Berger are subsidiaries of HASPA Finanzholding.  

Vibrant work environment in Hammerbrook

The “Hanse Center” was built in 2006. This seven-storey structure is characterized by a curved floor plan encompassing three interior courtyards and an impressive foyer. It also has a canteen which seats up to 500 and can serve around 1,200 meals. The building’s underground garage has 541 car-parking spaces, 518 of which have been let to Dataport. Regional S lines and underground trains stop at the nearby “Berliner Tor” station and various bus routes also have stops close by. Hammerbrook has become far more vibrant in recent years thanks to, e.g., new residential and commercial developments. Therefore the Dataport employees are moving to an area with a variety of local amenities and a wide range of places to eat out.