Hamburg Commercial Bank sells property on Hamburg’s Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz
New headquarters in landmark building “Elbtower” from 2025
HAMBURG – Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) has sold its headquarters building in Hamburg city centre, including the “PERLE Hamburg” shopping arcade, to SIGNA Group. With the sale agreed on 11 December 2020, HCOB is taking another decisive step in its transformation into a modern and successful commercial bank. The parties to the contract have agreed not to disclose the selling price. The closing is expected after the completion of market standard conditions precedent.
The property, which was built in 1972 on behalf of the predecessor institution Hamburgische
Landesbank, covers more than 30,000 square meters and was designed at that time for a
significantly larger workforce. It is therefore no longer suited to the privatized and far more focused
Hamburg Commercial Bank of today. Moreover, the building is technically outdated and does not
meet the latest requirements for sustainable energy management and thus the ESG aspiration of
HCOB.
Following the sale of the eight-story building on Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz, HCOB will continue to
use it for a transitional period of around four years under a sale and lease back agreement with
SIGNA Group. The bank will then move into the Elbtower, a planned skyscraper in the east of the
young Hamburg district HafenCity. Approximately 11,000 sqm will be rented with an option for an
additional 2,000 sqm, for at least ten years. The landmark building will be Hamburg’s tallest
building, at around 245 meters, and will have a special prominence at the entrance to the district.
“With this agreement, Hamburg Commercial Bank is taking another important step into the future.
For us, the successful sale of our existing main building, along with the option to continue using
the facility until we move to the new Elbtower, is an ideal solution,” said Stefan Ermisch, CEO of
Hamburg Commercial Bank. “The Elbtower, with its state-of-the art facilities and good
infrastructural connections, will be a perfect location for our new headquarters.”
Hamburg Commercial Bank was advised on this transaction by legal advisors AHB and Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer and by real estate advisors BNP Paribas Real Estate and Grossmann &
Berger
