Essen is the Ruhr region’s most important office market. In 2019, take-up exceeded 160,000 m², the highest figure since market data was first collected. Brockhoff & Partner participated in well over 40% of all brokered deals, reinforcing its market-leading position. In 2018, too, Brockhoff & Partner led the market with a good 45% share. Another record: prime rents exceeded €16 for the first time in 2019, reports the Essen brokerage.

(Essen, 23.01.2020). Essen set a new annual record in 2019, with office take-up of just over 160,000 m². The previous best was approximately 158,000 m², brokered in 2007. “The Ruhr region is managing its structural transformation exceptionally well and increasingly becoming an IT and services location. As a result, demand for office space is enormous. Last year, demand was met above all by revitalized existing properties such as RUHR Tower,” explains Eckhard Brockhoff, managing partner of Brockhoff & Partner.

Despite high leasing activity, the vacancy rate fell to approximately 3.5%. The Essen brokerage sees no reason for concern. “We are confident that we will be able to offer suitable premises to interested tenants in 2020 as well. Large deals will also be possible,” says Tobias Altenbeck, management team member responsible for OFFICE at Brockhoff & Partner.

More new construction would ease the situation. “It is important for authorities to approve building applications faster and for investors to consider speculative new-build projects. The extremely high pre-letting rate for new developments leaves no doubt that modern offices are sought after in Essen. This is especially true in city-fringe districts such as Rüttenscheid, Bredeney and Südviertel, where most leasing activity took place last year,” Altenbeck adds.

A stable rent of approximately €15/m² would be desirable in Essen to give investors confidence. In 2019, this level was exceeded in central locations. The highest rent in a lease brokered by Brockhoff & Partner in 2019 was more than €16/m².

The 2019 record resulted from leases across all size categories. Three major deals, each for more than 10,000 m², also drove take-up last year.

Brockhoff & Partner participated in well over 40% of brokered deals, reinforcing its leading position. In 2018, it also led the market with a good 45% share.

In 2019, Brockhoff OFFICE reported full occupancy of approximately 16,000 m² of fully renovated office and commercial space at Magna Tower, under an exclusive advisory and marketing mandate. Most recently, IT Vision Technology GmbH signed a lease through Brockhoff OFFICE for approximately 123 m² in the former construction office. Just weeks earlier, Brockhoff OFFICE assisted Ramboll GmbH in leasing the upper retail level, with 777 m². Other modern tenants include US medical company Hill-Rom GmbH, the first tenant to be secured after the renovation, taking 2 floors totalling 1,400 m². Brockhoff OFFICE then placed international customer-care centre Mindpearl in approximately 700 m² and Oschatz Energy and Environment GmbH in approximately 2,099 m². Anchor tenant FedEx Express, the world’s largest express carrier, moved into approximately 4,200 m² of office space in July 2018.

RUHR Tower, another flagship of Essen’s office market, was brought close to full occupancy by Brockhoff OFFICE in 2019. Anchor tenant coworking provider Design Offices signed a lease that year for approximately 7,000 m² of office space and secured an option on a further 3,000 m². Other tenants include Deutsche Bank, with approximately 1,500 m² (leased in 2017); recruitment provider Hays, with approximately 633 m² (leased in 2017); Business Metropole Ruhr, with approximately 633 m²; Check 24, with approximately 309 m²; international IT provider FPT Deutschland GmbH, with approximately 600 m²; and a joint venture between Innogy and Burda subsidiary C3, with 1,000 m².

Brockhoff OFFICE fully let the new building at Müller-Breslau-Str. 28, with approximately 2,107 m² of lettable space. Notably, 4 companies in the security sector moved under one roof, inspiring the unofficial name “Future Safe House”.

A listed Essen corporation leased approximately 6,224 m² of existing office space at Helenenstr. 149 through Brockhoff OFFICE.

Brockhoff OFFICE also brokered approximately 2,510 m² of office space to a public-sector administrative unit. The decisive factors at Frohnhauser Str. 71 were contiguous availability and a central location in Essen’s Weststadt, near the city centre.

At listed property Lindenallee 29-41, coworking provider Work Inn leased approximately 754 m² through Brockhoff OFFICE. A further 2,258 m² in the building was let to Harfid.

A listed corporation leased approximately 5,400 m² at Kruppstraße 74 through Brockhoff OFFICE. Siemens signed for approximately 12,000 m² at Kruppstr. 16.

Brockhoff OFFICE arranged an expansion of approximately 1,064 m² at Baumstraße 25 for a listed corporation that had leased approximately 3,000 m² there the previous year.

At Huyssen Quartier, Essen’s most prestigious new-build project, Brockhoff leased approximately 4,200 m² of office space to PwC Deutschland.

Hochtief leased approximately 15,800 m² at Alfredstr. 236, RWE AG approximately 15,000 m² at Altenessener Straße, and Karstadt approximately 8,000 m² at Theodor-Althoff-Str. 1.

The new Allbau AG building at Holsterhauser Platz, opposite the hospital, was also successfully marketed. Brockhoff OFFICE leased approximately 2,570 m² there to AWO Essen.

Brenntag AG leased approximately 2,200 m² at Hohenzollernstr. 24-26.

Numerous other leases, which cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality obligations, contributed to the record result.