Financing for the Berlin Cell and Gene Therapies (CGT) project, one of the most important life science project developments in Europe, has been successfully completed. The project developer iQ spaces, which focuses on research and laboratory properties, was able to secure project financing of over EUR 100 million with its partner UBS Asset Management (UBS AM). The financing partner is Hamburger Sparkasse.
The project volume of the Berlin CGT project amounts to about 200 million euros and is an important future project for biomedical research in Germany. It is being implemented by iQ spaces with UBS AM in close cooperation with Bayer AG, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH). Completion is scheduled for 2028.
The Berlin CGT project is part of the Bayer Open Innovation Campus and is being built in the immediate vicinity of Berlin’s main train station and the Charité Campus Berlin-Mitte. On a total area of around 20,000 square meters, iQ spaces and UBS AM are building a modern, ten-story innovation center for biotechnology and life science companies. The complex is not only intended to offer research and laboratory space, but also to create a place of interaction and cooperation between science, clinical practice and industry.
“Hamburger Sparkasse has been a reliable financing partner for our group of companies for many years. We are all the more pleased that she is also at our side in this project and makes the realization of this forward-looking project possible. The Berlin CGT project is one of the largest life science projects in Europe, which will sustainably strengthen Berlin’s position as an international science location and create space for innovation and research,” explains Vincent Wege, Managing Director of iQ spaces.
In a first step, long-term leases have already been concluded, including 4,400 square meters for the Bayer Co.Lab, an incubator for biopharma start-ups, and 6,500 square meters for the Gene and Cell Therapies Incubator Berlin GmbH, a joint company of Bayer and Charité.
The architectural design for the Berlin CGT project was created by HENN, and SMV is responsible for project management. The construction company WOLFF & MÜLLER has taken over the turnkey implementation. The project is being legally advised by Greenberg Traurig and DLA Piper. The real estate service provider Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is providing support in the context of commercial due diligence and project financing.
