HIH Real Estate finalised a total of 175 lease agreements in the first half of 2026. These covered a total area of approximately 159,700 square metres. Of these completions, 80 agreements for an area of around 40,500 square metres were new lettings, while 95 agreements for approximately 119,200 square metres were prolongations of existing leases. This means that the long-term retention of established tenants represented the predominant share of the take-up.
Within HIH Real Estate's national portfolio, 61 new lettings covering an area of approximately 34,500 square metres and 73 contract extensions for about 104,000 square metres were executed. The international portfolio recorded 19 new lettings for around 6,000 square metres and 22 prolongations, amounting to approximately 15,200 square metres. The breakdown by type of use in the national portfolio showed that 48 percent of the leased area was attributable to office properties, 29 percent to logistics properties, and approximately 19 percent to retail properties.
A significant share of the logistics sector resulted from a single, largest transaction by area during the half-year: the prolongation of the lease agreement with Deutsche Post Immobilien for 40,300 square metres at Ernst-von-Bodelschwingh-Straße in Bergkamen. In the international portfolio, office properties dominated with 57 percent, followed by retail with 39 percent.
Strategic Contract Extensions and New Acquisitions
Frank Kindermann, Managing Director of Asset Management at HIH Real Estate, stated that the letting performance in the first half-year demonstrates the relevance of active tenant care and the quality of the existing properties. He highlighted that the high number and volume of contract extensions underscore the long-term fulfilment of user requirements by the spaces. In parallel, new companies have been secured for the portfolio with new tenants. Kindermann also pointed out that the long-term extension of the lease agreement with Deloitte in Frankfurt's ZEBRA illustrates that high-quality office properties in Germany's top locations and prime sites continue to be in strong demand. There, companies are looking for modern, ESG-compliant spaces that offer an attractive working environment and support long-term location strategies.
Among the largest individual transactions, besides the aforementioned prolongation with Deutsche Post Immobilien, was the early contract extension with Deloitte. This encompassed approximately 17,000 square metres in the ZEBRA office property, located at Europaallee 91 in Frankfurt am Main. Deloitte has been the sole user of the DGNB Gold-certified building since its completion in 2021 and has now committed to this location beyond 2036. Further significant transactions included the prolongation with Zürich Versicherung for 8,315 square metres in SquareOne in Vienna, as well as a new letting in the East Side Office in Berlin to TotalEnergies.
Regional Distribution of Take-up
In Germany's top-7 cities, the leased area totalled 57,054 square metres in the first half-year. Frankfurt recorded the largest take-up with 19,983 square metres, followed by Berlin with 14,946 square metres, and Munich with 7,932 square metres. Hamburg also contributed significantly to the overall result with 7,705 square metres.
