WAULT and tenant quality
Two more years on an anchor lease visibly move the multiple. Reletting before a sale nearly always pays for itself.
Asset classes · Office
Office buildings
Office shows the widest spread of any asset class. Several hundred basis points now separate a refurbished core building from an eighties block without a retrofit plan.
The buyer universe has shifted since 2022. Insurers and open-ended funds have turned selective, while family offices and value-add investors are actively buying exactly the assets institutions currently avoid. If you sell, you need to know which camp your building belongs to.
Price is not driven by floor area but by the remaining lease term measured against the capex requirement. A seven-year WAULT with strong covenants carries a different multiple than three years left alongside a façade and plant refurbishment.
We assess both together — cash flow and capex — and we say so openly when a sale only makes sense after a reletting or a defined retrofit roadmap.
What we look at first
- Tenancy schedule with covenants, indexation and break options
- Deferred capex in plant, façade and lifts
- EPC, consumption data and retrofit roadmap
- Floor layouts and divisibility into smaller units
- Parking ratio and public transport access
Key figures
- Lot size
- EUR 10 – 400m
- Typical buyers
- Family offices, funds, value-add
- Pricing basis
- WAULT, rent level, capex
- Timeline
- 3 – 6 months
- Structure
- Asset or share deal
Value drivers
What moves the price here
ESG pathway
Buyers price the route to taxonomy alignment. A costed retrofit plan is worth more than any statement of intent.
Divisibility
Floors that break down to 300 – 500 sqm relet far more easily, and buyers pay for that.
Micro location
The street decides, not the city. Two euros per sqm often separate two districts in the same town.
Process
How a sale runs in this segment
- Step 01
Stock-take
Leases, technical files, consumption data and open capex collected before any price discussion.
- Step 02
Price range and story
Market-based valuation with two scenarios: sale as-is or after reletting.
- Step 03
Buyer selection
Core buyers and value-add houses approached separately with tailored material.
- Step 04
Data room and Q&A
A complete data room before marketing. Documents handed in late cost price.
- Step 05
Negotiation and closing
Financing certainty tested, due diligence supported through to notarisation.
From practice
What we see in real deals
The capex backlog is always in the room
Buyers price it anyway, usually more generously than needed. A seller-side survey turns the debate into one about real numbers.
Vacancy is not always vacancy
Vacancy in a micro market with demand is an opportunity for value-add capital. Vacancy where there is no demand is a discount best acknowledged before marketing.
Share deals are not always worth it
The transfer tax saving narrows the buyer universe and lengthens due diligence. Below EUR 15m it often does not pay.
Questions
What owners ask us
The points owners raise before a mandate — answered the way we would in a first call.
How long does an office sale take?
Three to six months from approach to notarisation if preparation is clean. An incomplete data room is the biggest time sink.
Should we relet before selling?
Often yes. A five-year lease can lift the price by a multiple of the incentives, provided the tenant is creditworthy.
What about assets without an ESG concept?
They still sell, but to different buyers and at a discount. We tell you upfront how large that discount realistically is.
Asset classes
What we cover
We advise on real estate and corporate transactions from EUR 20m across Europe, with a clear focus on the DACH region. Every asset class has its own buyer universe – these are the segments we work in most often.
Thinking about selling in this asset class?
Send us the key figures — you get an honest read on price and buyer universe.