Thursday, 1 October 2026
Proprium Capital Partners and Garbe Insite have established a joint venture targeting €500 million of investment in urban industrial property, beginning with a €75 million redevelopment in Munich. The platform will pursue redevelopment opportunities and selected new projects in Germany and other European markets, with a focus on locations suitable for light manufacturing, research, technology and urban logistics.
The venture completed its first acquisition on 29 September, buying a 16,700 sqm site in Munich’s Bogenhausen district from tk accelis, part of thyssenkrupp. Older offices and warehouses currently occupying the property are due to be demolished and replaced with approximately 13,500 sqm of new commercial space. Around 70% of the planned accommodation has already been leased to a Munich technology company before construction begins.
The new property is intended to accommodate a combination of production, warehousing, laboratories, research and development, offices and employee facilities. Its layout will allow areas to be divided into smaller units, widening the potential occupier base beyond a single industrial use. Construction is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2027 following demolition and site preparation, with completion planned for the end of 2028.
“Urban commercial space in central locations is structurally scarce, while demand from the wide universe of potential occupiers, ranging from skilled trades and light production to R&D and last-mile logistics, continues to grow. With this joint venture, we are building a dedicated platform to capitalise on this trend,” said Philipp Westermann, Managing Partner of Proprium. “With approximately 70% of the space pre-let before construction has even started, the Munich project is an ideal start.”
Proprium, which is backed by L&G, will provide the majority of the venture’s equity and contribute investment and transaction expertise. Garbe Insite will oversee development and asset management as the partners assemble the portfolio. Garbe Insite specialises in light industrial and science and technology property, including the redevelopment of existing urban sites.
“We are bringing commercial activity back into the cities,” said Martin Czaja, Managing Director of Garbe Insite. “After years of being pushed out of central locations, manufacturing businesses are regaining access to urban space as a result of the office market downturn. Our goal is to develop future-oriented real estate solutions for tenants from the commercial, tech and science sectors, while giving institutional investors access to the light industrial real estate market.”
The Munich scheme is targeting DGNB Gold certification and is planned with air-source heat pumps rather than fossil-fuel heating, together with photovoltaic installations on the roofs. Its location also provides access to public transport, with the Berg am Laim S-Bahn station within walking distance.
The €500 million programme gives Proprium and Garbe Insite a platform to pursue a segment sitting between conventional logistics, manufacturing and technology real estate. The Munich project illustrates the strategy particularly clearly: an older urban commercial site is being replaced with flexible industrial and research space, while the substantial pre-let reduces leasing exposure well before construction begins.
