Heidelberg has reached a further milestone as part of its planned site and structural optimization measures. The sale of an area of around 130,000 square meters to the VGP Group will create a new, modern industrial and commercial park at the Wiesloch/Walldorf site. A corresponding purchase agreement was signed today. VGP is a family-run European developer, operator and owner of high-quality logistics and commercial properties. The company has a fully integrated business model and many years of experience along the entire value chain, from land acquisition and development to asset and property management. Heidelberg achieves a purchase price in the mid-double-digit million-euro range.
“By using space more efficiently, we will save considerable costs at Heidelberg in the future. In addition, we will use the funds this frees up to strengthen our liquidity in times of the Covid-19 pandemic and to press ahead with strategic investments for the future on the path of our digital transformation,” said Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. “In VGP, we have found an experienced real estate developer as a partner who will market the space at the Wiesloch/Walldorf site in a future-proof manner in close coordination with the municipalities and Heidelberg.”
Jan van Geet, chairman of the management board of VGP, said, “We are very pleased that we have succeeded in acquiring this unique site. In close and trusting cooperation with the seller Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, the municipalities and the city of Heidelberg, we were able to realize the acquisition very quickly. We plan to realign the site strategically and develop a modern industrial and commercial park here for long-term tenants from a variety of sectors. In this way, we want to make a sustainable contribution to the creation of new jobs and the economic development of the region.” Van Geet added, “Sustainability and energy efficiency are key parameters for the properties developed by VGP. These aspects will also play a central role in the development of the VGP Park in Wiesloch/Walldorf.”
The VGP Group currently operates 31 parks in Germany. In Europe, the family-owned company based in Antwerp, Belgium, now operates 76 parks in twelve countries.
The Wiesloch/Walldorf site covers a total area of around 840,000 square meters. Of this, around 270,000 square meters are to be newly marketed in the course of the planned site and structure optimization. The partnership with VGP is the first step in this project. At present, almost 5,000 employees work at the site.
