The property, some 25,000 square meters in size, was completed last June and is fully let to Unilever Deutschland as its headquarters for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It is the largest in the world to feature demand-driven LED lighting, and has a façade encased with a special synthetic membrane to protect the building from cooling.

Concrete core activation, heat recovery and environmentally-riendly construction materials are additional features. Unilever-Haus was named the World's Best Office Building at the World Architecture Festival Awards last year, and is the first building in operation to receive the preliminary certificate of the HafenCity Environmental Sign in Gold.

"The acquisition of Unilever Haus is trendsetting for numerous reasons," said Georg Allendorf, head of RREEF Germany. "It indicates that attractive investments indeed exist in Germany; it demonstrates that we are able to continue to buy properties with excellent terms for the funds and therefore for its investors; and – most importantly – it recognises that green buildings represent the future."