BaFin Signs 23,000-Square-Meter, 15-Year Lease at RAW Frankfurt With Quest Investment Partners and VIVAO

Germany's federal financial regulator, the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), will relocate to RAW Frankfurt under a 15-year lease covering roughly 23,000 square meters — approximately 247,500 square feet — of office space at Stephensonstraße 1 in Frankfurt am Main, Quest Investment Partners and VIVAO announced Aug. 31, 2026.

The long-term government tenancy lifts the pre-lease rate at the roughly 51,000-square-meter, landmark Brutalist ensemble to approximately 60 percent. BaFin is expected to move more than 1,000 employees into the campus in autumn 2028, following the completion of an extensive revitalization program.

A House-in-House Solution for Germany's Financial Watchdog

Under the lease structure, BaFin will occupy three wings of the building, configured as a self-contained "house-in-house" solution that gives the authority its own internal campus within the broader RAW Frankfurt complex. The arrangement accounts for roughly 45 percent of the property's total leasable area.

"The RAW is an ideal new location for BaFin. It offers us flexible and future-proof space close to the city center. This provides our employees with modern in-house infrastructure that is also sustainable, economical, and easily accessible," BaFin President Mark Branson said in a statement.

Kira Groth, Managing Director at Quest Investment Partners, said the transaction validates the project's repositioning thesis. "We are very pleased to have gained another significant tenant for the RAW with BaFin. The authority will occupy three building wings, which will give it an independent house-in-house solution," Groth said. "The letting confirms our concept of transforming a listed building of high architectural quality into a modern and flexible working environment."

RAW Frankfurt: Repositioning a Frankfurt Skyline Landmark

RAW Frankfurt — also known historically as the Bahnpyramide — served as the main administration headquarters for Deutsche Bahn's passenger division from the early 1990s. The approximately 65-meter-tall structure has been part of the Frankfurt skyline since 1989 and carries heritage-listed status as a Brutalist ensemble.

Quest Investment Partners and VIVAO are acting as investment and asset managers for an umbrella fund belonging to a professional pension scheme, for which the preservation and sustainable management of the Stephensonstraße 1 property is a central objective. The repositioning aims to convert the former corporate headquarters into a modern, multifunctional business campus while retaining the building's distinctive architecture.

The campus plan includes flexible office floor plates adaptable to varying tenant requirements, a modern canteen, a daycare facility, and landscaped green courtyards designed to provide additional outdoor meeting and recreation areas and to improve the microclimate on site. Photovoltaic installations are incorporated into the sustainability concept.

Milian Männle, Managing Director at VIVAO, said the BaFin lease reinforces the asset's long-term positioning. "The letting by BaFin confirms that the building, with its location, its sustainable usage concept and its quality, meets the requirements of demanding occupiers. With two well-known anchor tenants, we are creating a strong foundation for a long-term successful development and attractiveness of the property," Männle said.

Location and Submarket Context

RAW Frankfurt sits between the largely completed Europaviertel redevelopment and the established Gallus neighborhood, placing it in one of Frankfurt's more active office submarkets. The property benefits from proximity to Frankfurt Messe, Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, and the inner city, as well as connections to the motorway network.

Prime rents in the Frankfurt office market reached €55 per square meter per month in the second quarter of 2026, with sustainably achievable prime rents reported at approximately €53 per square meter per month — a roughly four percent year-on-year increase.

BaFin joins Deloitte, which is set to occupy approximately 6,000 square meters at RAW Frankfurt with a planned move-in targeted for spring 2027, as the property's first large private-sector tenant. Together, the two anchor leases account for roughly 29,000 square meters of committed space, consistent with the reported 60 percent pre-leasing figure across the 51,000-square-meter campus.

Transaction Advisors

CBRE and Schier Real Estate advised and brokered the lease on behalf of the landlord. Capstone Legal and HEUKING provided legal counsel on the transaction, with HEUKING advising BaFin in negotiating and concluding the lease.

With a federal government tenant committed to a 15-year term and occupancy targeted for 2028, the RAW Frankfurt repositioning enters its next phase with the majority of its leasable area either leased or under active development.

Sources

Quest Investment Partners — RAW Frankfurt BaFin Lease Announcement (Aug. 31, 2026)