ActivumSG acquires Germany’s Centralis

Independent real estate investment manager ActivumSG has acquired a majority stake in German serviced apartment specialist Centralis, focused on acquiring, refurbishing, and developing properties in top urban areas.

Wesserstrasse, Berlin

The acquisition encompasses not only the Centralis platform but also a portfolio of nine properties with 550 units across 23,000 m2 of lettable area. This includes four operational apartment buildings in Berlin, Bonn, and Lübeck, along with five projects in major cities like Hamburg and Cologne, largely consisting of properties with significant refurbishment potential.
The existing properties are leased to contemporary, technology-driven hospitality companies under long-term leases that adjust for inflation, providing a stable income base. Furthermore, ActivumSG and Centralis expect to double their portfolio by the end of 2025, with several additional assets already under exclusive negotiation.
Centralis' founders will remain as co-CEOs and retain a significant minority shareholding.
ActivumSG plans to invest further to expand the platform Europe-wide to over €500 mln through various strategies, including distressed sales and M&A, targeting the higher profitability offered by this type of accommodation.
This investment aims to capitalize on the growing demand for tech-enabled serviced apartments with high-profit margins.
Saul Goldstein, founder and CEO of ActivumSG, said: “This transaction underscores our strong conviction in the European accommodation sector, with serviced apartments sitting at the intersection of hospitality and residential real estate. These are two high-growth asset classes in which we have considerable expertise and are an ongoing strategic focus for our client partners. With traditional staff-heavy hospitality operating models under pressure from rising costs and labor shortages, the tech-enabled, people-light serviced apartment model offers the prospect of premium profit margins alongside a reliable user experience that appeals to a diverse range of customers. However, there remains a lack of high-quality investable opportunities in this attractive sub-sector - a gap in the market which we will look to address through this acquisition.”
Johannes Vielberth, director, Corporate Transactions, ActivumSG, commented: “In Centralis, we are acquiring a platform with a seasoned team, a proven track record, a high-quality seed portfolio, and an exclusive pipeline. We look forward to working with Fabian, Lukas, and their team to build on this attractive entry point and capitalize on our early-mover advantage to build an industry-leading platform, eventually expanding its geographic focus beyond Germany. The opportunity with Centralis allows us to build on our 18-year heritage of investing in Germany. ActivumSG’s investment and expertise will enable Centralis to scale its asset base, providing the real estate infrastructure to modern hospitality operations in a growing sector backed by multiple tailwinds. Through our value-add approach, we can generate attractive yields on cost relative to market yields as well as substantial stabilized cash-on-cash potential.”
Fabian Vieregge and Lukas von Lüdinghausen, co-CEOs of Centralis, added: “ActivumSG has an excellent track record of investing in hospitality and residential real estate across Europe and partnering with existing management teams to drive enterprise and asset value, with a well-established local presence in our home market, Germany. The German serviced apartment market has seen steady growth over the last few years while being still highly diverse and fragmented, creating opportunity for well-capitalized market players like us to acquire, convert, and aggregate stock into a scaled, institutional-quality portfolio.”
ActivumSG has a long track record in European hospitality, having invested in, developed, and managed over €1 bn in assets since 2012. Their recent activity includes significant investments such as the SLS Barcelona, a new five-star hotel; the Nobu Hotel Barcelona, which underwent a major refurbishment; the Odyssey Hotel Group, a hotel management company with a large portfolio and pipeline; and successful property transformations and sales like Palacio Solecio, Hampton by Hilton Fira Gran Via, and Hard Rock Hotel Madrid.