Swiss Prime Site buys SGS headquarters in Geneva
The global market leader for testing services is selling its old headquarters in Geneva and at the same time renting 10,000 square meters of office space in an SPS property at its new headquarters in Baar.
Swiss Prime Site has acquired an office property on "Place des Alpes" in a central location in Geneva. The property not far from the main railway station is the headquarters of the SGS Group, the global market leader for testing, inspection and certification services. The company recently announced that it was moving its headquarters to Baar (ZG), causing some controversy in Geneva.
The property acquired by SPS with a direct view of Lake Geneva consists of a historic old building with a modern fit-out standard and an extension built in 2001. SGS is the seller of the property.
SPS also announced that SGS will move into Swiss Prime Site's "Blu Baar" building in Baar as a single tenant. A new ten-year rental agreement from April 2025 has been concluded in parallel with the purchase. SGS will remain in the building in Geneva as a single tenant until it moves out, which is expected to be at the end of 2025. "Swiss Prime Site was able to prevail in the purchase due to the strategically oriented partnership with the attractive new rental space in Baar, among other things," SPS writes in a press release.
Geneva investment to yield a return of 4.4%
Swiss Prime Site intends to reposition the former SGS headquarters in Geneva as a multi-tenant property. The building has several entrance options and, with its division into new and old buildings, is "ideal for expanding the tenant base". SPS assumes that, following brief conversion work, in particular for the building services and tenant fit-out, around 5,800 sqm will be available for around 300 employees from mid-2026. Initial preliminary talks with "strong expressions of interest from renowned tenants" have already taken place. Swiss Prime Site anticipates rental income of around CHF 3.5 million per year, which would correspond to a gross yield of around 4.4% after conversion.
"The transaction is a first step in the realization of our targeted acquisition pipeline of more than CHF 17 million in total annual rental income by the beginning of 2026," says René Zahnd, CEO of Swiss Prime Site. His company recently raised CHF 300 million for acquisitions via a capital increase and set ambitious investment targets. (aw)
