ORCO-GSG once again main sponsor of the Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Prize

The subsidiary of ORCO Germany, the Gewerbesiedlungs-Gesellschaft also known as ORCO-GSG, will be sponsoring the Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Prize this year again as one of the prize’s main sponsors. In this way, it is continuing a long-standing tradition of promoting and recognizing exceptional innovations.

For the twenty-fifth time this year, the highly regarded prize will be awarded to a company active in the economy, and to celebrate that jubilee, it has been given a new profile. “We very much welcome this new orientation given to the Innovation Prize”, stated Rainer Bormann, managing director of ORCO-GSG, “in particular since the organizers and the jury work together so well to ensure that the topic of ‘innovation’ is constantly in the public’s awareness. This is the result of the excellent communications work they do during the entire year leading up to the awards ceremony, and because they include new formats that focus on the interaction and combination of academia with the economic sphere.”

With its approximately 850,000 m2 of office space and multi-functional areas, ORCO-GSG is the leading supplier of commercial areas in Berlin – and has the ideal spaces to offer for innovations. For ORCO-GSG, promoting innovations is an important part of its strategic orientation. To cite but one example, the "Berliner Innovations- und Gründerzentrum" (BIG I, center for innovations and start-up companies) forming part of the "Technologie- und Innovationspark Berlin" (TIB, technology and innovations centre) in Gustav-Meyer-Allee is Germany’s first centre for start-up companies that continues to be successful to this day. At the historical site in Berlin-Wedding, academic life, research and high-tech industry have combined to form a uniquely creative centre. In 2006, the Institut für Bauingenieurwesen (Institute for Construction and Civil Engineering) of the Technical University of Berlin located was awarded the prize. In the other commercial courtyards managed by ORCO-GSG as well, spin-offs from the universities of Berlin active in high-tech industries have developed to become market leaders in their respective sectors and are now turning their innovative ideas into economic success stories.

ORCO-GSG is a reliable partner to innovative companies by making ideal spaces available to those who are, after all, the drivers of the economy. It has areas to offer in all of Berlin, in any size, from small and manageable offices to flexible, multi-functional areas, equipped with furnishings and fixtures of any type and nature.

In addition, start-ups will find the ideal environment with ORCO-GSG for work, for exchanging their ideas with others and for growth – be this as a group of founders sharing office spaces, a young crafts firm or as an innovative high tech start-up. Moreover, all tenants profit from the encompassing scope of services they are provided, such as free information events, the Hofkurier magazine or the many and varied services offered at reduced prices.
For further information, please access our website http://www.orco-gsg.de/

Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Prize 2008
Since 1984, the prize has been awarded each year (and from 1992 onwards, by both of the Länder together) by Berlin and Brandenburg. Companies and individuals alike can submit their innovative solutions for review by the jury – the deadline this year is July 20th. From August of this year onwards, an independent jury made up of 16 experts, chaired by Professor Dr. Manfred Hennecke, the President of the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) will decide on the nominations. In December, up to five winners will be awarded the prize, which comes with an endowment of € 10,000 for each winner. All documents and further information are available for downloading at http://www.innovationspreis-bb.de/. The Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Prize is realized in the form of a public private partnership.

ORCO Germany S.A. is a real estate company that has its registered seat in Luxembourg and that is listed in the Prime Standard on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The ORCO Germany group, which operates under the uniform registered trademark ORCO Germany, has been pursuing its activities in Germany since 2004 and concentrates on residential and commercial properties as well as on asset management and project development. ORCO Germany currently employs about 210 members of staff in Germany.
In 2006, ORCO Germany strategically reinforced its project development operations by acquiring Viterra Development GmbH. Viterra Development GmbH was renamed ORCO Projektentwicklung GmbH at the beginning of 2008 and is one of the leading project developers and investors specializing in commercial and residential properties in the core German markets of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. ORCO Germany expanded its portfolio of properties in Berlin in June of 2007 by taking over Gewerbesiedlungs-Gesellschaft (GSG); the company now manages more than 1 million square meters of developed and undeveloped areas in the German capital. GSG was established in 1965 and is the largest owner of commercial space in Berlin with about 850,000 square meters of office and multifunctional space. ORCO-GSG owns 45 so-called commercial courtyards and centers, as well as 235 residential units. Most of the properties are located in the city center with excellent connections to the Berlin public transportation network.
ORCO Germany S.A. is a subsidiary of ORCO Property Group, one of the leading Central European real estate firms holding a portfolio worth EUR 2.4 billion (as evaluated on December 31st, 2007). Established in 1991, the company has its registered seat in Luxembourg and is listed on the Euronext, Prague, Budapest and Warsaw stock exchanges. It operates primarily in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Croatia, the Slovak Republic and Germany.
By switching from the Open Market, where ORCO Germany S.A. had been listed since 2006, to the Regulated Market (Prime Standard) in November of 2007, ORCO Germany has demonstrated that it is implementing a capital market strategy consistent with its rapid operating growth of recent years. By meeting the most exacting standards of transparency in place at the German Stock Exchange, ORCO Germany S.A. has improved its accessibility to capital market players even further.

Contact
- Sabrina Eilers -
Head of Marketing & Communications
ORCO Germany
T +49. 30. 440 123 190
E seilers@orcogroup.com
http://www.orcogermany.de/