Heidelberg sells iconic Print Media Academy

Press giant Heidelberg has sold its iconic Print Media Academy, the dazzling former headquarters located directly outside the railway station in the centre of town.

The landmark building was built to mark the 150th anniversary of Heidelberg, and was opened just prior to drupa 2000, by then-German chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

Although no-one knew it at the time its opening represented the peak of Heidelberg’s business. At that drupa alone, the company booked an enourmous €1.5bn worth of orders. In a sign of the times, the company will likely take the full 12 months to achieve a similar result this year - its first half saw sales of €805m.

Hordes of printers from all over the world, including many from Australia and New Zealand, have been guests in the 12 storey building - which with its glass walls and centre atrium cuts a distinctive pose in the medieval town - most of them enjoying a hearty meal in the panoramic top floor restaurant.

The building is redolent with nods to the printing industry, most notably with its striking 90-tonne, 13-metre high S-Printing Horse sculpture on the forecourt.

Heidelberg actually moved most of the staff out seven or eight years ago, relocating them to its nearby factories in Wiesloch and Walldorf. However, it will retain a floor on rental for its official headquarters and registered office. It received "low double digit Euros" from a property business for the building.

Heidelberg has been on an asset disposal journey for the past year; it has offloaded its CERM narrow web MIS business, sold its Belgian production site to Druck Chemie, and sold off part of its Wiesloch/Walldorf site for redevelopment. It has also transferred much of its parts manufacturing to China, setting up a JV with its partner Masterworks.

It was also on track to sell its Gallus label press business for €120m, but that deal fell through at the last minute as the buyer, Benpac, withdrew. Heidelberg is now considering its options for Gallus.