Urbanis Gmbh

What Urbanis Gmbh does

URBANIS GmbH is a Berlin-based commercial real estate rental company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of BVG AöR, the city's public transit authority. The company leases approximately 900 retail objects — including 406 units in U-Bahn stations, 50 street-level locations, 30 mobile sales units, and 313 vending machines — exclusively within Berlin's transit infrastructure and surrounding public spaces. URBANIS targets small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups by offering access to high-foot-traffic commercial spaces not available on the open real estate market, complemented by three proprietary modular shop concepts (Blütenreich, BackKompakt, KompaktKauf) that reduce tenant buildout costs.

The company operates a hybrid minimum turnover rent model: tenants pay a negotiated fixed monthly base rent plus a percentage (Hebesatz) of annual revenue above a defined threshold, with a six-month net cold rent deposit and a one-year minimum contract term. Tenants are acquired directly through the URBANIS website and an email notification service, with no intermediaries or third-party brokers. Application requires a business concept, Schufa credit report, and CV, signaling a curated tenant selection process targeting viable small-format operators.

URBANIS recently expanded beyond BVG-allocated space into self-financed property development, completing projects at Olivaer Platz (2021) and Lehniner Platz (2023), and continues to capture new commercial units tied to BVG transit renewal projects including the ZOB (2024) and U-Bahnhof Rathaus Steglitz (2023). The company is managed by a single Geschäftsführer, Mike Wohlbold, with no disclosed external funding, M&A activity, or proprietary technology stack. Its competitive position rests entirely on regulatory access to BVG-controlled transit real estate and the operational scale of curating a fragmented small-business tenant base across Berlin's transit network.

Name

Urbanis Gmbh

Legal name

URBANIS GmbH

Website

https://urbanis-berlin.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

URBANIS GmbH is a Berlin-based commercial real estate rental company and BVG subsidiary that leases over 900 retail units and vending machines across Berlin U-Bahn stations, street-level locations, and the ZOB, serving small businesses and startups with proprietary modular shop concepts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Transit-adjacent commercial real estate leasing

NAICS

Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation (485)

SIC

Retail-Convenience Stores (5412)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban/Transit Convenience Stores (Station/Airport/Metro) (CRAHABAE)

Keywords

• Commercial retail leasing
• Transit station retail
• Vending machine operations
• Urban real estate rental
• Kiosk and shop rental

Headquarters

HQ city

Kreuzberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Commercial Space Rental: URBANIS rents commercial retail spaces (shops, kiosks, food stands) in Berlin U-Bahn stations, at street-level, and at the ZOB (Central Bus Station). Revenue comes from a combination of minimum base rent plus a turnover percentage (Hebesatz), meaning the minimum rent rises with tenant success, providing a variable revenue component.
2. Vending Machine Operations: URBANIS operates 313 vending machines across Berlin, generating recurring rental/commission income from machine operators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

URBANIS GmbH rents commercial retail spaces — including shops, kiosks, food/imbiss stands, mobile sales units, and vending machine locations — in Berlin's U-Bahn stations, along tram and bus corridors, and at the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof (ZOB) central bus terminal. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the city's public transit authority BVG, the company manages an inventory of more than 900 rental objects focused on high-foot-traffic transit locations, and it complements the rental offering with three proprietary pre-designed modular shop concepts (BackKompakt for bakeries/snacks, Blütenreich for flower shops, and KompaktKauf for modern convenience retail) that tenants can adopt without additional design costs.

Product overview

URBANIS GmbH is a commercial real estate rental company and subsidiary of BVG (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe) that specializes in renting unique retail spaces in Berlin's U-Bahn stations, along tram and bus lines, and at the ZOB central bus terminal. The company offers a portfolio of over 900 rental units including retail spaces, kiosks, and vending machines. Their product portfolio consists of individual rental properties (Mietobjekte) for various uses such as food service, retail, flowers, and services, supplemented by three proprietary shop concepts—Blütenreich (flower shops), BackKompakt (bakery and snacks), and KompaktKauf (modern retail)—which are pre-designed modular space concepts available to tenants without additional design costs. The Mietflächen-Alarm email notification service rounds out the offering by alerting subscribers to newly published rental opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Blütenreich: A flower shop concept offering fresh flowers and a welcoming ambiance in U-Bahn stations.
• BackKompakt
• KompaktKauf

Products and services

• URBANIS Commercial Rental Spaces (Mietobjekte) Rental of commercial retail units, kiosks, food/imbiss stands, and vending machine locations inside Berlin U-Bahn stations, along tram and bus corridors, and at the ZOB central bus terminal. Targeted at small businesses, startups, and established retailers seeking high-foot-traffic transit-adjacent locations. Inventory comprises 406 U-Bahn units, 50 street-level units, 30 mobile sales units, and 313 vending machines (over 900 rental objects in total).
• BackKompakt Pre-designed, modular bakery and snack retail concept built on the KompaktKauf system, offering baked goods, coffee, snacks, produce, and refreshments. Adopted by tenants operating inside U-Bahn stations at no additional design cost.
• Blütenreich Pre-designed flower shop concept offering fresh flowers and a welcoming ambiance in U-Bahn stations, featuring clean presentation, clear merchandise arrangement, and friendly lighting. Made available to tenants at no additional design cost.
• KompaktKauf Flexible modular platform system for retail and kiosk spaces that can be adapted, expanded, or reconfigured to meet changing customer needs without major renovations. Serves as the underlying framework for BackKompakt and other proprietary concepts, and is made available to tenants at no additional design cost.
• URBANIS Vending Machine Network Operation of a network of 313 vending machines across Berlin, generating recurring rental/commission income from machine operators. Taken over from BVG's vending machine business in 2008 and expanded thereafter.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BVG Beteiligungsholding GmbH & Co. KGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011URBANIS is a subsidiary of BVG Beteiligungsholding GmbH & Co. KG (registered at Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, Handelsregister HRA 35162). This holding company owns URBANIS as part of the BVG group of companies.
• BVG (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006URBANIS GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary (Tochtergesellschaft) of BVG Beteiligungsholding GmbH & Co. KG, which is in turn a subsidiary of BVG AöR (Anstalt öffentlichen Rechts). The relationship provides URBANIS with exclusive access to commercial spaces within BVG's U-Bahn stations and transit infrastructure, making BVG the primary strategic partner and parent entity.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• JCDecaux: World leader in outdoor advertising and street furniture, with deep concessions inside transit systems globally. Comparable to URBANIS as a long-term concessionaire monetizing transit infrastructure assets, though focused on advertising rather than retail rental.
• Eurest (Compass Group): Operates food and refreshment services in airports, train stations, and business locations across Europe. Comparable to URBANIS in feeding transit captive audiences, though as an F&B operator rather than a property lessor.
• Fraport: Operates Frankfurt Airport and develops/manages the on-airport commercial real estate and retail concessions. Comparable to URBANIS as a transport-authority-owned real estate lessor that monetizes passenger footfall through retail rental.
• Avolta (formerly Dufry): Global travel retail giant operating duty-free and convenience stores in airports, border stores, and other travel locations. Comparable to URBANIS in monetizing high-footfall transit locations through retail concessions, but at vastly greater international scale.

Direct peers

• Wall GmbH: Specialist in transit advertising and station retail/furnishings across German and European transport networks. Closely comparable to URBANIS as a German station-retail and advertising concessionaire, with similar business-to-BVG dynamics.
• Ströer SE: German outdoor and transit advertising operator, historically rooted in BVG transit advertising (the same lineage as URBANIS via VVR-Berek). Comparable as a German transit-adjacent real estate/media concessionaire, though focused on advertising rather than retail space.
• Lagardère Travel Retail: Operates convenience, food & beverage and specialty retail concessions across airports and transit hubs globally. Directly comparable to URBANIS as a transit-anchored retail concessionaire, though operating internationally rather than confined to a single city.
• Selecta: Europe's largest vending and unattended retail operator, with hundreds of thousands of machines across transit, workplace, and public locations. Comparable to URBANIS's 313-machine vending portfolio, though Selecta operates machines rather than leasing the locations.
• SSP Group: Operates food and beverage outlets in airports, train stations and other travel locations across dozens of countries. Comparable to URBANIS in leasing station space to consumer-facing tenants, though SSP is an F&B operator rather than a real estate lessor.

Regional players

• ECE Projektmanagement: German shopping center developer and operator managing retail real estate across Germany and Europe. Comparable to URBANIS in being a German commercial real estate specialist, though focused on malls rather than transit-anchored micro-retail.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urbanis-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urbanis Gmbh