Bernhard Garbe, sole founding partner and company owner, initially devotes himself to residential building in the North German area. In the seventies, the main focus is on the construction of condominiums and mixed-use residential and commercial buildings as well as supermarkets in Northern Germany.

The corporate group, having grown in the meantime, intensifies its concentration on the development of commercial real estate. Activities are also expanded to the USA, England and the Netherlands. Cooperations with Whitbread PLC and Slough Estates PLC form in England, in the USA with the Deltona Corporation.

Joint venture with Whitbread into the restaurant chain business (Denver and later Churrasco) as well as hotel cooperations (e.g. Steigenberger Hotel Treudelberg Golf and Country Club in Hamburg).

Partnerships in the properties sector are jointly concluded with the foreign real estate affiliated companies PAD Amsterdam B.V. and PAD Corporation USA, and larger industrial parks and district development projects in Hamburg, such as the Anglo-German Innovation Park (AGIP) in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld in 1990, and the Othmarschen Park Hamburg in 1993.

Founding of the LCD Logistics Center Development GmbH together with the world-wide active partner Trammell Crow, USA. After the withdrawal of the Trammell Crow Group from the German market in 1999, the company shares of LCD are taken over to 100% by the GARBE Group, and GARBE Logistics AG is founded. In the following year, in cooperation with the Emission House Rothmann & Cie, GARBE Logimac AG is founded for the strong expansion of the logistics real estate sector, and LogisFonds is launched at the end of 2001.

The first stilwerk at the Hamburg Fish Market is opened. Already in 1993, Bernhard Garbe together with Alexander Raab had begun to work on the development of the stilwerk concept with the objective of building up an innovative theme department store offering high-quality design products in furniture and furnishings. The extraordinarily successful real estate concept is continued with the inauguration of additional stilwerk houses in Berlin (1999), Düsseldorf (2000), and Stuttgart (2006). The next stilwerk on the Viennese Danube channel will continue the success story in the autumn of 2010.

The GARBE Group gains a foothold in London and establishes GARBE UK Ltd. in connection with the Victoria House project, in the heart of the city on Bloomsbury Square and completely renovated. Only three years later, GARBE Investissement France SARL with headquarters in Paris was founded for launching business activities in France.

GARBE Logistics AG builds up its international fund business with the GARBE Logistics European Development Fund and GARBE Logistics European Investment Fund.

Bernhard Garbe withdraws as planned from the operative business of the GARBE Group and takes over the Chairmanship of the Board of Directors of GARBE Holding AG & Co. KG. The new organisation of the GARBE Group is implemented under the responsibility of the newly-formed Executive Board of GARBE Holding, which apart from experienced Managing Directors now also includes both sons of the company founder, Alexander and Christopher Garbe.

The Garbe Group is realigning is business activities with focus on the logistic buildings and residential construction, supported by the asset and property management departments. The realignment is economically strengthened by the Nixdorf Family, who expands its long term investment with the Garbe Logistic AG towards the Garbe Group.