News from 11/26/2008
Immofinanz: Police search offices
Civil investigators from Vienna's commercial police searched the offices of Immofinanz, Immoeast and Costancia Privatbank (CPB) on Tuesday. According to media reports, the houses of former managing board members, Karl Petrikovics and Christian Thornton, were also searched. The trigger for the searches is unexplained flows of money within the group that have left the whereabouts of €520mn from a capital increase made to the Immofinanz subsidiary, Immoeast, unclear. The new management of Immofinanz attributes the problem to Karl Petrikovics, the former chairman of the firm's managing board. Petrikovics denies the allegation.
Schleswig: Buss-Gruppe drops €150mn project
Buss-Gruppe, Hamburg, has pulled back from the urban development project “Auf der Freiheit” in Schleswig. The firm wanted to build a residential neighborhood on 10.5 hectares that would include a 250 slip marina, restaurants and business areas. The withdrawal, according to media reports, is due to unbridgeable differences with the investment firm A.P.-Møller, Denmark, which owns a neighboring piece of land. A.P.-Møller didn't want 14 houseboats, planned by Buss, in front of its land. “The solutions we discussed today were either technically not possible or they were financially unfeasible,” Renko Schmidt, Buss's manager, told the daily newspaper “Schleswiger Nachrichten” after the talks ended. In response, according to the newspaper, A.P.-Møller said that it doubted if a €150mn project would be abandoned simply because of a few houseboats.
Leasing: Real estate lease revenue up in 2008
This could be one of the highest revenue years ever for the real estate leasing industry in Germany. A factor in this year's growth is that after a decline last year, the value of signed property leases in 2008 again grew by 3.3%, with the volume of new business amounting to €5.2bn, according to BDL, a body representing the interests of Germany’s leasing companies. In total, the industry will achieve a business volume of €57.1bn. “Leasing as a form of investment is more important than ever,” commented Reinhard Gödel, BDL president, regarding the current figures. He also noted that leasing companies need to maintain ample financial resources for the future.
Hamburg: Cornerstone for new Spiegel building in HafenCity
On November 25th, the cornerstone for the ca. €105mn Spiegel Gruppe building was laid at its site on the Ericusspitze in the HafenCity area. Investor and developer of the approximately 30,000 sqm gross floor area building is Robert Vogel GmbH & Co. KG. The design is by Henning Larsen Architects, Denmark, and it will be built according to green standards, including the use of geothermal energy, triple layer glass and temperature balance via water piping. The result should have an energy demand of less than 100 kWh/sqm/year. The 13-story building at the east entrance to HafenCity is expected to be completed in 2010.
Conwert: Operating growth—but at €51mn, EBT drops by half
Conwert Immobilien Invest SE, listed on the Vienna stock exchange, has had positive operating growth in the first nine months of 2008. The net earnings, before deductions (EBTIDA) have, compared to the same period last year, climbed around 21% to €68,67mn, the firm announced. This climb is attributed primarily to the good development in rent earnings which reached €110.06mn (+43%). Operating profit (EBIT), however, decreased to €108.27mn (Q1-Q3, 2007: €137.70mn) and earnings before taxes (EBT) fell to €51.29mn from the €116.61 achieved during Q1-Q3, 2007. According to the report, operating funds (FFO) were €35.49mn (2007: €39.24) and cash profits were €34.89mn (2007: €38.45). The firm forecast that for all of 2008, despite the good results seen in the growth of rent income, the operating profit may remain below the former record level of 2007.
IFM Immobilien: Revenue up 71%, Profit down
The net earnings after taxes for IFM Immobilien AG sank during the first nine months from €3.6mn to €1mn. According to the company, this result was due to the non-cash impact of revaluation of derivatives and deferred taxes. Revenue, comprised largely of rent income, climbed 71% to €10.6mn, which can be attributed to the acquisition of the Zeilgalerie in Frankfurt. New acquisitions as well as higher valuations on the existing GutenbergPark and Kureck properties pushed the value of investment property up to €207.8mn (Dec. 31, 2007: €138.8mn), a climb of 49.7%. Equity capital stood at 31%. The managing board therefore expects that “even in today's more demanding market environment,” the firm's revenues for the full year will be significantly higher than 2007. The firm also stated that its real estate development business is to further expand over the mid-term.
Frankfurt: Welcome plans its first hotel
Welcome Hotels, the chain based in Warstein, is planning its first hotel in Frankfurt. The firm reported that the seven-story accommodation will be new construction in the Rebstockpark urban development area near the trade fair grounds. As planned, the three to four star hotel will have 173 rooms and suites, 320 sqm of function rooms, various restaurants and a wellness center. The groundbreaking should take place in January, 2009 and the opening in spring 2010. GeRo Real Estate AG is acting as developer. The new facility will be the 15th in Germany and the second in the Rhein-Main area.