Montano Real Estate GmbH closes 2023 with investments in all relevant asset classes despite continued challenging market environment

• Transactions with a total volume of EUR 270 million completed, including one of the largest single transactions on the German commercial property market in 2023
• Assets under management roughly on a par with the previous year at EUR 1.7 billion
• A total of 68,000 sqm of space newly let
• Further equity commitments for the Montano Public Sector Fund
• Focus areas in 2024: selective investments and capitalising on opportunities in the value-add and special situations segment as well as expansion of the public sector and retail portfolio planned

Munich, 15 February 2024 - Montano Real Estate GmbH ("Montano", ), a highly specialised partner for investments in commercial real estate, successfully completed transactions in all asset classes relevant to the company in the past 2023 financial year despite ongoing market turbulence.

"The year 2023 has put the property sector in Germany under increasing pressure. High inflation led to a significant rise in interest rates and a sharp increase in the cost of construction. As a result, many construction projects were temporarily halted or even put on hold completely," says Montano founder and Managing Partner Ramin Rabeian. "I am all the more proud of the performance of our entire team. The fact that we have held our own in the commercial property market in our tenth year of existence despite these adverse conditions and have been able to identify attractive opportunities in all of the asset classes we actively manage and bring them to a successful conclusion is a great success."

Highlights of the past financial year:

• Transactions with a total volume of EUR 270 million, including one of the largest single transactions on the German commercial property market in 2023

Montano successfully completed a total of six transactions with a total volume of €270 million in the current financial year: In Wiesbaden, we acquired the office and commercial building "Haus am Staatstheater" with 6,000 sqm of space, in Erfurt, together with Beyond Real Estate, we acquired a multi-tenant commercial property with 23,700 sqm of space and were able to expand the logistics portfolio by 26,200 sqm of total space with two add-on acquisitions. We sold the two remaining properties of the KÖ-Campus in Eschborn with a total area of over 28,000 sqm. Some transactions planned for the fourth quarter were postponed until the new year due to the difficult market conditions.

With the acquisition of the "Haus des lebenslangen Lernens" education campus in Dreieich, Hesse, Montano successfully completed one of the largest transactions on the German commercial property market in 2023. Montano was shortlisted for the immobilienmanager Award 2024 for its innovative financing mechanism, which provided a high level of transaction security for both parties in a volatile interest rate environment thanks to an innovative sliding price clause.

• Assets under management and letting successes: At EUR 1.7 billion, the assets actively managed by Montano in the past year were almost at the previous year's level. New or renewal agreements for 68,000 sqm of space were concluded with 32 tenants, including the new letting of the remaining vacant space in the Nassau-Carré in Idstein to the drugstore chain Rossmann and the organic food chain Denns. In the east of Munich, a long-term lease was signed with the Volkswagen subsidiary Volkswagen Original Teile Logistik GmbH & Co. KG for an attractive 13,090 sqm logistics hall.

• Significant increase in value through active asset management: With the sale of the remaining two office buildings of the KÖ-Campus in Eschborn, which belongs to Investcorp, to the SCPI Eurovalys fund, Montano was once again able to demonstrate that active asset management has a positive effect on the increase in value of the respective property and its attractiveness for potential buyers. Right at the start of its involvement in 2018, Montano initiated the ecological transformation of the entire ensemble and reorganised it within five years. By the end of 2022, eight new, long-term office tenants were acquired for the KÖ-Campus and the office vacancy rate was completely eliminated.

• Certified sustainability: Montano was awarded the DGNB Gold certificate last year for the five-storey Duisburg Central Office (DCO), which was completed in October 2022. The certificate is considered the most advanced in the world and is recognised as a "Global Benchmark for Sustainability".
• Expansion of the logistics portfolio: Last year, the logistics portfolio was expanded by a total of 26,200 sqm of space as part of two add-on acquisitions.
• Further equity commitments for the Montano Public Sector multi-investor special fund: Investments in core properties with state or state-related users continue to enjoy great popularity among German institutional investors. As a result, further equity commitments were received for the Montano Public Sector Fund in the past financial year. The Montano Public Sector Fund was launched in spring 2022 and focuses on core properties with state or quasi-state users. This asset class is particularly attractive, as government or quasi-government users are always tenants with very good credit ratings who are interested in long-term leases.

"Given the difficult market conditions, we can really be very satisfied with our performance last year," says Sebastian Schöberl, another Montano founder and Managing Partner. "In our Public Sector Fund, we are well positioned for further transactions with the money we have raised, and the continued high level of investor confidence in our active asset management underpins the focus of our strategy: we have been taking special care of existing properties for years, making them fit for the future with customised modernisation measures and thus increasing their value. As a basis for further growth in this area, we invested in the optimisation of our IT architecture and the expansion of our team last year."

For the current 2024 financial year, Montano is planning further selective investments as well as the expansion of the public sector portfolio and the "Social Infrastructure" investment division. In addition, Montano intends to take advantage of opportunities to acquire value-add properties and non-ESG-compliant and stranded office properties in order to reposition them in a new and environmentally friendly way. The retail and logistics portfolio is also to be further expanded.
 

About Montano Real Estate
Montano is the highly specialized, like-minded partner for commercial real estate. We act consistently entrepreneurial and simplify complexity. From offices in Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin, we explore the market. We recognise opportunities quickly and exploit them boldly. For more than 10 years, we have been developing investment products for German and international institutional investors, consistently pursuing the goals of sustainability, yield and value enhancement.

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Montano Real Estate GmbH
Lenbachplatz 5
80333 Munich, Germany
Phone 80 0
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