tom-april-2019

T
TOPS
M
OF THE MONTH
O
Essential News About The Players In
The Retail Property Market In Germany
THE HOTTEST DEALS +++
INTERVIEWS +++ STATEMENTS
+++ BALANCE SHEETS +++
ANALYSES +++ PARTICULARS
presented by HI-HEUTE.DE
April 2019
The future quarter FOUR Frankfurt.
Visualization Groß & Partner
Yeah! Germany can celebrate
more center openings again
Little movement, but shopping destinations often reposition themselves conceptually
The German EHI Retail Institute
has completed its latest
Shopping Center Report. In
the largely saturated market
there is not much quantitative
movement, but conceptually
the centers often reposition
themselves. The weak fashion
industry also contributes to
this.
At the beginning of 2019, 483
shopping centers were operated
in Germany (with a rental space
of over 10,000 sqm). After all,
four new shopping centres
were added last year after not
a single new development was
opened in 2017. Two of them
were in Berlin, where a total of
42 shopping centres are now in
operation, and Bavaria, which
has the second largest number
of shopping centres after NRW
with 54 properties. This slight
recovery in the market for new
store openings will also continue
in the current calendar year.
If the plans are confirmed, the
total number will reach 489 by
the end of 2019.
Until recently, the fashion industry
was regarded as the backbone
of the center industry, but
the current phase of weakness
calls for new approaches. In
order to increase attractiveness,
centers are now increasingly
focusing on experience, e.g.
through increased gastronomy.
Creative food courts are a source
of inspiration for food shopping
and an important feel-good factor
for customers. In addition, a
snack or lunch break increases
the length of stay, which leads
to higher expenses.
Instead of new classic shopping
centers, a new trend is the
integration of retail space in
mixed-use real estate. Offices,
apartments and hotels are increasingly
being integrated into
shopping centre projects in order
to exploit the benefits of the
property and integrate the centre
sensibly into its surroundings.
This is the industry‘s response
to the demand in metropolises
for attractive offices - but above
all for apartments. It is currently
being followed with great interest
how the construction work
on The Four Frankfurt in the
heart of Frankfurt, following
the completion of the Flair, will
proceed next and how this new
quarter will adapt to the high
price level of Goethestraße.

Page 2 T O M
NEWS April 2019
Fantastic premiere for Foodtopia
ECE has opened food and entertainment mile in Frankfurt‘s MyZeil
Fantastic atmosphere at the
opening in Frankfurt‘s My-
Zeil shopping centre: the newly
developed Foodtopia catering
and entertainment floor
has caused a sensation right
from the start.
With the celebrations, the concept
planned and implemented
by the shopping center
specialist ECE was launched
around one year after construction
began. On the fourth floor
of MyZeil, Foodtopia offers a
selected range of food and entertainment
with a varied mix
of modern, high-quality gastronomy
concepts as well as a
special architectural ambience
with urban flair, attractive design
and the lively atmosphere
of a market hall. Outdoor terraces
with a view of the Frankfurt
skyline, an event area and a
premium cinema round off the
offer.
In a first step, Foodtopia opened
nine new gastronomy concepts,
the others will follow successively
until the final Grand
Opening of the entire food and
entertainment floor in late summer.
The entire Foodtopia is
fully let.
EU for more fairness
in online trade
As a big step towards more fairness
in online trade, the German
Trade Association sees the
agreement of the EU Parliament
to a new EU market surveillance
regulation and the EU regulation
to promote fairness and
transparency for commercial
users of online brokerage services.
„Companies based outside
the EU but operating in the
EU must be subject to the same
rights and obligations as companies
from EU Member States.
There are currently locational
disadvantages for European
companies, particularly in the
areas of data protection, consumer
protection and product
safety,“ said Deputy Managing
Director of HDE Stephan
Tromp.
CORESTATE
successfully closes
Hightstreet fund
The food and entertainment mile is a new experience highlight in Frankfurt.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
cooperates with Hamburg start-ups
Innovations in the southern Überseequartier
Hamburg‘s HafenCity is one
of the world‘s most important
urban development projects.
From 2022, Überseequartier
in the south will form its lively
core: a mixed-use quarter with
creative and forward-looking
concepts for living, working,
enjoying and shopping.
Innovative ideas are therefore
in demand in all areas of
the new area. In order to find,
promote and integrate these,
project developer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
Germany is
focusing on cooperation with
start-ups and think tanks. These
are coordinated by innovation
manager Joscha Domdey.
Among the first partners are the
Hamburg companies e-floater
and Wunder Mobility.
„The southern Überseequartier
will be a true digital native
- both from a planning and a
Photo: ECE
functional point of view,“ explains
Dirk Hünerbein, Head
of Development Germany and
responsible for all Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
development
projects in Germany. „We are
therefore considering all aspects
of a digitized district right from
the start: from intelligent building
technology to smart logistics
and traffic control systems
to tailor-made solutions for retail
and gastronomy concepts.
In this way, we are developing
a flexible and agile neighbourhood
in which stationary and
digital concepts merge with one
another as a matter of course“.
A place for innovation: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield relies on cooperation
with local start-ups in the southern Überseequarttier.
Visualization: moka studios / URW
CORESTATE Capital Holding
S.A. has fully raised the equity
for the club deal fund „Highstreet
VIII“, invested in the last
three properties and successfully
closed the fund. The portfolio
with a target volume of 250 million
euros now comprises five
retail properties. Following the
first two investments in Rostock
and Sindelfingen last year, three
properties in Garbsen, Nordhorn
and Schwenningen have
now been acquired.
Opening of Slovenia‘s
Most Modern
Shopping Centre
Next year Slovenia‘s most modern
shopping centre will open
under the name of ALEJA,
which will be built in the Siska
district of Ljubljana. Developer
and operator SES Spar European
Shopping Centers recently
presented the construction
progress in Ljubljana and introduced
the name of the center.
The investment in the project
amounts to around 150 million
euros. SES is the market leader
for large-scale shopping centres
in both Slovenia and Austria.
The company sees the future of
shopping centres in multifunctional
locations that not only
combine shopping, but also experience
gastronomy, leisure,
conviviality and culture.

Page 03 T O M
STATEMENT April 2019
TOP STATEMENT
APRIL
„What has so far been called
a ‚Baumarkt‘ (DIY store) in
Germany has changed. The
assortments have changed
constantly in recent years.
Everything that serves to
beautify the home and garden
is moving more and more into
the foreground. In England
this is known as ‚Soft DIY‘. I
would like it, if we in Germany
replaced the term ‚Baumarkt‘
with ‚Home Improvement‘.“
Peter Wüst, Managing Director
of Handelsverband Heimwerken,
Bauen und Garten
(BHB) in Germany

Connecting Global Competence
Your next
big project.
Make it real—become an exhibitor
at EXPO REAL.
Secure your exposure at the trade fair.
Apply now at exporeal.net/application
Application deadline: March 22, 2019
exporeal.net
22nd International Trade Fair for Property and Investment
October 7–9, 2019 | Messe München
Building networks

Page 5 T O M
DEALS April 2019
PATRIZIA: Bulk purchases
in the retail segment
Portfolio with focus on food anchor tenants for 100 million euros
PATRIZIA Immobilien AG
has acquired a retail portfolio
of 27 properties for one of its
retail funds. The properties
are spread across several German
states. The seller is the
US investment manager Marathon
Asset Management.
The purchase price amounts
to around 100 million euros.
The portfolio consists primarily
of local shopping centers, hypermarkets
and food discounters.
The total lettable area amounts
to approximately 55,600 square
meters. The largest tenants, each
accounting for almost 20 percent
of the rental space, are the food
retailer Rewe and the discounter
Netto, which belongs to the Edeka
Group, followed by Kaufland
and Aldi. Three quarters of the
Real I.S. AG has acquired two
mixed-use properties in Cologne
and Düsseldorf. The seller
in each case is the „Pan European
Urban Retail Fund“,
which was launched by Aberdeen
Standard Investments
and La Française Real Estate
Partners International.
The HIGH STREET COLOG-
NE property on Cologne‘s Mittelstrasse,
a three-part building
complex with three and four
floors respectively, was acquired
for the special AIF „Real I.S
Themenfonds Deutschland II“.
The six-storey mixed-use building
on Düsseldorf‘s Kasernenstrasse
will become part of
the portfolio of the special AIF
„Real I.S. BGV VIII Europe“.
The parties have agreed not to
disclose the purchase price.
The two multi-tenant properties
in Cologne and Düsseldorf accommodate
office, commercial
and residential space. HIGH
STREET COLOGNE, which
was comprehensively renovated
in 2018, has a rental area of
around 4300 square meters and
PATRZIA acquired 27 properties in the retail segment.
Photo: PATRIZIA
portfolio‘s rent thus comes from
the four largest grocers in Germany.
The average remaining
term of the rental agreements is
over nine years. The portfolio is
40 underground parking spaces
with a letting rate of 98 percent.
The rental space is spread over
approx. 2169 square meters of
retail space, 878 square meters
of office space and 556 square
meters of residential space - a
further 695 square meters are
allotted to storage space, among
other things.
The property on Kasernenstrasse
in Düsseldorf was renovated
almost fully let.The Retail Fund
was launched in 2016 and invests
primarily in retail properties
in the Core and Core+ risk
classes.
Real I.S. buys two mixed-use
properties in the Rhineland
Both properties are located in high street locations
PThe property on Düsseldorfer Kasernenstrasse is one of two
mixed-use properties that Real I.S. has acquired. Photo: Real I.S.
in 2011, has an occupancy rate
of 100 percent and has twelve
parking spaces. A large part of
the approximately 4,700 square
metres of lettable space (2,838
square metres) is office space
and 1,699 square metres retail
space. The remaining space
comprises 334 square meters
of warehouse space, 185 square
meters of residential space and
a 135 square meter terrace.
NORKON acquires
ModeCentrum
Hamburg for over
100 million euros
GLO Properties S.ár.l. has acquired
ModeCentrum Hamburg
(MCH) from its owner and operator,
the Luserke family, for
over 100 million euros. The sellers
will continue to operate the
MCH and ensure its successful
further development. The purchase
of the property with nine
building sections and approx.
77,500 sqm rental space was
completed by the Leipzig asset
and investment manager NOR-
KON GmbH, who is exclusively
responsible for GLO‘s purchase
and asset management.
Arbireo buys nine
properties for food
funds
Arbireo Capital AG, an independent
investment company
specialising in the real estate
sector, has acquired a portfolio
consisting of seven properties
and two individual properties
with a total transaction volume
of around 38.5 million
euros and a total area of almost
20,000 sqm for the „Arbireo
Spezial-AIF Lebensmittel-Einzelhandel“.
Due to the positive
yield development of the fund,
the subscription capital of the
invested investors was again
increased. The volume already
invested in the fund is currently
around EUR 165 million.
CORESTATE buys
Bremer Einkaufspark
Duckwitz from METRO
The Duckwitz shopping park
in Bremen has been owned by
METRO since 2006. In 2011,
the first expansion of the location
by a Hornbach DIY store
took place, and in 2015 a comprehensive
modernisation of the
entire area started. Thus, the
Real store was converted into
a specialty store centre, which
was newly built. Tenants of the
new mall are various specialist
stores such as shoe and drugstore
retailers, service providers
such as pharmacies, hairdressers
and opticians and gastronomic
offerings. The „Opportunity
Deutschland I“ fund initiated by
CORESTATE has now acquired
a local supply location with
around 30 shops following the
last renovation in 2018. The official
opening will be celebrated
in May 2019.

Now
available at
5 centers!
THE SHOPPING TOUR OF THE FUTURE
STARTS ON YOUR COUCH.
ECE’s Digital Mall provides information on the product availability in a shopping center,
enables customers to reserve a specific size or color online, and to pick it up later. This is a major
step towards a seamless omni-channel experience. Launched in 2016, the award winning online
product search is now available at five centers – offering more than 400,000 products from more
than 60 stores. For more information, go to www.ece.com.

Page 7 T O M
NEWS April 2019
McArthurGlen equips
Ashford with a Living Wall
One hundred thousand plants for one of the greenest centres in Europe
The McArthurGlen Group is
making a name for itself with
an exciting nature project.
The largest „Living Wall“ in
Europe is being built in the
English designer outlet Ashford.
Work on the living wall installation
has already begun. It is
part of the £90 million expansion
of the center. The 25,000
square metre project consists
of around 120,000 plants and
creates a striking atmosphere,
with beautiful vertical gardens
covering the walls of the new
entrance promenade, various
sidewalks and many of the new
shops.
Biotecture will design, grow
and install the £1.5 million Living
Wall, which will make
McArthurGlen Designer Outlet
Ashford one of the greenest
EDEKA: 1.6 billion for
trade infrastructure
Annual balance 2018: Independent merchants are the engine of growth
In 2018, the EDEKA cooperative
association continued
its earnings-oriented growth
course in 2018 and expanded
its leading market position.
Sales rose by 3.2 percent to a
total of 53.6 billion euros.
Growth was again driven by
the approximately 3700 independent
EDEKA merchants
throughout Germany: with sales
of 27.6 billion euros, the
medium-sized entrepreneurs
were 4.9 percent up on the previous
year. They also convinced
with a sales increase of 3.6
percent on existing floor space,
with a stable return on sales.
„The EDEKA model of the entrepreneur
enterprise is more
sustainable than ever“, says
Markus Mosa, CEO of EDEKA
AG. „We were able to increase
our market share in a growing
overall market. The independent
EDEKA merchants have
In the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Ashford, a „Living Wall“ is
being created.
Visualization: McArthgurGlen Group
shopping malls in the world.
Biotechture‘s West Sussex nurseries
are currently growing
thousands of plants needed for
the project - over a length of
once again managed to inspire
their customers with the EDE-
KA shopping experience and
win new customers. In addition
to the mainstay of the independent
retail trade, Netto
Marken-Discount 2018 also asserted
itself successfully in an
intensive competitive environment
and scored with modern
Markus Mosa, CEO of EDEKA AG.
about 60 double-decker buses.
The wall will contain leaf
green, leaves in the background
and seasonal spots of pink, purple,
yellow and white.
space, a wide range of products
and a new brand image.
In the 2018 financial year, the
EDEKA Group invested around
1.6 billion euros in its trading
infrastructure and thus in the
competitiveness of its markets.
For the current year, an increase
in investments to around two
billion euros is planned.
Photo: EDEKA
Textile retailer no
longer the strongest
surface buyer
For the first time since the beginning
of the survey, textile retailers
have lost their leading position as
the strongest consumer of retail
space in Germany, reports JLL.
In the first quarter, 68 deals with
a total of 28,000 sqm were clearly
surpassed by gastronomy/food
with 31,000 sqm and 80 deals. Just
a few years ago, the textile sector
had consistently taken up almost
half of the newly rented space.
Dirk Wichner, Head of Retail Leasing
JLL Germany: „The upheaval
in the textile trade can be seen not
only in the decline in the share of
space turnover, but also in the distribution
within the segment. Over
the past five years, the Young Fashion
division has lost around half
of its space volume.
HDE celebrates
100 years
At a ceremony with Federal
President Steinmeier on the occasion
of the 100th anniversary
of the Association of German
Retailers, Josef Sanktjohanser,
head of HDE, made it clear that
in times of digitalisation, medium-sized
retailers in particular
are dependent on fair competitive
conditions. For this reason,
the association feels that in the
past as well as in the future it is
committed to the values of solidarity,
fairness and freedom. In
the present a strong and united
Europe is indispensable for the
implementation of these values.
Wealthcap presents
fourth mutual fund
Wealthcap, the Real Asset and
Investment Manager, is continuing
its successful portfolio fund
series with the fourth public
fund „Wealthcap Portfolio 4“.
Like its predecessor products,
Portfolio 4 also relies on a diversified
investment approach
that bundles real estate with a
focus on value add (target 55
percent), private equity investments
(target 30 percent) and
energy / infrastructure (target 15
percent) with a European focus.
For this purpose, investments
are made directly or indirectly
in several target funds of renowned
investment managers, whereby
private investors gain access
to professional investment
opportunities and automatically
diversify multidimensionally
- regionally as well as by asset
class, target fund and time in the
investment cycle.

Page 09 T O M
BALANCE SHEETS April 2019
Hahn Group: Best
consolidated result in ten years
Thomas Kuhlman new chairman of the Executive Board
PThe Hahn Group has just
presented its business figures
for 2018 and is pleased with
the best consolidated result in
the past ten years. Good basis
for positive further development.
Consolidated profit increased
by 11.1 percent to 5.0 million
euros (previous year: 4.5 million
euros). The Inventory Management
division in particular
contributed to the Group‘s positive
development.
Revenues from management
fees increased by 5.6 percent
year-on-year to 18.8 million
euros. The growth drivers, each
with double-digit sales growth,
were asset and portfolio management,
which each benefited
from an increased service
volume in the institutional fund
business.
The Hanseatische Betreuungs-
und Beteiligungsgesellschaft
from Hamburg can
look back on a very successful
year.
Managing Director Harald Ortner:
„Retail projects have become
increasingly important in our
portfolio in recent years. With
our 50 years of experience, we as
a company have timely answers
and efficient solutions to difficult
challenges in the development
and implementation of our projects“.
Following the completion
of the specialist retail centre in
Plettenberg in NRW in spring
2017, HBB currently has a number
of real estate projects with
larger retail spaces in the pipeline,
which are either being completely
redeveloped or at least
extensively restructured.
In the past fiscal year, HBB
received several building permits.
These include the Forum
Hitzbleck in Heiligenhaus, an
Thomas Kuhlmann.
Income from the sale and brokerage
of real estate rose from
EUR 9.6 million to EUR 10.1
million in fiscal 2018. As mentioned
above, recurring revenues
from management fees
increased to EUR 18.8 million
(previous year: EUR 17.8 million).
Other revenues of EUR 4.2
million (change of EUR -0.7
million year-on-year) include
increased revenues from project
services for the revitalization of
inner-city local supply centre
that will comprise around 9600
square metres of rental space and
260 parking spaces.
The opening is planned for the
fourth quarter of 2020. In Langen,
an inner-city shopping center
with around 8800 square meters
of rental space is being built,
plus a 150-bed hotel, separate
residential units and 410 parking
spaces. Construction work began
in December and the opening is
also expected to take place in the
Photo: Hahn Group
real estate fund properties. At
1.4 million EUR, income from
distributions remained below
the previous year‘s figure of 1.8
million EUR and developed in
line with the minority interests
held. Group gross profit increased
from EUR 32.2 million to
EUR 33.2 million.
HBB successful at all levels
Hamburg-based company has several projects in the pipeline
fourth quarter of 2020. HBB has
a lot on its agenda for the coming
months. The Forum Schwanthalerhöhe
in Munich, with 40,000
square meters of rental space,
will initially open on June 6. In
preparation for the construction
of the Viktoria Karrees in Bochum,
demolition of the remaining
buildings on the site began
in February. Restructuring is
planned for the Krohnstieg Center
in Hamburg-Langenhorn and
will start this year. In Hilpoltstein,
construction is underway.
Construction of the Hitzbleck Forum in Heiligenhaus is on the
way.
Visualization: HBB
BNP Paribas: Retail
investment market
with good balance
sheet in first quarter
The retail investment market
got off to a good start in the first
three months of the year. With
a transaction volume of EUR
2.54 billion, it is not only possible
to achieve a result in the
range of the ten-year average,
but also topping the previous
year‘s balance sheet by an impressive
44%. This is the result
of an analysis by BNP Paribas
Real Estate. „It is all the more
pleasing that individual sales
have recorded the best start to
the year since 2011, generating
more than three-quarters of the
total volume with a good 1.94
billion, and can be seen as an
indication of an overall brisk
market,“ says Christoph Scharf,
Managing Director of BNP.
Sonae Sierra saves
25 million in 2018
through sustainability
measures
In 2018, Sonae Sierra‘s economic
and operating results
show a stable performance and
successful implementation of
the strategy. For more than 20
years, Sonae Sierra has been
committed to the environment
and social aspects, implementing
measures for energy, water
and waste efficiency and wellbeing,
and integrating sustainability
into its business strategy.
In 2018, Sonae Sierra improved
the eco-efficiency of its shopping
centers in most key figures.
In the course of the year, 86 percent
of the sustainability goals
and measures were achieved.
Deutsche Konsum:
100 millions for the
purchase of attractive
retail properties
Deutsche Konsum REIT has
issued an unsecured corporate
bond with a volume of 50 million
euros. The bond matures on
April 5, 2024 (five years) and
bears a coupon of 2.35 percent
per annum. The bond was subscribed
by a German pension
fund by way of a private placement.
This means that DKR currently
has more than EUR 100
million at its disposal, which is
to be used for the rapid acquisition
of further high-yield retail
properties this year.

B E TTER
BUILDINGS
B E TTER
C OMMUNITIES
B E TTER
C ONNECTIVI T Y
B E TTER
C OLLECTIVE
P O W E R
WE IMPLEMENT AN AMBITIOUS
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
STRATEGY WHICH ADDRESSES
THE MAIN CHALLENGES FACING
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.
By creating better places, we move toward
a low-carbon economy, anticipate new modes
of sustainable mobility, fully integrate our
business activities with local communities,
and engage all of our teams and
stakeholders.

Page 11 T O M
INTERVIEW
March 2019
„Become the Command Bridge
of the Real Estate Industry“
Interview with Domagoi Dolinsek (PlanRadar) and Peter Gollan (Intersport)
The Viennese proptech company
PlanRadar records errors
and defects in construction
with its software. Using
the browser or an app, these
can be included in plans and
assigned to those responsible.
But the program is also suitable
for construction planning
and even marketing.
It has customers in over 41
countries and is also used by
numerous companies in the
retail real estate sector. TOM
editor-in-chief Thorsten Müller
spoke with Domagoj Dolinsek,
one of the company‘s
managing partners and Peter
Gollan from Intersport, who
is responsible for store design
& construction and has been
using PlanRadar‘s services
enthusiastically for some time.
TOM: Mr Dolinsek, what makes
PlanRadar so special and
now so successful?
Domagoj Dolinsek: With its
web-based solution, PlanRadar
offers the possibility of digital
construction documentation
as well as defect and task management
throughout the entire
life cycle of construction and
real estate projects. This is done
on site using a smartphone or
tablet, but also offline. The digitized
recording and documentation
is both cost- and time-efficient.
In addition, our software
offers advantages with regard
to complete documentation and
consistency of communication
flows.
TOM: Who have you been
able to convince?
Domagoj Dolinsek: There are
now more than 3500 companies
worldwide, and in addition to
Europe we are also represented
in Australia, Canada, Mexico,
South Africa and Singapore.
Our customers also include
many major players in the international
real estate market.
TOM: That sounds impressive.
Of course, you have also
been able to win over a number
of well-known companies
in Germany, also in the area
of retail real estate. Corpus
Sireo, Art-Invest, Deichmann
and Intersport joined in 2018
alone. Mr. Gollan, what led
your company Intersport to
PlanRadar?
Peter Gollan: We were convinced
by two things in particular:
firstly, to have found a tool that,
unlike other software on the
market, offers us the desired
transparency with regard to all
activities within planning and
construction management and
secondly, with Mr Dolinsek,
someone who has more than ten
years of experience in the construction
industry and knows
the problems of users like us
very well. We had to live with
isolated digital solutions and of
course we contacted Planradar‘s
competitors, but this holistic
service - all via one platform -
quickly excited us.
TOM: How did you start integrating
the software into
your processes?
Peter Gollan: First of all, we
formulated our needs precisely.
We were primarily concerned
with project documentation,
defect rectification and analyses
- but we know that the software
can do much more. In a
first large step, we initially only
allowed access internally to our
Store Design & Construction
team and externally to the architecture
offices. The colleagues
from the Intersport Austria
construction department,
led by Franz Wimmer, are also
Peter Gollan, responsible for store design & construction at Intersport.
Photo: Intersport
Domagoi Dolinsek, Managing Director at PlanRadar.
Photo: PlanRadar
planning to introduce plan radar.
Planradar definitely has the
potential to support perhaps all
45 Intersport countries in their
construction projects in the future.
TOM: Mr. Dolinsek, what are
your goals for 2019?
Domagoj Dolinsek: Of course
we want to grow further. In Germany,
talks with some of the
major players in the industry
are currently very promising,
but we also want to enter the
markets in other countries; we
are currently very interested
in Eastern Europe and South
America. We are also working
on technical tools to accelerate
customer decision-making processes
and to further improve
our product. For example, integration
into BIM (Building Information
Modeling) to support
the planning of real estate even
more efficiently. Because we are
all very ambitious, we naturally
aim to become the market leader
in our sector in the medium
to long term. Surely you are familiar
with the command bridge
in „Spaceship Enterprise“. This
is exactly what we want to be
for the real estate industry.

Page 13 T O M
ANALYSES April 2019
Focus on the European
shopping center market
Cushman & Wakefield study observes increasing differentiation
The demand for shopping
centers is saturated in most
European countries. The differentiation
between successful,
well-designed shopping
centers in prime locations
and those in secondary locations
with low leisure value
or an unfavorable user mix is
therefore continuing to progress,
as the latest studies by
Cushman & Wakefield show.
The report „European Shopping
Cente: The Development
Story“ by Cushman & Wakefield
shows that around 2.6
million sqm of new shopping
center space was completed in
2018, 28 percent less than in
the previous year. This is the
lowest completion volume in
24 years and comparable to
the completion volume in the
early 1990s, when the first
traditional shopping centers
were opened in Central and
Eastern Europe.
Although the pace of project development
has slowed over the
past five years, the pan-European
market is growing steadily
and now stands at 168.1 million
sqm, intensifying competition
among shopping centers. As
project developers fight for their
market position, they focus on
refurbishment and revitalisation
projects to create sophisticated,
modern and aesthetically pleasing
shopping and leisure centres.
Silvia Jodlowski, author of the
report and Senior Research
Analyst at C&W: „The opportunities
for the project development
of new shopping centers
are primarily seen in two types
of projects: firstly, dominant
innovative projects that replace
outdated, unattractive shopping
centers with a strong leisure
element, and secondly, smaller
local shopping centers. For this
type of project, distance, the
presence of a grocery retailer
and an appropriate tenant mix
are decisive factors for success.“
Growing concerns about the
growth of online retailing and
strong retail growth in High
Cushman & Wakefield has examined the European shopping center landscape.
Streets dampened the development
of new shopping centers
across Western Europe. For the
fourth consecutive year, France
was the most active country
in terms of newly constructed
space with 237,000 sqm.
In the UK, the ongoing shift
towards online retailing has
led to branch closures, but the
oversupply does not slow down
the development of shopping
centres. Instead of dampening
the further development of new
shopping centers, the interest of
project development lies in increasing
visitor frequency. This
is achieved by creating unique
and interactive shopping experiences
- with the help of leisure
activities and the establishment
of mixed use, such as office
space. In 2018, Great Britain
ranked third as the third-largest
project development market in
Western Europe with 147,000
sqm of new space, 74 percent of
which was accounted for by two
project developments. This corresponds
to an increase of eight
percent over 2017.
Nicole Roemer, Head of Retail
Investment at C&W on the German
market: „Shopping centers
in the conventional sense are
currently not in strong demand
in Germany either. We are currently
seeing an increase in the
number of projects involving
the subsequent use of such
shopping centers, although of
course there are still some of the
best among the centers“.
In the years 2019 and 2020,
an increase in shopping center
space of 2.1 million sqm is expected
in Western Europe.
Turkey was the most active
country in Central and Eastern
Europe with an increase in space
of 525,000 sqm. Compared to
2017, the increase in space fell
by almost 50 percent, as project
developers are now increasingly
turning to smaller projects and
concentrating on renovating or
optimizing existing shopping
centers. In Russia, the second
most active European market
for project development activities
in 2018, the completion
volume of 436,000 sqm reached
its lowest level in 15 years. The
completion volume is expected
to increase in 2019/2020. Currently,
1.8 million sqm are under
construction.
The positive economic environment
in Poland formed a
solid basis for project development
activities. In 2018, around
300,000 sqm of new space came
onto the market, the third highest
figure in Europe. Similar
to Western Europe, the growth
of online retail is intensifying
competition and forcing landlords
to make their offers more
attractive to visitors. In the rest
of Central Europe, project development
activity was stable.
The markets in Bulgaria, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia and
Hungary are approaching saturation.
Potential new opportunities
lie in mixed use, inner city
development and traffic junctions.
In 2019 and 2020, 4.4 million
sqm of new shopping center
space is expected in Central
and Eastern Europe.

Page 15 T O M
INTERVIEW
April 2019
Enormous opportunities in the combination
of local supply and demographics
Interview with Gerald Feig, Founder and Managing Director of the FLEX Funds Group
The FLEX Fonds Group recently
celebrated its 30th anniversary
as an owner-managed
fund house. Today, the
company is an international
and multi-award-winning asset
manager that is successful
in the market, especially with
its closed-end and alternative
investment funds focusing on
real estate. TOM editor-inchief
Thorsten Mülller spoke
with Gerald Feig, the company
founder and managing director.
The father of two children,
born in Swabia, is a veteran
of the finance and real estate
industry and has been closely
following the fund industry for
almost four decades.
TOM: The FLEX Fonds
Group is currently celebrating
its 30th anniversary. It is
a respected asset manager.
Since when have you been
dealing with retail real estate
from a financial point of view
and what is your focus?
Gerald Feig: For 30 years, the
FLEX Fund Group has been
dealing with the possibilities
of offering attractive fund
products for private investors.
This also included portfolios
with a high retail share. Due to
the increasingly tense situation
on the German housing markets
and declining yields, we
offer, for example, the FLEX
fund Select 1, a closed-end
AIF as a mutual fund, which is
primarily based on local supply
properties and therefore
has a balanced risk-return mix.
TOM: The stationary food
retail trade (LEH) has so
far been spared any notable
e-commerce impairments.
This also seems to be the
case in the future. Why is it
interesting for you and how
do you assess its further development?
How can growth
continue?
Gerald Feig, founder and managing director of the FLEX Fonds Group. Photo: FLEX
Gerald Feig: In our opinion,
food retailing is a very stable
and crisis-proof industry, both
now and in the future, from
which we do not expect any
downward or upward swings.
Above all, consumers are attaching
ever greater importance
to regional goods, a good
shopping experience and an
appealing store concept - this
can only be offered by upmarket
stationary food retailers.
We also see great development
potential in the growing range
of convenience products,
as these expand our customer
base. This fits ideally into the
strategy of a public AIF that is
geared to a medium-term maturity
and stable returns.
TOM: Which retail formats
are you particularly interested
in?
Gerald Feig: Food retail formats
that are particularly exciting
for us are predominantly
regional local suppliers with
long-term rental agreements.
Prestige properties or sales
areas for luxury goods play a
subordinate role. We only purchase
turnkey, fully let properties
with tenants with strong
credit ratings.
TOM:Do geographical concerns
or demographics play
a role in your interest?
Gerald Feig: Both. We now
only buy at locations with positive
demographic development,
including good economic
strength, which represents
an important security factor
for us from an investment perspective.
On the other hand,
for us it doesn‘t always have to
be the metropolises or swarm
cities: We specifically target
regional supply account points
that serve as the first point of
contact for purchasing for the
people in the respective catchment
areas.
TOM: What entrepreneurial
goals are you pursuing this
year for retail properties and
beyond?
Gerald Feig: Up to now, our
focus has been primarily on retail
properties in the so-called
middle centres. In the future,
we want to expand our strategy
and invest more in retail
centres combined with care
facilities and similar operator
properties for assisted living in
inner-city centres. We see an
enormous future market in this
combination, i.e. local supply
and demographics.
T
TOPS
O M
OF THE MONTH
Essential News About The Players In
The Retail Property Market In Germany
IMPRINT
Publisher:
Handelsimmobilien Heute Verlagsgesellschaft
mbH
Address:
Klaus-Bungert-Str. 3
40468 Düsseldorf
Germany
Tel. 0049-2011-429967-67
Web: www.hi-heute.de
Mail: tom@hi-heute.de
Frequency of publication:
monthly
Circulation: approx. 5000 copies
sent by e-mail
Editorial team: Bettina Meirose,
Susanne Müller, Michael
Henrichs, Thorsten Müller
Responsible in terms of press
law: Thorsten Müller
Layout: K4-PR, Essen

Page 17 T O M
PROJECTS April 2019
Cano Singen grows in height
ECE introduces its first rental partners: Ratio is 70 percent
The new Cano in Singen
continues to take shape: The
preparatory work on the
construction site is almost
complete. Building work is
now beginning on the entire
site for the new shopping center
in the city center of Singen.
Parallel to the construction
work, the letting of the shops
is progressing successfully:
more than 70 percent of the
space has already been leased.
ECE has already announced the
first tenant names. By autumn
2020, ECE will be building a
shopping gallery with around
85 specialist shops, cafés, restaurants
and service outlets directly
in downtown Singen on
the August-Ruf-Straße main
shopping axis and opposite the
railway station for around 165
million euros. The sales area of
around 16,000 square meters is
With the Cano, Singen will soon have a new shopping highlight.
Visualisation: ECE
spread over three levels.
The high occupancy rate already
at the present time shows the
great interest of the retail trade
in the perfectly integrated inner
city project with its exposed location
in the pedestrian zone.
Even now, 70 percent of the
retail space in Cano has been
allocated to well-known operators.
Among them are around
35 concepts, which are now represented
in Singen.
OFB does the
completion of
Kornmarkt Arkaden
The Kornmarkt Arcades of OFB
Projektentwicklung GmbH have
been completed. As the last building
element, the office unit
„Kornmarkt Kontore“ was expanded
and the corresponding
areas handed over to the tenant
Spaces, a subsidiary of the
IWG (International Workplace
Group). Spaces offers flexible
workplace solutions and attaches
importance to a creative
and international working environment.
The opening of the
new Spaces Loaction is scheduled
for May this year. The commercial
tenants as well as the
residential tenants have thus moved
into the mixed-use ensemble
of buildings centrally located
between the Römer, the banking
district and the shopping mile
Zeil. Only around 2,500 square
meters of office space, a few retail
spaces and an apartment are
now available for rent. Work on
the public green areas will be
completed in spring.
HBB realises shopping
centre in Langen
Utilization mix of retail, services and fitness
The shoe city of Pirmasens is being planned.
Visualization: arnold + partner architekten mbH
Shoe city already
in high demand
Specialist retail centre for shoes only to open in 2021
The idea of building a 6000
square metre shoe retail centre
in the centre of Pirmasens,
combined with 40 open Sundays,
has met with great interest
from shoe factories, restaurateurs
and shoe retailers.
According to the developers,
93 percent of the space in the
new shoe town of Pirmasens
is already reserved. The city
council recently approved up to
40 open Sundays. The new shoe
city is to be opened in spring
2021.
The Schuhstadt project team
has now informed the Pirmasens
City Council about the
state of development.
It will comprise several shops
and a sunny market place. According
to current plans, the
Shoe City consists of several
larger shoe retail stores ranging
from 500 to 1500 square metres
with all types of branded shoes
in all major market segments,
eight to ten mono-brand stores,
a market café, several restaurants
and a vinotheque.
There is something happening
north of the station of the
Hessian city of Langen: The
project developer HBB Hanseatische
Betreuungs- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft
from Hamburg
is developing a shopping
and service centre with a mix
of retail, services and fitness.
On the 17,000 square metre
site, a two-storey new building
and an adjacent multi-storey
car park as well as outdoor
parking spaces are being built.
Harald Ortner, Managing Director
of HBB, explains the concept
behind the project: „With the
new building, we are creating
completely new opportunities
for the residents and creating vibrancy
in the district. By bundling
various possible uses under
one roof, a centre with short distances
is created“.
The project developer‘s plans
focus on a high quality of living.
The general contractor
LIST Bau Nordhorn has been
commissioned with the turnkey
construction of the building
complex. „The earthworks are
already in full swing. The new
building is expected to start growing
at the end of May,“ says
Andreas Brockhaus, Managing
Director of LIST Bau Nordhorn.
Harald Ortner, Managing Director
of HBB. Photo: HBB

Page 18 T O M
NEWS April 2019
City toll endangers
trade location city centre
HDE appeals to politicians and municipalities for new concepts
According to Handelsverband
Deutschland (HDE), the discussions
about the introduction
of a city toll and driving
bans are damaging the inner-city
retail trade.
Many customers are uncertain
whether the city centres will remain
easily accessible by car. In
view of the often overburdened
infrastructure in the cities, the
HDE advocates new traffic concepts.
But bans are the wrong
way.
„City tolls and driving bans discourage
customers from shopping
in city centres. In view of
the already declining customer
frequency in recent years, this is
highly dangerous for the inner
city as a retail location,“ says
HDE Managing Director Stefan
Genth.
Prohibitions not effective
Politicians and municipalities
should put an end to discussions
about restricting mobility and
quickly develop positive alternatives.
Bans on cars would not
be effective. Rather, it is a matter
of strengthening local public
transport, cycling and other
means of transport in order to
convince people of the advantages
of these means of transport.
The switch to electric cars
solves only part of the problem:
„Although electric cars reduce
air pollution on the roads, they
also need the same space,“ said
Genth.
METRO wholesale stores
converted to new format
The concept is intended as a „marketplace for gastronomy
The wholesale company ME-
TRO Deutschland presents
four newly designed wholesale
stores to its customers and
the public: Berlin-Berolina
in Berlin-Spandau, Frankfurt-Rödelheim,
Karlsruhe
and Koblenz.
With the four remodeled stores,
METRO Deutschland is driving
forward its strategic transformation
with big steps - from a
purely stationary retailer to a
modern multi-channel wholesaler.
„Every modernized store is
a milestone that brings us closer
to our goal. As a gastronomy
marketplace, we want to support
our customers on all channels
with the best assortments and
services“, says Thomas Storck,
CEO METRO Germany.
On its way into the future, ME-
TRO Germany relies on four
Where to take your car when you shop? The HDE advocates new
traffic models. Symbol image: Pixabay / Michael Gaida
strategic pillars. The wholesale
company is modernizing
its wholesale stores and at the
same time pushing ahead with
the expansion and further professionalization
of its delivery
service. It is also networking its
customer management across
all sales channels and developing
digital innovations to offer
customers an optimal shopping
experience across all channels
- around the clock, seven days
a week. „With our innovative
offerings, we give restaurateurs
the freedom to concentrate on
the essentials: their business
and their guests,“ says Thomas
Storck. „The success of our customers
is our business.
The product ranges of the fresh food halls, such as here in Düsseldorf,
were significantly expanded as the heart of the modernized
stores.
Photo: METRO
ICSC presents new
ECE Center in Verona
with Top Award
The International Council of
Shopping-Centers (ICSC) presented
the ECE shopping center
Adige Verona with the „European
Shopping-Center Award
2019“ at its annual European
conference in Barcelona. The
new shopping gallery in the
northern Italian city of Verona
was awarded the coveted prize
in the „New Developments“ category
and put prominent competitors
in first place. The PEP
Munich also received recognition
in the „Refurbishments“
category for its successful repositioning
and modernization.
Ulrich Höller takes
over as Chairman
of the Supervisory
Board of GEG
Ulrich Höller (53), Chairman
of the Management Board of
GEG German Estate Group
AG, Frankfurt, has taken over
as Chairman of the Supervisory
Board of the company. At GEG,
he will continue to accompany
the company‘s operating activities
from this position. In
addition, Christian Bock (39),
previously Head of Institutional
Business in the GEG, has
been appointed to the GEG
Executive Board as COO. The
executive committee of the JIT
will then be composed of two
members, Thomas Hartmann
(CFO). The previous Chairman
of the Supervisory Board, Prof.
Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, will continue
to be a full member of the
Supervisory Board.
Alex Jeffrey
appointed new CEO
at Savills IM
Savills Investment Management
has appointed Alex Jeffrey as its
new Chief Executive Officer.
He is expected to join the company
at the end of 2019 and be
based in Singapore. He will also
become a member of the Executive
Board of the Savills Group.
Alex Jeffrey is responsible for
the next phase of Savills IM‘s
global growth. The company
has already increased its assets
under management from €7.2
billion in 2015 to over €18 billion
today, and last year recorded
equity commitments of €2.6
billion.