MIPIM 2023 Digital Edition

Investing in Austria
How did you end up in the real estate
industry?
I have always been interested in real estate.
In course of my studies, I also focused on real
estate management and financial services
and then stayed in the field. In the beginning,
I concentrated on valuations. That‘s how I got
into it. Then I quickly moved into international
business in the transaction area.
Later, at PwC, the consulting focus became
more significant. But for me, the transaction
business is still the most exciting field in the
real estate industry.
Do you have a particular favorite asset
class?
No particular asset class. What I personally
like best are the unusual transactions. In
other words, not the tenth residential or
office property with the same pattern. That‘s
also interesting, of course, and you learn
something new with every transaction. But
especially in turbulent times on the market,
as we are experiencing right now, there are
also deals that are a bit more complicated
and complex. You have to be a bit creative in
your approach and find solutions to challenging
issues. For me, deals like that are the
cherry on the cake.
At last year‘s Expo Real, there was of a
feeling that the atmosphere in Germany
was one of disaster. The Austrian, on the
other hand, as the famous popular saying
goes, likes to say that the situation is not
hopeless but serious. Are the Germans
more pessimistic?
Well, as a German optimist, I wouldn‘t agree
with that. But I do believe that Germans
are very fact orientated. Based on the facts
and figures, conclusions are drawn, and the
mood then tips in one direction or the other.
The Austrians, as I have experienced it and
as I like it, also concentrate on facts, but
they approach things with a certain cynical
charm and therefore tend to come across a
bit more positively. But not every German is
so pessimistic that he’s ready to throw in the
towel. You can see that on the market at the
moment. Some German investors who are
active despite the current difficult market
circumstances, with whom we are examining
and also implementing transactions.
Therefore, I think it very much depends on
one’s personality - whether you see the glass
half full or half empty.
How did you come to work at EHL?
The contact came about during my time at
PwC and it was through the valuation team
at EHL. We sat down together and chatted.
Then I had a conversation with Michael Ehlmaier
and Franz Pöltl, in which we found out
quite quickly that we might be a good fit and
could do something together in the future.
As the saying goes, we then actually sketched
out on a blank sheet of paper the direction in
which the collaboration could go. And that‘s
exactly the direction it took. I still have the
paper at home, by the way.
What convinced you to make a move to
EHL back then?
I was impressed by the fact that I came from a
rather large company background, where many
things were very bureaucratic and sometimes
quite complicated, and that at EHL everything
could be decided very quickly and efficiently,
and in a highly professional manner. That was
the deciding factor; I took the job and was able
to become part of this powerful team.
12 ImmoFokus