TOM 04 2024

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The art of investing Tailor-made investments in German supermarkets As real estate experts, we invest in grocery stores and retail parks throughout Germany. The advantage? Financially very strong tenants and crisis-proof basic supply ensure sustainable attractive returns for investors. 20 years of experience in food retail Excellent network Working in partnership Big plans? So do we. Talk to us: Jörn Burghardt • Managing Director Phone: +49 (69) 756694334 • E-mail: j.burghardt@g-pep.com GPEP GmbH · Hamburger Allee 26-28 · 60486 Frankfurt/Main GERMANY • www.g-pep.com
Page 7 T O M INTERVIEW April 2024 „Neighborhood developments are not a trend topic, but a megatrend“ Exclusive interview with Julia Steinmetz (Apleona Real Estate Management) Julia Steinmetz has been Managing Director and now also CEO of Apleona Real Estate Management since 2022 and is responsible for an even larger area of responsibility following last year‘s merger with FM specialist Gegenbauer. TOM editor-in-chief Thorsten Müller recently conducted the following interview with the 42-year-old. TOM: Ms. Steinmetz, how did the first quarter go at Apleona Real Estate from your perspective? Julia Steinmetz: Definitely very positive. The merger with Gegenbauer and its effects naturally played a large part in this. Our company has grown considerably once again and now employs around 44,000 people. A number of very good employees have also joined us in the area of property management. In general, we achieve very good scores in terms of customer satisfaction. Customers recommend us to others, which has also led to us being able to generate a major contract in the residential asset class involving around 6,700 residential units. We also have a new company, fmsc, on board. The engineers at fmsc specialize in strategic and operational property management consulting. We also have a highly competent consulting team that primarily deals with the multifaceted issues of sustainability and ESG. Apleona Real Estate Management also focuses on digitalization and the strategic expansion of its range of services. Recruitment and employee development are becoming increasingly important for all companies - we are successfully driving both forward. Fortunately, we have very low staff turnover in the company. We always try to give our employees new perspectives and thus keep them in the company for a long time. TOM: The „neighborhood“ asset class has recently become much more important and will certainly continue to do so. Apleona has also been Julia Steinmetz (here at the MIPIM in Cannes). Photo: HI HEUTE working intensively on this for some time. How do you see the medium-term future in this respect? Julia Steinmetz: Neighborhoods are already seen as having great potential to meet the future challenges facing our cities. Above all, a successful neighborhood must focus on the needs of its users. Quality of stay, connectivity and the underlying concept are particularly important. But holistic management, i.e. integrated neighborhood management, is also becoming increasingly important. Together with the well-known communications agency RUE- CKERCONSULT, we conducted a survey at the end of 2023 that revealed precisely these tasks and objectives. A total of 94 representatives from companies in the real estate sector took part. The survey was supplemented by interviews with experts, including Dr. Thomas Beyerle, Managing Director of Catella Property Valuation, Jens Hausmann, Managing Director at Groß & Partner, Prof. Dr. Marion Peyinghaus, Managing Director of CCPMRE and Franka Jung-Larsen, Head of Retail, Center & Quartier Management at Apleona Real Estate Management. TOM: What are the most important findings and results of this survey for you then? Julia Steinmetz: A large majority of respondents share the view that districts and district developments are not a trend topic, but rather a megatrend. Urbanity, sustainability, the 15-minute city and the necessary merging of complementary uses and functions will lead to a significant increase in neighborhood projects - both in new and existing buildings. However, neighborhoods place special demands on property management. This was stated by almost all survey participants. The focus here is on interest management, i.e. balancing the interests of the various user groups. Other special requirements include networking between users and the presence of the neighborhood manager on site as a local contact. TOM: What makes the difference between good and notso-good neighborhood management? Julia Steinmetz: Unfortunately, brand management and the associated emotional aspects are often neglected in the management of neighborhoods. Traditional property management alone is not enough. Different buildings, owners and users of a neighborhood must be brought together to form a whole and the urban context in which the neighborhood is embedded should not be ignored either. After all, you want to be perceived as a good neighbor. Brand management therefore includes the transparent involvement and information of users, active maintenance of the social media presence and the planning and implementation of events. All activities must be precisely aligned with the positioning of the neighborhood and any potential disturbances for users. TOM: What does Apleona deal with specifically in terms of neighborhood management? Julia Steinmetz: Among other things, we have been managing the „Tacheles“ in Berlin for some time now: this is a very good example of a neighborhood. Here, we experience in everyday life exactly what is generally perceived as a challenge in neighborhoods. The presence of a manager on site who has a feel for and knowledge of the needs of visitors and those who work there is extremely important. And of course we are constantly on the lookout for further properties, most recently at the Mipim in Cannes, where numerous cities and regions presented their construction projects. TOM: Do shopping centers also have the potential to become neighborhoods? Julia Steinmetz: In many cases, definitely yes, as do former department stores in city center locations. Here, too, it depends on the right new mix of uses. Especially where the previous business model cannot be sensibly continued, there is a huge opportunity in the transformation into a functioning district - not only for the investors concerned, but also for the city in question. This is how vacancies can be avoided and city centers revitalized.
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