How did Arnold Investments perform in terms of brokered deal volumes in H1 2022? What is your outlook for the second half of this year?

In the first six months, we closed 60 deals and achieved €350 million in transactions, which is the best result in the history of Arnold Investments so far. We expect this positive development to continue in the second half of the year, but this, of course, depends on future economic developments.

Which asset classes are the most popular ones among investors?

Strengthened by the pandemic, there is still a very high demand for logistics real estate. Investments in the residential sector always sell and are therefore still in unconstrained demand. Retail is still strong in the commercial sector. However, these properties do not have to be exclusively in central city locations. Retail parks in rural regions are currently particularly popular, and hotels are also performing surprisingly well at the moment.

Markus Arnold

CEO & Owner
Arnold Investments

Markus Arnold is CEO and owner of Arnold Investments which is operating in Austria as Arnold Immobilien. The company is a multinational brokerage house specializing in real estate investments in Europe. Markus already had considerable experience with a long proven track record in the real estate industry when he initially started in Vienna his own business with a focus on residential buildings in 2009. He then expanded into CEE, opening offices in Prague, Bratislava and Budapest. After that expansion phase, he turned North, to the biggest real estate market in Europe and opened the German office in Berlin. In 2017, the commercial department was set up to support investors in the allocation of real estates in all Arnold Investments target markets. Almost two years ago the Arnold Group started moving into Southern Europe with offices in Madrid and Milan. Arnold Investments is now one of the leading real estate broker companies across Europe with further locations for new offices already in the pipeline. More »

Did the war in Ukraine have any impact on your CEE-based operations? Have you observed any changes in investors’ sentiment since February?

Unexpectedly, not really. In our branch in Slovakia, we have had the best year since its foundation, despite the immediate geographical proximity to Ukraine. The war has certainly slowed things down but not changed them, and our investors are strategically interested in the long term.

Is ESG compliance becoming a core criterion in the closing of transactions?

The topic of ESG is becoming more and more relevant, not least because sustainability criteria are playing an increasingly important role in the financing of investments. Decency is anyhow one of our most important corporate values and we, therefore, appreciate this development.

Most European economies are facing high inflation, while interest rates are going up. What does this mean for the financing of property transactions?

Due to the current monetary policy and, among others, the increase in the minimum equity ratio, financing real estate is becoming more and more expensive and difficult. However, the past has shown that the demand for real estate investments has remained stable and that investors have mostly been able to achieve high increases in value. Even if this trend curve should flatten out in the short term, this asset class will remain attractive and profitable.

Which markets are driving growth for Arnold Investments? Do you plan any expansion?

The successful first half of the year encourages our expansion strategy. We are currently preparing our market entry in Scandinavia, the Benelux countries and Poland, and the establishment of branches in Amsterdam and Stockholm is just around the corner.