S Immo AG's Supervisory Board has designated the successor of Ernst Vejdovszky, founding father of the company, whose board term will expire on 30 June 2021, and has newly appointed the Management Team. Dr. Bruno Ettenauer will take over as CEO from 15 March 2021 with a term of three years. DI Herwig Teufelsdorfer will be appointed as S Immo AG's CIO (Chief Investment Officer) and will take up his position on the Executive Board at the latest at the beginning of the second quarter of 2021. The contract of Friedrich Wachernig, MBA as COO (Chief Operating Officer) has been prolonged for a further three years until 30 June 2024.

The topic of sustainability has become one of the most important megatrends of our time. Sustainable construction is also becoming increasingly important in the hotel real estate market, leading to an increase in demand for corresponding certificates in Austria, according to Christie & Co.

Polish industrial and logistics developer MLP Group continues its expansion strategy welcoming Austria to its portfolio. The developer has successfully acquired a plot to develop a new urban project MLP Business Park Vienna, located in the north-eastern part of Vienna in close proximity to the S2 expressway. The undeveloped land has a total area of 98,249 sqm and will offer almost 55,000 sqm of leasable space upon development completion. The transaction was liaised by the real estate advisor Otto Immobilien /Knight Frank.

Immofinanz CEO Ronny Pecik has signed as agreement to sell his stake in the Austrian company and consequently intends to submit his resignation from Immofinanz’s executive board.

The latest annual report by specialist business property advisor Christie & Co reflects on the themes, activity and challenges of the previous year and forecasts what 2021 might bring across the hotel investment sector in various European countries.

For Vienna-based investor GalCap Europe, last year was a busy one with three additional deals closed compared to 2019. Managing Partner Paul W. Hallam talked to Property Forum about the experiences of last year and shared the company’s investment strategy for 2021.

German-focused investor Aggregate Holdings S.A. confirmed that it may be considering a potential acquisition of a stake in CA Immo, which may also include launching a partial takeover offer for shares in CA Immo in accordance with the provisions of the Austrian Takeover Act.

US investor Starwood Capital, through its Luxembourg holding company SOF-11 Klimt CAI S.à r.l., has increased its stake in Austrian company CA Immo to 29.99% in the past few weeks and announced a takeover offer for the remaining shares for €34.44 per share. Starwood also plans to submit an offer for CA Immo’s convertible bonds.

Immofinanz is continuing the expansion of its Stop Shop retail park brand, as announced, and has added eight locations to the portfolio shortly before the end of the year. Six fully rented retail parks in Serbia and the Czech Republic with roughly 43,000 sqm were purchased from Mitiska REIM, a Belgian investor specialised in these types of commercial properties. In addition, Immofinanz closed the purchase of a fully rented retail park (approx. 5,500 sqm) in Voitsberg, Austria, during the fourth quarter of 2020. The portfolio in Croatia will be increased by one property in the city of Ludbreg.

Evax Holding GmbH, a company owned by Peter Korbačka’s Eurovea Services, has purchased 3,836,988 shares of S Immo AG, corresponding to a 5.21% stake, from Etamin GmbH & Co KG. The transaction, which took place on 12 November, has made the Slovak businessman the third largest shareholder in the Austrian company.