Strategy of growth
“In the heart of Europe, IMMOFINANZ is playing a home game.”
However, virtually no other listed property company pursues this type of broad-based east – west strategy.
Petrikovics: Our success is evident, but the strategy of the IMMOFINANZ Group is not very easy to copy. First of all, you need to reach a certain size to be active in so many markets and, above all, to be active in all sectors of the property market. This requires a great deal of know-how in highly different regions, and no other listed property company currently has this extensive range of expertise. In this respect, our long-standing efforts to develop a highly qualified and experienced asset management team have really paid off. Our widespread management capabilities also make it possible for us to quickly and efficiently utilise the opportunities that appear on the market and, in this way, combine strong growth with a very positive increase in earnings.
But isn’t there a risk that you will miss opportunities on other markets?
Petrikovics: The prospects offered by this market are excellent, not only at the present time but also over the long-term. Especially in the east, the economic recovery process is expected to support growth rates that clearly outpace the European average for the next 20 years. That is where you can find the most important driver for the positive development of the property market – in all sectors from offices to retail space, logistics and residential properties.
One feature that is just as important as a favourable market outlook is the fact that we are playing a home game. We can make optimal use of our detailed knowledge of the market as well as more than 15 years of experience, a well developed network of valuable contacts and our excellent reputation as a dependable partner with a long-term orientation. This advantage is something that we do not have in other regions. Even if an isolated opportunity should appear on an exotic market like South America or Turkey, and even if this opportunity is particularly good, you can only be successful and avoid unnecessary risks if you have the right know-how. That is why we concentrate on areas where we’re not one of the crowd, but the absolute specialists. We decided long ago to leave the adventures to the other players on the market.
Gertner: By the way, most of the leading international property companies also follow the same strategy. The British and American property giants naturally know just how attractive Central and Eastern Europe is – but before they invest directly in a market outside their own borders where they are not familiar with the business climate, they turn to a specialist on the region, like the IMMOFINANZ Group. The substantial international interest in the recent capital increases by IMMOFINANZ and IMMOEAST have demonstrated this in an impressive manner.
I am also convinced that you can’t overestimate our close geographic proximity to our markets, the impact of our common history and, ultimately, our in-depth understanding of the mentality of our business partners in the countries we cover. These factors represent advantages that have become so matter-of-course in Austria that no one really mentions them anymore. But international investors know very well how and why they have come to represent success factors for IMMOFINANZ.
However, virtually no other listed property company pursues this type of broad-based east – west strategy.
Petrikovics: Our success is evident, but the strategy of the IMMOFINANZ Group is not very easy to copy. First of all, you need to reach a certain size to be active in so many markets and, above all, to be active in all sectors of the property market. This requires a great deal of know-how in highly different regions, and no other listed property company currently has this extensive range of expertise. In this respect, our long-standing efforts to develop a highly qualified and experienced asset management team have really paid off. Our widespread management capabilities also make it possible for us to quickly and efficiently utilise the opportunities that appear on the market and, in this way, combine strong growth with a very positive increase in earnings.
But isn’t there a risk that you will miss opportunities on other markets?
Petrikovics: The prospects offered by this market are excellent, not only at the present time but also over the long-term. Especially in the east, the economic recovery process is expected to support growth rates that clearly outpace the European average for the next 20 years. That is where you can find the most important driver for the positive development of the property market – in all sectors from offices to retail space, logistics and residential properties.
One feature that is just as important as a favourable market outlook is the fact that we are playing a home game. We can make optimal use of our detailed knowledge of the market as well as more than 15 years of experience, a well developed network of valuable contacts and our excellent reputation as a dependable partner with a long-term orientation. This advantage is something that we do not have in other regions. Even if an isolated opportunity should appear on an exotic market like South America or Turkey, and even if this opportunity is particularly good, you can only be successful and avoid unnecessary risks if you have the right know-how. That is why we concentrate on areas where we’re not one of the crowd, but the absolute specialists. We decided long ago to leave the adventures to the other players on the market.
Gertner: By the way, most of the leading international property companies also follow the same strategy. The British and American property giants naturally know just how attractive Central and Eastern Europe is – but before they invest directly in a market outside their own borders where they are not familiar with the business climate, they turn to a specialist on the region, like the IMMOFINANZ Group. The substantial international interest in the recent capital increases by IMMOFINANZ and IMMOEAST have demonstrated this in an impressive manner.
I am also convinced that you can’t overestimate our close geographic proximity to our markets, the impact of our common history and, ultimately, our in-depth understanding of the mentality of our business partners in the countries we cover. These factors represent advantages that have become so matter-of-course in Austria that no one really mentions them anymore. But international investors know very well how and why they have come to represent success factors for IMMOFINANZ.
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