Hamburg, April 05, 2023 - The real estate and investment company Becken has acquired the last 10.1 percent of shares in INDUSTRIA, the specialist for residential investments in Germany, making it the sole shareholder. Dieter Becken, Managing Partner of Becken Holding GmbH, says: "The complete acquisition of INDUSTRIA completes the growth path of our company and was the next logical step after the acquisition of the majority stake in October 2021." Becken, the specialist for the development, realization and long-term asset, sales and investment management of commercial and residential real estate, continued its nationwide growth course in the 2022 financial year and was able to expand its project development pipeline despite the increasingly difficult market conditions. The total project volume increased to 13 projects and thus to around EUR 2.2 billion thanks to the recent acquisition of two development projects in Munich and Berlin. The sales volume totaled 600 million euros in the past year.

A residential and commercial building in Westerland, Sylt, was added to the residential real estate portfolio. As a result, the real estate assets under management across all business divisions increased to fourteen properties with a volume of over EUR 580 million as at December 31, 2022. In the Funds and Investment Management division, the Mezzanine Debt Fund (REPE) and the open-ended special AIF "Solid Office Fund I" (SOF I) were further expanded. The number of employees rose by around 5% to 91 as a result of the growth.

Jörn Stobbe, Spokesman of the Management Board of Becken Holding GmbH and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of INDUSTRIA, comments: "Due to the sharp price correction for ageing existing buildings, we see good opportunities to use our expertise and experience to make them ESG-ready and then reposition them." He adds: "We are currently preparing various fund initiatives with INDUSTRIA, which we will implement depending on further market developments. In doing so, we are taking into account the changed yield requirements of investors and are aiming for a distribution yield of 4.0% p.a."

Investment management: mezzanine debt fund and Article 8 portfolio fund
Becken can also report further successes in the area of funds and investment. The real estate and investment company has returned further capital to its investors via its company BECKEN Invest for the REPE 1 mezzanine debt fund. The third and final co-financed project was also completed and sold last year. The return at investor level is over 25 percent (IRR). The "REPE Funds" is a mezzanine debt fund for institutional investors and family offices. It is organized under Luxembourg law and invests in office and residential project developments by Becken in major German cities. The second sub-fund, REPE 2, has been invested in four projects since 2021 and is therefore 80 percent invested. Prof. Dr. Michael Becken, Managing Director of BECKEN Invest GmbH, says: "We are in the concrete planning stage for a third sub-fund, REPE 3, with a target volume of around 100 million euros. Three specific major projects have already been secured for this."

Last year, BECKEN Invest also acquired a second office building in Düsseldorf's Medienhafen for its open-ended special AIF "Solid Office Fund I" (SOF I). The Article 8 office fund was launched in 2020 and focuses on sustainable and ESG-compliant office properties with a solid distribution. Despite the coronavirus pandemic and the market slump caused by the war, further investors have been brought on board in recent months. Prof. Dr. Michael Becken comments: "The office real estate market has proven to be very robust in recent months. We are also prepared for changes in working habits or space requirements on the part of users. In addition, the trend towards greater sustainability is encouraging us to put our properties further on the climate path."