Aareal Bank Group has acquired all the shares in plusForta, an online broker of tenant deposit guarantees in Germany.
Financial details were not disclosed.
'Our acquisition of plusForta represents a further step in the implementation of our 'Aareal 2020' programme. It allows us not only to extend our value chain, but also to consolidate our position in the deposit guarantee sector,' said Aareal Bank management board member Thomas Ortmanns.
'The move provides our property industry clients with one-stop shopping for tenant security guarantees. This is an important milestone on our way towards becoming the leading provider of digital tenant deposit solutions for the property industry,' Ortmanns added.
PlusForta, which is headquartered in Düsseldorf and also has an office in Berlin, was formed in 2008 by SchneiderGolling & Cie. Beteiligungsgesellschaft and Capitol Immobilien. The company brokers deposit guarantees furnished by R+V Versicherung and Württembergische Versicherung to clients via two online platforms, kautionsfrei.de and kautionsfuchs.de.
According to Aareal, deposit guarantees have already become established as an alternative to cash deposits, and are accepted as tenant security deposits.
The service is aimed at tenants of residential apartments and commercial property. Roughly 160,000 guarantee agreements have been brokered to date. plusForta is part of a national network in Germany that also comprises well-known partners in the property, financial and insurance sectors.
'We are delighted that we have found a forward-looking strategic partner in Aareal Bank. Not only do we complement the Bank's service portfolio, but the tie-up will allow us to roll out our digital offering to an even greater range of clients than before,' concluded Robert Litwak, plusForta's managing director.
