Supervisory chiefs quit Immofinanz/Immoeast

The chairman and deputy chairman of the supervisory boards of Austrian real estate companies Immofinanz and Immoeast resigned on Tuesday. Wolfgang Reithofer and Reinhold Süßenbacher informed the company's executive board of the move on Monday evening.

Immofinanz issued a statement on Tuesday to say the men were leaving to concentrate on their leadership roles with other companies. Their resignations come into effect on Wednesday 29 October when the supervisory boards of Immofinanz and Immoeast will discuss their replacements.

This is the third time in less than a month that key board members have stepped down from Immofinanz group. Reithofer's main job is CEO of Vienna-based Wienerberger, the largest producer of bricks in the world. The company's supervisory board had asked Reithofer to step down from his 'time-consuming positions' on the supervisory boards of Immofinanz and Immoeast to concentrate on his role as CEO at Wienerberger.

Meanwhile Süßenbacher cited the global economic situation, which was demanding his full attention as CEO of shop fitting group Umdasch, as the reason for his resignation.

Immofinanz chief executive Karl Petrikovics stepped down at the beginning of October after the Austrian firm revealed a first-quarter loss of EUR 191 mln following a sharp devaluation of the portfolio owned by its CEE subsidiary Immoeast. The share prices of both Immofinanz and Immoeast have fallen sharply this year.