TOP INVESTORS Conwert exceeds 2015 sales target, eyes even more disposals

Conwert Immobilien Invest exceeded its sales target for non-core assets during 2015, and expects a further €300-350 mln of disposals this year.

The Vienna-listed residential and commercial property investor announced in a statement that it carried out €234 mln of non-core properties last year, well above the initial target of €150-200 mln of disposals.

'Disposals in the commercial sector and portfolio streamlining in the residential sector are an important part of our strategy. We are focusing on the residential market in Germany and Austria, which has proven to hold the greatest growth potential for us and we want to continue to invest here,' said Wolfgang Beck, CEO of Conwert Immobilien Invest.

The transactions included the sale of the entire portfolio in the Czech Republic for around €40 mln, and the sale of other non-core properties for more than €190 mln. The management team is planning further reductions in the non-core holdings in 2016. This is set to generate sales proceeds of €300 mln to €350 mln.

Conwert did not carry out any significant acquisitions in last year. The company had initially planned to buy German residential landlord BGP and its 16,500-unit portfolio. But Conwert's board decided on 6 August 2015 that the proposed transaction was not in the 'best interests' of Conwert and its shareholders.

Conwert was however at the centre of the ongoing consolidation process in the listed residential property sector in Germany last year. In April 2015 Conwert's shareholders rejected a €1.2b takeover offer from Deutsche Wohnen, the number two in the sector. On 20 August, two weeks after the decision to drop the acquisition of BGP, Adler Real Estate, another German listed residential landlord, acquired almost 25% in Conwert.

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