Vonovia Acquires 1,000 Apartments in Kiel

• Increasing activities in the state capital
• High-quality apartments are a perfect fit to Vonovia’s existing neighborhoods
• Nothing changes for tenants
• All 12 employees will be taken on

Bochum, Germany, December 2, 2020. Vonovia is acquiring around 1,000 apartments in Kiel from the Danish company H&L Ejendomme A/S. The two parties agreed on a purchase contract for the acquisition today. They have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The antitrust authorities already gave their approval on 27 November 2020, the transaction is expected to close on December 30, 2020.

“We are excited to expand our footprint in Kiel with this high-quality, sustainable portfolio. We have very close ties to the city and its people, and we have been managing our portfolio in line with social criteria for decades. As part of urban society, our goal is to provide our tenants with attractive homes at fair prices. We develop our neighborhoods in a socially responsible way – for example, by making senior-friendly renovations,” says Dirk Brunnert, Managing Director of the North Region for Vonovia. The newly acquired buildings are in central locations in the federal state capital. The previous owner has been putting this portfolio together since 2007. “The two portfolios go very well together, and we will be able to smoothly integrate the new apartments into our neighborhoods. All lease agreements will of course retain their validity – we are fully aware of our responsibility to our tenants.” Hence, this transaction will not change anything for the current tenants.

The employees of the former owner, H&L Immobilien GmbH, Kiel, a subsidiary of the Danish company H&L Ejendomme A/S, will be taken on by Vonovia. “We need their expertise and their energy; ultimately, we all still have a lot we want to accomplish in Kiel,” says Dirk Brunnert. Vonovia employs around 300 employees in the city and first opened its new neighborhood office in the future-oriented neighborhood of Kiel-Gaarden in December 2019. “We offer our tenants personal office hours as well as 24/7 customer service.”  

The largest Vonovia locations in northern Germany are in Kiel, Bremen and Hamburg, followed by Lübeck and Hannover. Vonovia has called the Kiel region home since 1918 and manages around 23,000 apartments there. 2,000 of those are publicly funded. Portfolio vacancy in Kiel is at around 2.2%; rent comes to € 6.53/sqm.