Despite the difficult market situation, the property developer, the P&P Group, continues its growth and announces ten new projects by the end of 2024 at the Expo Real Trade Fair

  • More than 1,500 residential units and approx. 100,000 square metres of gross floor area will be created by the new construction projects
  • In addition, a further 100 million euros of equity will be activated for the purchase of plots of land and existing buildings
  • Thanks to their past business policy, the P&P Group is significantly less impacted than its rival developers by the high interest rates and rising construction costs

Fürth/Munich, 5 October 2023 – The property investor and developer, the P&P Group, continues its course for growth, despite the poor situation of the overall market. On Thursday, at the Expo Real property trade fair, the company announced it will be starting a total of ten new construction projects by the end of 2024, which will focus on small-sized apartments in the metropolitan regions of Nuremberg and Munich. “The purchase of all plots of land has been finalised, several approval procedures have also already been completed, explained Eva-Maria Zurek, who, as the CEO of the P&P Group, is also the head of the Real Estate Deutschland division: “These construction projects will create more than 1,500 apartments and approx. 100,000 square metres of gross floor area.”

“We assume that investors’ current restraint is only temporary. We are therefore acting against the market trend”, is how Ms Zurek describes the company’s strategy. “We are happy that the P&P Group is so well positioned that it is able to invest substantially during the current phase. Because of protracted  planning and approval procedures, the slump in housing activity will last at least another three years”, says Zurek, who took over the position of CEO from the company founder, Michael Peter, in March 2023, and who is now expediting the company’s diversification and internationalisation from its new location in London. P&P Real Estate UK Ltd has thus already completed multiple investments in the British market this year. Acquisitions of further residential properties in the London districts of Mayfair, Marylebone and Knightsbridge are planned in the coming months.

Michael Peter explained the P&P Group’s recipe for success. “With a sound business policy, we have managed to ensure that rising interest rates and construction costs affect us significantly less than many of our rival developers.” The successful measures include the system of the individual awarding of construction contracts, a stable network of tradespersons built up over many decades and the use of in-house technical expertise in our own building, planning and design department. Peter: “This is how we keep the costs under control. Also because we did not participate in the “competitive bidding” for land plots during the peak of the market. A very good equity base (approx. 50%) and cost control make up part of the necessary basis for investing in innovative and sustainable projects.”

Other measures also proved successful in the crisis, such as the establishment of our own sales platform for apartments. This is currently being used, for example, to market the SUNSHINE LOFTS in Bamberg – more than 300 modern and light-filled apartments with an energy-efficiency concept. Through the combination of geothermal heat, heat pumps, photovoltaics, a combined heat and power plant and storage management,  70 percent of the energy needed is generated directly on site. “Having our own platform enables us to achieve direct sales successes that are significantly beyond our expectations”, explains the  CEO Eva-Maria Zurek.

P&P is specifically presenting two of the ten new projects – both in the offer for institutional investors – at the Expo Real: In the trendy Nuremberg district of Gostenhof, in Maximilianstraße, the project developer is erecting a student hall of residence with 94 one or two-room apartments. More than one third of these are accessible. A special feature is the “garden for all” concept, which enables interested students to take part in urban gardening”. A roof terrace and communal kitchens will also ensure a good community experience.

Also in Nuremberg, in the Kreuzsteinstraße in the district of Schweinau, P&P is building 121 energy-saving apartments in efficiency house level 40 (KfW 40 EE) near the city centre. The units, with 65 square metres on average and up to three rooms, also include a children’s playground, 57 parking spaces in an underground car park and 218 bicycle parking spaces.

“Of the ten new projects, these two are key examples of how, in the current situation, we have good opportunities to respond to the housing shortage and to create property value”, says Zurek: “This is how we want to take the historic opportunity that is available to us thanks to our good economic situation. We are able to tackle new projects and use the trend towards energy-efficient and ESG-compliant housing, while many other developers are withdrawing from the market. Especially at a time at which, due to the resolutions of the (German) “Construction Summit”, a turnaround is becoming more likely.”

The acquired projects that are yet to be started will not be the end of the course for growth. Zurek announced: “P&P will soon be providing a further 100 million euros from its equity for the purchase of plots of land and existing buildings with revitalisation potential, with continued focus on the Nuremberg and Munich regions. We are pleased and proud that, in view of our healthy management of the past, we are able to pursue this strategy consistently.”

 

About the P&P Group:

The P&P Group has developed, revitalised and marketed commercial properties and housing projects for almost 30 years. With a total transaction volume of more than 3.2 billion euros and around 100 employees, P&P covers all areas of the value chain as an initiator, investor and asset manager. The Group’s core competencies include new-build development and the revitalisation and modernisation of existing buildings worth retaining.