RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien realises 16,000 sq m retail and commercial space in the first half of 2020

Compared to the same period in 2019, the volume of space completed was thus increased by 28 percent. In total, the Regensburg-based investor and project developer handed over 17 rental units in Germany and Spain, including several new and modernised discount stores for food retailers NETTO and Penny.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien was able to maintain construction site operations to almost full extent while complying with the necessary safety measures and hygiene regulations. The total number of rental units handed over in Germany, Spain and Portugal was increased to 1,314 since the company’s foundation.

Sebastian Schels, Managing Partner of RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien, says: “The first half of the year was of course strongly influenced by the corona pandemic – for us, as for all companies. But we have mastered the associated challenges well with our partners. Taking the current circumstances into account, we have set ourselves some ambitious goals for the second half of the year. For example, we are again implementing numerous new stores for leading retailers. These include innovative properties where we are breaking new ground in terms of planning and construction.”

The majority of the projects currently under construction are located in Germany. By the end of the year, around 50 rental units are to be completed for tenants such as large food retailers NETTO, REWE, Edeka and Aldi. In Furth im Wald in Bavaria, RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien is currently realising the second NETTO market in timber construction. Sebastian Schels says: “Sustainability is an important issue for us and we would like to make our contribution as a company. That’s why we are looking at ways to build more sustainably. The timber construction method, in which, as in Furth im Wald, a supermarket is predominantly made of renewable raw material, starting from the floor slab, is a great approach to the conservation of resources. At the same time, we pay close attention to where the raw materials we use come from.”

RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien obtains the wood used for Furth im Wald from sustainable German forestry. Wood is a suitable raw material for building not only because it is renewable, but also because it can be processed and recycled with far less effort than concrete, for example. The NETTO discounter in Furth im Wald is scheduled for completion in September 2020.

In the Bavarian city of Regensburg, RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien is also pressing ahead with the implementation of a new store format for NETTO in the second half of the year. Planned on the basis of Building Information Modeling (BIM), a new discounter is being built, with the majority of car parking spaces to be located on the rooftop of the market on a covered parking deck. The BIM method offers many advantages during implementation. It enables a more effective workflow design in the planning phase and the fact that projects are built digitally first and only then in real life means that they can be implemented in a more resource-efficient manner. The new NETTO is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.

In Schwarzheide in Brandenburg, RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien is about to start the next phase of construction as part of the comprehensive revitalisation of the Heide-Center. The 11,000 sq m retail warehouse will add a modern new Aldi discounter and a new fitness centre by the end of the year. The expansion of the second anchor tenant REWE is planned for mid-2021. In addition to the focus on food retailing, mixed-use projects are also gradually becoming more important. RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien is already planning the first properties combining retail and other uses such as residential in the cities of Leipzig, Hamburg and Dresden.

In Spain and Portugal, the company is also active in other asset classes. In the second half of 2020, for example, two hotel completions in Porto and Cádiz in Portugal and the opening of a senior citizens’ residence in the Spanish city of Castellón de la Plana are planned.