immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Metalli

  • The development of the Metalli is going according to plan

    The development of the Metalli is going according to plan

    The Metalli development is located in the core zone of Zug and is to be redesigned. Urban development projects are known to be protracted projects. Interventions in urban structures change the appearance of a city and affect many people accordingly. «We are aware of our responsibility. It is therefore important to find out what the needs of the population, residents and all other users of Metalli are, ”says Peter Wicki, Project Development Manager at Zug Estates. Politicians, interest groups and other groups or people also bring their concerns to the table. The aim is to create an intensely greened, sustainable and ecological metal. The building should have architectural and urban highlights. The current qualities and the wide range of products are to be retained. The interest groups advocate a meeting place where non-commercial activities are also possible. What is wanted is a new town square that will enliven the center near the train station between Zug and Baar, which has grown significantly in recent years. The existing glass passage is valued and should be retained in the same or a similar form. The aim is to expand non-motorized traffic – as well as affordable living space, more pop-up stores and other spontaneous or temporary uses of space.

    Dialogue with everyone
    "This balancing act of involving the various interest groups and yet developing a clear and strong idea that supports this place, which is so important for Zug and makes the city even more livable, is a great challenge and will remain so until the end," says Wicki. Two other key questions particularly stimulate him in this project: “How can we continue to grow without using up more land and still maintaining or even increasing the quality of today's settlement areas? At its core, it is about sustainable, high-quality interior compression ”. Just as important to Wicki is how the inner cities change as shopping behavior changes. "In the new Metalli habitat, we have to find an answer to these two central questions." This is an extremely relevant and exciting task.

    More sustainable and greener
    Nowadays, urban living spaces are designed differently than in the past. The Metalli was never developed as a pure shopping center, as the project development manager explains. Therefore, the area already brings numerous qualities of a modern living space with it. “Today it is already a lively quarter with a wide variety of uses and quality of stay. We want to further strengthen these qualities. " With the new Metalli-Platz, the district is being networked even further with the surrounding city. “The climatic conditions and awareness of sustainability have changed significantly in recent years. The new living space Metalli will become more sustainable and green. " Particular attention is paid to planting more trees and improving the quality of stay outdoors. The usage concept of the new living space should adapt to the current requirements of the Metalli visitors. «The trade will continue to change. The worlds of online and offline will merge. Companies have to find new ways to address consumers, ”summarizes Wicki. Metalli offers an ideal platform for this. In addition, they want to offer more products from the region.

    Last autumn, the structural project by Hosoya Schaefer Architects with Nyx Architects and the landscape architect Lorenz Eugster was submitted to the city of Zug. This project emerged as the winner of the urban planning competition. The development plan is currently being drawn up. A period of two years is planned for this phase. At the same time, the tender for the project competition is being prepared. "If everything continues to go according to plan, we will be able to start construction work in 2025," says Wicki.

  • Corona-influenced half-year results of the Zug Estates Group

    Corona-influenced half-year results of the Zug Estates Group

    • The property income increased by 5.4% compared to the same period of the previous year
    • CHF 28.2 million
    • Doctorate profit before taxes of CHF 9.5 million in the Aglaya project
    • The group result amounts to CHF 8.3 million (previous year period: CHF 26.1 million). Without
    • Revaluation and special effects reduced the group result from CHF 15.4 million.
    • to CHF 11.9 million
    • Solid capital base with an equity ratio of 55.7% (54.7% as of December 31, 2019)

    At Zug Estates, too, the first half of 2020 was dominated by the challenges we were faced with by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In the real estate sector, many of our tenants had to close their shops during the officially ordered lockdown. This mainly affected our retail tenants and thus the Metalli shopping mall. In the Hotel & Gastronomy segment, the almost complete standstill of international business travel led to a considerable drop in sales.

    Fortunately, despite Corona, we were able to hand over all of the remaining 49 condominium units of the Aglaya doctoral project to their new owners on time. In addition, we have already been able to find a partnership-based and conclusive solution for a one-off rent waiver with over 90% of the tenants directly affected by the lockdown.

    In the first half of 2020, the group result was CHF 8.3 million, 68.3% below the previous year's period (CHF 26.1 million). Adjusted for revaluation and special effects, the declining figures in the Hotel & Gastronomy segment in particular lead to a reduction in consolidated earnings by 22.7% from CHF 15.4 million to CHF 11.9 million.

    Increase in property income with significantly lower hotel and catering sales

    The full period of validity of rental contracts, the majority of which were concluded in the previous year, increases property income in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in the previous year by 5.4% to CHF 28.2 million. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rent payments of CHF 0.7 million were granted.

    Income in the Hotel & Gastronomy segment fell from CHF 8.2 million to CHF 3.6 million. The occupancy of our hotels was temporarily reduced to less than 10% during the lockdown. Since then we have been able to record growth again, but are still well below the corresponding prior-year figures. The gross operating profit (GOP) is only 7.8% compared to 39.3% in the first half of 2019.

    The sale of the last 49 condominiums in the Aglaya project resulted in income of CHF 72.5 million and a pre-tax promotion profit of CHF 9.5 million
    In the Aglaya doctoral project, we were able to generate a return on the investment volume of 17.3%. Since no sales revenue was posted in the same period of the previous year, there was an overall significant increase in operating income from CHF 36.7 million to CHF 105.4 million.

    The real estate portfolio was valued a total of CHF 13.6 million lower, which corresponds to around 0.9% of the portfolio value of all investment properties as of June 30, 2020 and is due to a slightly more conservative assessment of the market rents for retail space in general and individual specific office spaces. In the same period of the previous year there was a revaluation gain of CHF 11.5 million.

    The average interest rate of the interest-bearing debt capital could be further reduced from 1.4% to 1.3%. As expected, the significantly lower construction activity led to a decrease in capitalizable interest and a corresponding increase in financial expenses from CHF 2.5 million to CHF 3.5 million.

    Stable portfolio with a higher vacancy rate

    At CHF 1.63 billion, the market value of the portfolio is at the same level as on December 31, 2019. In the first half of 2020, the last building in construction site 1 in Rotkreuz was put into operation. As expected, this increased the vacancy rate from 3.3% as of December 31, 2019 to 5.3% as of June 30, 2020. We invested a total of CHF 16.2 million in our portfolio in the reporting period. The weighted average remaining lease term (WAULT) is 6.7 years (6.8 years as of December 31, 2019), a very high level compared to the industry.

    While our residential products are enjoying very good demand in the current market environment, we are currently noticing a certain reluctance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among those who are interested in office space. However, we are confident that the centrally located, high-quality and sustainably operated office space at Zug Estates will continue to be in high demand in the future. Fortunately, the number of inquiries for retail space in Metalli remained stable. We currently have no evidence of a decline.

    Solid capital base

    With the repayment of funds from the sale of the last apartments in the Aglaya and despite the distribution of a special dividend, the interest-bearing debt capital was reduced from CHF 597.4 million to CHF 587.1 million in the first half of 2020. The average remaining term of this financing is 4.8 years (previous year: 5.2 years). With an equity ratio of 55.7% higher by one percentage point, Zug Estates has a very solid equity base.

    Project development with a focus on the Metalli habitat

    After the city of Zug and Zug Estates presented the first result of the joint planning process for the “Metalli living space” in March 2020, a feasibility study was carried out with the specialist planners. The alignment project and the application for adapting the two development plans concerned are currently being drawn up with all the relevant documents. The guideline project is to be submitted to the city of Zug in the third quarter of 2020. The legally amended development plans are expected in 2022/23.

    After receiving the building permit, the Board of Directors approved the planning phase for the last two buildings (S43 / 45) on the Suurstoffi site in Rotkreuz. The start of construction will be triggered as needed, taking into account the market recovery in connection with COVID-19.

    Step-by-step implementation of the sustainability strategy

    The connection of the Metalli-Gevierts to the lake water network Circulago could take place according to plan in April 2020. The corresponding contracts for the connection of the remaining 16 properties were signed in December 2019. Commissioning is to take place in stages in 2021, 2023 and 2025. From this point in time, Zug Estates will be able to operate its entire portfolio almost CO2-free.

    Public electric charging stations have been available to customers on the Metalli shopping street since the beginning of June. Two of the six stations are high-performance fast charging stations, the first in the city of Zug.

    The installation of the CO2-neutral cooling in the rooms of the Parkhotel Zug was completed on schedule in April 2020, which means a significant increase in comfort for the guests from now on.

    Outlook 2020

    Due to the temporary effect of the rent reductions in connection with COVID-19, we continue to expect increasing rental income for the year as a whole. As a result of increased renovation and maintenance work or lower capitalizable financing costs, real estate expenses and financial expenses will be higher.

    In the Hotel & Gastronomy segment, we are assuming that sales and GOP will be well below the previous year's level due to the considerable drop in sales due to the stoppage of international business transactions by our regular customers, although the developments in the second half of the year are difficult to forecast.

    Therefore, both an operating result before depreciation and revaluation and a consolidated result without revaluation and special effects are expected to be significantly below the previous year.