Industries – Real Estate & Construction

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

The real estate industry is an important part of the Swiss economy. According to a study published by the Swiss Homeowner Association (HEV), the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) and the Federal Housing Office (BWO), the real estate industry contributes 18% to Switzerland’s GDP and approximately one sixth of all Swiss employees is associated with this industry.

YOUR CONTACT PERSON

Dr. Thomas Vettiger
Managing Partner
thomas.vettiger@ifbc.ch

CURRENT TOPICS & CHALLENGES

Digitalisation

Digitisation remains a key trend in the real estate & construction industry. Building Information Modelling (BIM)-based planning, execution and management of real estate or the implementation of artificial intelligence to increase efficiency and safety in construction processes become increasingly important. Moreover, virtual reality solutions as well as digital media is used within sales and marketing to facilitate the communication between buyers or tenants and the real estate manager.

Trend towards environmental sustainability

The trend towards sustainability is also influencing the real estate & construction industry. Being a significant energy user and producer of greenhouse gases, the industry is increasingly facing criticism and demands from tenants, investors as well as the public. Sustainable investments are, however, not only positive for the environment, but also reasonable from an economic perspective, as they can significantly increase the future value of real estate.

Urbanisation

The growth of megacities and the trend towards increasing urbanisation are important drivers in the construction industry. Furthermore, the development of high-rise residential buildings will continue to increase due to denser constructions. Technological advances as well as the trend towards sustainability are shaping urbanisation significantly. In particular, the redesign of processes to reduce emissions or material usage, for example through additive manufacturing, is highly relevant.

NOTABLE RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Spin-off of Implenia’s development portfolio

In the context of a spin-off, Ina Invest Holding AG was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in June 2020, following approval by the Annual General Meeting of Implenia AG. Ina Invest now manages the former real estate portfolio under development of Implenia with a market value of CHF 282 million.

Going private of BFW Liegenschaften AG

In the context of the going private, BFW Holding AG acquired the registered shares of BFW Liegenschaften AG not yet in its possession in spring 2020. BFW Liegenschaften AG is a Swiss real estate company with a portfolio valued at CHF 333 million.

Investis sells Régie du Rhône to Immoparticipation

In August 2019, the Investis Group sold its subsidiary Régie du Rhône SA to Immoparticipation SA in Fribourg. Régie du Rhône offers real estate services in the French speaking part of Switzerland and generated a revenue of CHF 20 million in 2018.

OUR PROJECTS

M&A TRENDS AND MARKET ANALYSIS

NAV multiples of Swiss real estate companies (before deferred taxes)

Median
75%-Quartil
25%-Quartil
>

  • Due to different methods of calculating deferred taxes for the individual real estate companies, NAV values after deferred tax are not fully comparable. We therefore show NAV multiples before deferred taxes as comparative values.
  • Within the time frame of June 2015 to June 2020, the median NAV multiple was between 0.9x and 1.2x. Mid-2020 the multiple amounts to 1.0.

EBITDA multiples of listed European real estate agencies and managers

Median
75%-Quartil
25%-Quartil
>

  • The trading multiple shown is based on the Enterprise Value (EV) at the respective point in time and the EBITDA adjusted for extraordinary events of the last 12 months.
  • The median trading multiple of European real estate agencies and managers was in the range of 6.4x and 11.2x for the period June 2015 to June 2020.
  • With a value of 7.8x, the average multiple as of mid-2020 is only slightly below the multi-year average of 8.1x.

EBITDA multiples of listet European construction companies

Median
75%-Quartil
25%-Quartil
>

  • The trading multiples shown are based on the Enterprise Value (EV) at the respective point in time and the EBITDA of the last 12 months adjusted for extraordinary events.
  • After the median multiples of European construction companies had increased slightly between mid-2016 and 2018, the valuation level since decreased to a range between 6.3x and 7.3x.

Source: Bloomberg.

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