Deutsche Telekom is digitalising its own real estate asset management while Swiss Life Asset Managers steps up the focus on its investment strategy

Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe’s largest telecommunications company, will again take over the corporate real estate functions outsourced in 2001 on 1 January 2023. Up to now, asset management has been in the hands of various outsourcing partners, including Swiss Life Asset Managers Deutschland GmbH.

Swiss Life Asset Managers has 165 years of experience in managing the assets of the Swiss Life Group, which currently amount to around EUR 250 billion, including third-party asset management. With a total volume of EUR 116.5 billion in real estate under management, Swiss Life Asset Managers is one of Europe’s leading real estate managers. In 2014, Swiss Life Asset Managers acquired CORPUS SIREO Real Estate GmbH, whose corporate real estate management clients included Deutsche Telekom with its real estate portfolio. Corpus Sireo has been providing these services for Deutsche Telekom since 2001.

In the course of this long-standing, close and trustworthy cooperation, Swiss Life Asset Managers has been responsible for around 10 800 Deutsche Telekom locations in Germany with mixed-use ownership status. As part of the active asset management approach, the total rental area of the portfolio, which also comprises around 5400 lease contracts, has been reduced by 43 percent over the last 20 years and the vacancy rate reduced by 2.1 million square metres. A decisive factor in optimising the real estate portfolio comprised a large number of location concepts enabling properties no longer required for operating purposes to be sold. For example, an average of 200 sales per year with a total volume of EUR 5.2 billion (since 2001) have been realised, and a great deal of project development potential has been leveraged. The transformation of the office portfolio from ownership to rentals with more flexible courses of action also offers further potential for optimising space in the future.

Deutsche Telekom and Swiss Life Asset Managers have reached the joint conclusion that their respective future goals are different.

Deutsche Telekom has therefore decided to take over its responsibilities in the corporate real estate area itself and to link them more effectively with its sustainability goals. In addition, all processes are to be fully digitalised and some of the tasks automated. “We are taking the degree of digitalisation of our asset management processes to a new level and becoming an industry leader in this area,” explains Tobias Leukel, Project Manager and Head of Strategy at Deutsche Telekom Real Estate Management. In addition, competencies in asset management are being expanded within the company.

Swiss Life Asset Managers will in future focus on the expansion of its Europe-wide investment strategy. “We have decided to focus even more on the core business of Swiss Life Asset Managers in future, and to deploy our employees’ know-how to this end,” explains Per Erikson, CEO of Swiss Life Asset Managers in Germany.

Deutsche Telekom and Swiss Life Asset Managers wish to express their thanks for the close cooperation over the years and the many shared successes.

Contact

Communications, Swiss Life Asset Managers, Germany
Stephan Pacho
Phone: +49 69 240031 447
media-de@swisslife-am.com