Residential Real Estate Company Vonovia SE Receives Rating of A- Announcement

* Scope Group, the largest European rating agency, has recognized Vonovia's international business.

* New option for future development

Bochum, Germany, December 13, 2019. For the first time, Vonovia SE can boast an A- rating. Why? The Group was given this rating by the Berlin-based Scope Group, the market leader among European rating agencies.

"We are delighted to have received an A- rating from Scope. It shows that our extremely stable business model is proving its worth and also recognizes our diversification both in Germany and increasingly in other European countries", said Helene von Roeder, Management Board member of Vonovia SE. Scope therewith rates Vonovia a notch better than BBB+. "We consider our improved rating category to be appropriate. It opens up further options for our future development," according to Helene von Roeder. The fact that the Scope Group has carried out the rating is considered particularly valuable by Vonovia's headquarter: after all, it is the largest European rating agency.

"In the last three years, Scope has massively increased its coverage across Europe. Today, we cover all important debt-capital sectors with over 450 ratings. We are particularly delighted that Vonovia, the leading private residential real estate company in Europe, put its trust in us," said Florian Schoeller, CEO and founder of the Scope Group, on the occasion of the new rating.

Rating agencies assess the credit standing of companies - in other words, their solvency. A rating describes the assessment of a company's ability to fulfill its future interest and repayment obligations in a timely manner. The rule of thumb is: The higher the rating, the lower the perceived potential risk. This way, companies with a good rating are usually able to acquire debt capital in the capital market at better conditions than companies with a lower rating.

Since the introduction of the rating system on July 23, 2013, Vonovia SE has been rated in the area known as investment grade. The company strove to achieve this rating, which enables it to reach its financial goals.

About Vonovia

Vonovia SE is Europe's leading private residential real estate company. Vonovia currently owns around 395,600 residential units in all attractive cities and regions in Germany, Austria and Sweden. It also manages around 78,350 apartments. Its portfolio is worth approximately € 47.8 billion. As a modern service provider, Vonovia focuses on customer orientation and tenant satisfaction. Offering tenants affordable, attractive and livable homes is a prerequisite for the company's successful development. Accordingly, Vonovia makes long-term investments in the maintenance, modernization and senior-friendly conversion of its properties. The company is also creating more and more new apartments by realizing infill developments and adding to existing buildings.

The company, which is based in Bochum, has been listed on the stock exchange since 2013 and on the DAX 30 since September 2015. Vonovia SE is also listed on the international indices STOXX Europe 600, MSCI Germany, MSCI Germany, GPR 250 and EPRA/NAREIT Europe. Vonovia has a workforce of more than 10,000 employees.

Additional Information:
Approval: Regulated Market/Prime Standard, Frankfurt Stock Exchange
ISIN: DE000A1ML7J1
WKN: A1ML7J
Common code: 094567408
Registered headquarters of Vonovia SE: Bochum, Germany, Bochum Local Court, HRB 16879
Business address of Vonovia SE: Universitaetsstrasse 133, 44803 Bochum, Germany

This press release has been issued by Vonovia SE and/or its subsidiaries solely for information purposes. This press release may contain statements, assumptions, opinions and predictions about the anticipated future development of Vonovia ("forward-looking statements") that reproduce various assumptions regarding, e.g., results derived from Vonovia's current business or from publicly available sources that have not been subject to an independent audit or in-depth evaluation by Vonovia and that may turn out to be incorrect at a later stage. All forward-looking statements express current expectations based on the current business plan and various other assumptions and therefore come with risks and uncertainties that are not insignificant. All forward-looking statements should not therefore be taken as a guarantee for future performance or results and, furthermore, do not necessarily constitute exact indicators that the forecast results will be achieved. All forward-looking statements relate solely to the day on which this press release was issued to its recipients. It is the responsibility of the recipients of this press release to conduct a more detailed analysis of the validity of forward-looking statements and the underlying assumptions. Vonovia accepts no responsibility for any direct or indirect damages or losses or subsequent damages or losses, as well as penalties that the recipients may incur by using the press release, its contents and, in particular, all forward-looking statements or in any other way, as far as this is legally permissible. Vonovia does not provide any guarantees or assurances (either explicitly or implicitly) in respect of the information contained in this press release. Vonovia is not obliged to update or correct the information, forward-looking statements or conclusions drawn in this press release or to include subsequent events or circumstances or to report inaccuracies that become known after the date of this press release.