Change in leadership at DEMIRE: Ingo Hartlief to leave at year’s end, Alexander Goepfert succeeding as Chairman of the Management Board – AXA manager Ralf Bongers joins the management team as of April 2023

Langen, Germany, 14 December 2022. Ingo Hartlief, Chairman of the Management Board of DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG (ISIN: DE000A0XFSF0), will leave the company's management team at his own request with effect from 31 December 2022 to pursue new professional opportunities. DEMIRE’s Supervisory Board has appointed its current Chairman, Prof. Dr. Alexander Goepfert, as his successor. Thus, Prof. Dr. Göpfert will leave the Supervisory Board at the end of the year.

Ingo Hartlief, Chairman of the Management Board of DEMIRE, comments on his imminent farewell: "The Company has enjoyed consistently solid development in recent years despite many challenges that the real estate market has faced and continues to face. After four years of successful joint work, my special thanks go to the Supervisory Board and the great DEMIRE team for their ever-trusting cooperation."

Prof. Dr. Alexander Goepfert, Chairman of DEMIRE's Supervisory Board, says: "With regret, we take Ingo Hartlief's decision to leave, however, we respect his desire to reach out to new goals. Mr Hartlief has played a significant role in the successful development and institutionalisation of the Company. It’s to his credit, that DEMIRE is ideally positioned to meet the current challenges. The Supervisory Board thanks Ingo Hartlief for his consistently excellent work and outstanding performance. Both professionally and privately, the Supervisory Board wishes Mr Hartlief continued success and all the best for the future. We are pleased that he will continue to accompany DEMIRE in an advisory capacity after his retirement."

Ingo Hartlief's track record at DEMIRE includes the value increase of the portfolio, including the Cielo investment, from approximately EUR 1.1 billion to approximately EUR 1.7 billion, the restructuring of the portfolio conducted by 12 acquisitions and 34 disposals, with a premium to book value of approximately 10 % in total. FFO I rose from EUR 23.4 million in 2018 to an expected EUR 38.5 to 40.5 million in 2022, as Ingo Hartlief regularly reported improving leasing performance even during the COVID crisis.

As DEMIRE's new Chairman of the Management Board, Alexander Goepfert will be responsible particularly for the departments Strategy, Portfolio Management, Legal, Human Resources and, together with CFO Tim Brückner, Investor Relations from next year onwards. Acting as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Prof. Dr. Goepfert has worked closely with the company's Management Board since the summer of 2018, where he was advising the operational management team on matters of corporate strategy and provided support in maintaining contact with major shareholders.

The vacancy in the Supervisory Board resulting from the switch of Prof. Dr. Goepfert is to be filled by a judicial replacement appointment of the independent real estate consultant Mr Markus Hofmann. Mr Hofmann is also intended to succeed Prof. Dr. Goepfert as Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

In course of the change in operational management responsibility at DEMIRE, the Company's Supervisory Board also agreed to expand the Management Board to three members. Thus, Ralf Bongers, currently Head of Asset Management at AXA Investment Managers Deutschland, has been appointed as a member of the Management Board as of 1 April 2023. Ralf Bongers will be responsible particularly for the Transaction and Asset Management divisions.

Alexander Goepfert explains: "Against the backdrop of the unsettled macroeconomic environment, it is essential that DEMIRE is able to react swiftly and flexibly to rapidly alternating challenges. This requires a further reduction in the complexity of the portfolio structure as well as the continued expansion of the stable cash position. The new structure of the Management Board reflects the importance of these tasks in terms of size and distribution of responsibilities."

Together with CFO Tim Brückner, the Management Board of DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG will then consist of three members under the chairmanship of Alexander Goepfert.

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„About DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG

DEMIRE – REALize Potential

DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG acquires and holds commercial real estate in mid-sized cities and up-and-coming locations bordering metropolitan areas across German. The Company's particular strength lies in realising the potential of the properties at these locations while focusing on a range of properties that appeals to both regional and international tenants. As of 30 September 2022, DEMIRE's portfolio contains of 64 assets with lettable space totalling about 1 million sqm. Including the proportionately acquired Cielo property in Frankfurt/Main, the market value amounts to so approximately EUR 1.7 billion.

The portfolio's focus on office properties with a blend of retail, hotel and logistics properties results in a return / risk structure that is appropriate for the commercial real estate segment. The Company places importance on long-term contracts with solvent tenants and the realisation of the properties' potential. DEMIRE anticipates continued stable and sustainable rental income along with solid value appreciation.

DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG shares are listed in the Regulated Market (Prime Standard segment) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.”

Contact:
Julius Stinauer
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Finance
DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG
Telefon: +49 6103 372 4944
Email: [email protected]