DGAP-News

Corestate acquires complementary debt financing platform to offer debt service across all real estate asset classes - Seite 2

René Parmantier, CEO of Corestate: "The experience and expertise of AFS complements our strengths in the mezzanine lending business perfectly. This accretive acquisition will enable us to start a new chapter of growth for our already profitable private debt segment, both in terms of clients and in terms of our service offering. I am pleased to be joined by the experienced and highly motivated new colleagues from AFS which have an excellent track-record and an outstanding network of institutional investors across Germany and Europe. In the upcoming years, we as a team will not only substantially grow our debt financing business, but we will also realize significant cross-selling potentials."

Friedrich Munsberg, Chairman of Corestate's Supervisory Board, comments: "For many years, Sebastian Ernst and Johannes Märklin are among the most distinguished German experts in the private debt sphere. We are delighted for them to join forces on a long-term basis with the Corestate team as Members of the Management Board. Together with the current Management Board members, they will further strengthen the successful HFS business and assume further responsibility for the integration of AFS into the wider organisation, fostering significant synergies across the group."

Sebastian Ernst, Managing Partner at AFS: "The combination of HFS's standing and AFS's structuring expertise with primary and secondary market coverage, makes it possible to create a range of products and services for investors and real estate companies that is unparalleled." Johannes Märklin, also Managing Partner at AFS, adds: "Especially now as traditional banks are significantly restricting their credit exposures, combining our very complementary businesses in AFS and HFS opens up outstanding organic growth opportunities and the possibility to secure and enhance our substantial market share in the dynamic private debt sector at an early stage."

AFS was founded by Sebastian Ernst and Johannes Märklin in 2018 and has grown rapidly ever since, having enabled more than € 3bn of financings on behalf of real estate clients. The focus lies on financing solutions for acquisitions, developments, constructions and standing properties. AFS generates additional income through corresponding primary market issuances and associated secondary market trading. This acquired platform will offer a wide range of synergetic effects. It completes Corestate's offering of debt financings, mainly mezzanine, and substantially expands the client base. AFS has a team of more than 20 highly specialised employees and a licence under Section 32 of the German Banking Act for the issuing, proprietary trading and placement of financial instruments.