Swiss Prime Site

Increase in operating results in the 2023 financial year - Seite 2

Resilient portfolio despite devaluations 
On a fair-value basis, the Swiss Prime Site portfolio boasted a stable value of CHF 13.1 billion as at the end of 2023 [13.1 in the previous year] and comprised a total of 159 [176] properties. The share of development properties amounted to CHF 0.9 billion [1.1]. In 2023, negative revaluations of CHF -250 million [+170] were recorded, which corresponds to 1.9% of the starting basis for the year. The negative revaluations were strongly driven by the higher discount rates, cushioned by high rents for new lettings, and could be observed across the whole portfolio. Development projects generated growth in value of CHF 19 million, despite similarly higher discount rates. Over the year, 16 properties and sites were divested that were no longer appropriate to the portfolio. The properties were sold for a total of CHF 280 million, resulting in an average profit of 7% above the last appraisal value. After a long period without acquisitions, Swiss Prime Site selectively purchased two properties at the end of the year: a smaller building in Basel as a consolidation adjacent to an existing property, and «Fifty-One» in Zurich-West, which makes an optimal match for the Prime Tower site with a modern, sustainable property. This overall highly active portfolio management is further improving the real estate holdings, with an increased focus on new, centrally located, sustainable and larger properties that allow for optimal management.

Asset growth in Asset Management of 9% to CHF 8.4 billion AuM 
In the first half of the year in particular, investors in the Asset Management area of Swiss Prime Site Solutions showed marked restraint. With the downturn in the stock and bond markets last year, coupled with relatively stable property prices, many institutional investors had an increased weighting in real estate ratio and made very few new investments. Despite these challenges, assets under management (AuM) increased by 9% to CHF 8.4 billion [7.7 in the previous year]. This was achieved primarily through organic growth and reinvestments, and also through contributions in kind from pension funds and other investors. Despite the challenging markets, revenue from Asset Management fell by just 4.4% to CHF 49.7 million [52.0] in the reporting year. This decline was mainly due to new issues not proceeding and fewer transactions than the previous year. The great resilience of Asset Management is demonstrated – amongst other indicators – by the even greater stability achieved with the increase in size; in 2023, 77% of earnings were recurring income [63%].