Vienna, 09 November 2017
BUWOG receives investment grade rating from Standard & Poor's
- BBB+ long-term corporate credit rating with stable outlook
- BUWOG is now one of the few rated European residential property companies with a substantial development business
Listed German-Austrian residential group BUWOG has undergone a corporate credit rating process for the first time and been categorised as investment grade. International leading ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) issued the BUWOG Group a rating of BBB+ with a stable outlook.
Deputy CEO and CFO Andreas Segal on the decision: "We are delighted about the confirmation of our business model from the perspective of an international ratings agency and therefore of the credit markets. For us, investment grade means new corporate financing opportunities will open up in the future, particularly for the sustainable, continued pursuit of our develop-to-hold and develop-to-sell strategy. Strengthened by this investment grade rating, BUWOG considers itself well-equipped for the future".
The reasons cited by S&P for its current rating decision include, among others, the regional distribution, quality and low vacancy rate in BUWOG's standing investment portfolio. The portfolio is located primarily in cities in Germany and Austria, which are characterized by positive population growth, a rising demand for housing and, at the same time, insufficient supply. With regard to BUWOG's strong property development activity, S&P highlighted the flexibility of the company's business model which allows for a shift from develop-to-sell to develop-to-hold if market conditions change.
The full rating report is published on the Standard & Poor's website under: http://www.standardandpoors.com
BUWOG is therefore one of the few European residential property companies with a substantial property development business that are rated at all.
"We believe that in the German-speaking world the subject of development will be more firmly integrated into the business models of listed residential property companies in the future as well. In this respect, ratings will assume even greater significance in the medium term", BUWOG CEO Daniel Riedl adds.
BUWOG Group has been supported in this process by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
About the BUWOG Group
The BUWOG Group is the leading German-Austrian full-service provider in the residential property business and now looks back on 66 years of expertise. Its property portfolio encompasses more than 49,200 units and is located in Germany and Austria. In addition to Asset Management, the entire value chain of the residential sector is covered by Property Sales and Property Development. The shares of BUWOG AG have been listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt am Main, Vienna (ATX) and Warsaw since the end of April 2014.
FOR REQUESTS:
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Holger Lueth
Head of Corporate Finance & Investor Relations
Email: investor@buwog.com
T +43-1-878 28 1203![img]()
F +43-1-878 28 5203![img]()
MEDIA AUSTRIA
Thomas Brey
BUWOG-Press Office Austria
c/o M&B PR, Marketing, Publikationen GmbH
Email: brey@mb-pr.at
Tel.: +43-1-233 01 23-15![img]()
MEDIA GERMANY
Michael Divé
BUWOG AG
Email: michael.dive@buwog.com
Tel.: +49 1590 4621 993![img]()
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