Aroundtown SA (AT1) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us for Aroundtown's 9 months 2025 Results Call. You can view this presentation on Aroundtown's website, either on the Home section or on the financial reports of the Investor Relations section. Guiding you through the proposition today, will be CEO, Barak Bar-Hen; CFO, Jonas Tintelnot; Executive Director, Frank Roseen; Chief Capital Markets Officer, Timothy Wright; Chief Sustainability Officer, Limor Bermann; Deputy CEO, Kamaldeep Manaktala and representatives from GuardDuty properties are also present. [Operator Instructions]. With that, I would like to hand over to Barak and the rest of the team, who will guide you through the presentation of our result.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us for our 9 months 2025 results presentation. Our portfolio continues to perform well, with the majority of the portfolio at 56% of residential and hotels achieving strong operational results, benefiting from strong market tailwinds further with our ability to identify and extract upside potential. The office portfolio at 38% remained stable, although the economy continues to lag. Nevertheless, we see the outlook is improving, and we continue extracting positive rent like-for-like performances. In addition, our conversion potential is increasing as we continue to identify more opportunities with the new regulation in Germany especially the Bau-Turbo, further supporting conversion to residential, thus providing us more optionality to extract upside potential. We see the general sentiment continuing to improve and the economy is expected to move to a more positive territory next year as expected by the German government supported by the large stimulus package. Government similar programs are expected to drive investment in critical infrastructure and renewed private sector activity is beginning to show in the macro data. Meanwhile, the stabilizing interest rate environment is positively impacting capital markets, creating a more supportive financial climate, we see these as encouraging signs. Germany's transaction market is also showing signs of recovery, and we are seeing an uptick in transaction activity, including some larger deals. However, this recovery remains uneven as smaller and less liquid players continue to face refinancing challenges, which may create growth opportunities for us. Year-to-date, we have also executed several capital market transactions, which includes senior bond issuances, together with tender offers as well as the recent successful perpetual note transaction executed a few weeks ago. In the perpetual transaction, we refinanced high coupon perpetual with a cheaper one and on top, reduced our perpetual balance, thereby reducing coupon payments and supporting FFO. This deal attracted strong investor demand and positive feedback, reinforcing our strong access to the capital market. We continue to focus on attracting our internal growth potential and together with our recent proactive activities in the capital markets, positioning us strongly for the opportunities ahead. On Slide 4, we present the key financial highlights for the first 9 months of 2025. Net rental income amounted to EUR 886 million, increasing slightly compared to 9 months 2024, supported by solid like-for-like rental growth of 3.1% and more than offsetting the impact of net disposals. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 750 million, slightly lower by 1% compared to 9 months 2024. FFO I amounted to EUR 221 million, down from EUR 236 million in the comparable period, mainly due to higher perpetual note attribution and a lower contribution from JVs which offset operational growth. In H1 2025, the portfolio was externally revalued showing a positive like-for-like value change of 1.4% compared to December '24, mainly driven by strong operational performance. The portfolio will be fully revalued again as part of the year-end report. EPRA NTA per share amounted to EUR 7.8 higher by 5% compared to December '24. We are making ongoing progress towards obtaining green certificates for our assets with 62% of our commercial portfolio now green certified, including 73% of offices and 60% of hotel assets. Liquidity remained solid at EUR 2.7 billion despite significant debt repayments during the period with gross debt reducing by EUR 1.1 billion during the 9 months period. LTV stands at 41%, well below our internal Board of Directors guidance of 45% and maintaining wide covenant headroom. Jonas, please continue on the next slide.

Slide 5 highlights our reason perpetual notes issuance and buybacks. This transaction involves issuing EUR 700 million in new perpetual notes at 5.25% coupon, including a EUR 200 million tap while buying back EUR 1.2 billion of perpetual notes with an average coupon of through the concurrent tender as well as redemption calls following the transaction. The rationale behind the transaction was to reduce coupon payments. We achieved this by replacing higher group of perpetual notes with new lower coupon notes, thereby reducing our analyzed coupon payments. In addition, we were able to reduce the total balance of the outstanding perpetual notes due to the transaction by EUR 510 million. As a result, annualized coupons will decrease by approximately EUR 50 million, supporting FFO while significantly lowering our interest expenses under S&P's methodology. Overall, this accretive transaction strengthens our credit metrics, improves our financial position and assist in keeping our FFO level going forward. On Slide 6, we present a summary of the outcome of perpetual notes transaction on a line-by-line basis, highlighting here the reduction in the balance by EUR 510 million and the decrease in average coupon specific notes from 7% before the exercise to 5.6% after. In the appendix, we provide an update on list of all our outstanding actual notes post transaction. Moving to Slide 7, where we give a summary of our bond issuances since July '24, highlighting the strong progress we've made in reducing the margin cost of debt over this period. In July '24, our Series 40 senior bond was issued a coupon of 4.8%, where DCP issued EUR 500 million series bonds at a coupon of 4.375%. At that time, these are our first issuances after several years, marking our return to the capital markets. By May '25, we were able to issue Series 41 bond at a much lower coupon of 3.5%. And in September '25, the coupons for the Series 42 decreased further to 3.25%. In November, we also issued a new CHF bonds to proactively refinance the upcoming maturity of our Series X CHF1 in Q1 next year. The Series X was issued in 2019, so before the pandemic and period of higher interest rates and carried the coupon of 1.72%, where the new Series 43 CHF1 was issued at an even lower rate of 1.5%. Tim, please continue the next slide.

Thank you, Jonas. On Slide 8, we show our internal growth, reflected in continued robust like-for-like rental growth across the portfolio, showcasing the benefits of our diversified portfolio. We continue to see strong growth in the majority of our portfolio. Hotels which make up 22% of the portfolio, leading the growth with 4.2%, supported by repositioning projects completed in previous periods, which are now driving internal growth. The residential assets, which make up 34% of the portfolio continued to deliver strong rental growth with a like-for-like growth of 3.9%, supported by record low vacancy. These 2 asset assets make up 56% of the portfolio. In offices, which comprise 38%, we continue to capture rental growth despite market headwinds by leveraging our gap to market rents as we can offer competitive rents. We continue to enhance our letting activities through selective conversion opportunities primarily service apartments. Here, the Bau-Turbo regulation provides a strong opportunity to accelerate office to residential conversions, enabling more flexible changes and unlocking further value. Moving to Slide 9. You can see here our internal excellent growth drivers. We continue to drive growth through internal drivers, including targeted investments in operational efficiencies. With a rent reversion potential of around 26%, including potential to increase occupancy, benefits from indexation and the regulated rent increase in our German residential portfolio, we're well positioned to capture rental upside. Targeted CapEx measures in past periods will deliver contractually agreed rent increases from hotel repositioning. Furthermore, we have rental upside in the upcoming periods from conversions of office to service apartments. Also here, we have the uptake contractually agreed with long-term leases signed and a further opportunities under review. Looking at external growth, new capital recycling is a key growth driver by selling lower-yielding assets and utilizing the proceeds to fund high-quality and higher-yield acquisitions, we are able to drive EBITDA growth while maintaining a conservative balance sheet. Now let's discuss our operations. Frank, please continue.

Thank you, Tim. Slide 11 illustrates our well-balanced portfolio across asset types. Hotels account for 22%; residential, 34%; offices, 38%; and logistics and retail 6%. Our properties are concentrated in top locations with Germany, the Netherlands and London, representing 88% of the total portfolio. Berlin remains our largest city at 24%, followed by London 8%, Munich at 7% and Frankfurt at 6%. These core markets offer strong long-term fundamentals and continued upside potential. For more details and aerial views of our main cities, please see the appendix. On Slide 12, we highlight how our diversified asset base remains the foundation of our resilience and growth potential with broad exposure across residential office and hotel segments, we are able to unlock synergies, manage risk and adapt confidently to changing market conditions. Our in-house expertise allow us to intensify the best use of each asset, whether through repositioning, conversion or operational improvements. As market conditions change, the best use of a specific property may shift over time and with our expertise across asset classes, we are able to unlock further potential and capture new opportunities. For example, we have converted selected office spaces into service apartments where returns are more attractive. Furthermore, innovation and processes developed in one segment can also be applied across others, enhancing efficiency and supporting stable cash flows. This diversification also offers downsized protection due to lower sensitivity to industry or asset class specific impacts, such as we saw during the COVID pandemic. Residential assets provide resilience and protection during economic downturns, while office and hotel segments offer greater upside when markets are growing. This balance ensures that our portfolio remains well positioned through our different cycles with manageable sensitivity to market headwinds. Our flexible capital allocation strategy enables to enable us to direct resources to the most promising sectors, helping us to take advantage of market opportunities and pursue higher returns. On Slide 13, we provide an update on the main portfolio KPIs along with an overview of our tea composition. As of September 2025, the total portfolio value stands at EUR 24 billion, generating EUR 1.16 billion of annualized recurring rental income, reflect a rental yield of 5%. The WALT remained solid at 7.4 years. The maturity schedule is well balanced, which provides additional downside protection. Vacancy has improved slightly at 7.4% compared to the end of 2024 and in place rent has increased to EUR 11.4 per square meter. Our tenant base is well diversified, including around 3,000 commercial tenants alongside a highly granular residential segment. The top 10 tenants contribute less than 20% of total rental income, limiting exposure to any single tenant. Slide 14 provides an update on our disposal progress. In the first 9 months of 2025, we completed approximately EUR 460 million of disposals around book values at an average rental multiple or 20x. Most of these transactions involve office and residential properties with the remainder in hotels, building rights and retail. The disposals were primarily located in Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen, Frankfurt and Oker and other locations. Year-to-date 2025, we have signed over EUR 350 million of disposals, which provide us additional capital to support our balance sheet and fund growth opportunity through capital cycle. Approximately EUR 155 million of disposals assigned but not yet closed as of September 2025. Looking ahead, we plan to continue with selective disposals of lower-yielding assets and development properties to support our acquisition strategy. Timothy, please continue on the next slide.

Thank you, Frank. Good morning. Slide 15 offers a detailed view of our office portfolio's performance and positioning. Most of our office assets continue to be concentrated in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Amsterdam, which together account for nearly 60% of the total portfolio. In September 2025, the office portfolio achieved like-for-like rental growth of 1.5%, mainly driven by rent indexation and reversion. Our vacancy increased slightly and stands at 12.9%/our tenant base is well diversified with about 75% of rental income coming from public sector entities, multinational corporations and large domestic firms. Currently, 73% of our office portfolio holds green certifications, and we are making steady progress towards certifying the remainder. Market vacancies have increased slightly over the past years but remain around historical levels as they come from very low levels, supported by low and decreasing new supply. We expect improvements in the office sector once the German government stimulus package flows through the market. At the same time, we see additional opportunities created by the Bau-Turbo regulation, which allows for more flexible conversion of office space into residential, which helps address Germany's housing shortage. On Slide 16, we highlight the improved economic outlook in Germany, driven by the government stimulus package and recent reforms supporting conversions. For the office market, signs of this positive outlook start to be visible with office take-up in the big 7 cities up 5% year-on-year and investment volumes rising by 23% year-on-year. Overall, these developments position our portfolio to benefit from improving market conditions and increased demand. We believe the structural and cyclical improvements will support a gradual recovery in office demand particularly in core urban markets where we maintain a strong position. While we believe that the Bau-Turbo would make additional potential conversion projects economical. The Bau-Turbo is a significant step in the right direction of German government support to increase housing supply. Recent years, supply did not catch up with the government's targets and actually moved even further away. We believe the Bau-Turbo will have its biggest impact in conversion projects compared to new builds as construction costs remain high. In addition, currently 360 million of subsidies are being discussed, which would be allocated from the infrastructure fund. These subsidies are targeted specifically for conversion of commercial to residential the government might also introduce further measures. Slide 17 provides an overview of our selected office properties that are being converted into centrally located service departments and long-steel accommodations. These projects are designed to meet growing demand in key urban markets and unlock value from underutilized assets. We have secured lease agreements for 8 properties in Berlin, Frankfurt, Dortmund, Hanover and Rotterdam, totaling around 1,200 rooms. Development is progressing well with conversions underway in Rotterdam and one Dortmund asset and planning or permitting ongoing for the others. We expect incremental rent of approximately EUR 17 million once they are operational, starting gradually from 2026. We note that all these projects are pre-let and have secured long-term leases. We are also reviewing additional projects with strong potential and are in the process of securing more leases. Turning to Slide 18. Our residential portfolio continues to deliver outstanding operational results, supported by strong market fundamentals in portfolio locations. Vacancy rates remain at historical lows, standing at 3.3%. We delivered 3.9% like-for-like rental growth as of September '25, supported by higher in-place rents and a sustained supply-demand imbalance. Market conditions in Germany and London remain robust, supporting increasing market rents and positioning us for continued growth in rental income. Slide 19 highlights the continued strength of our hotel portfolio, which includes over 150 hotels across key European tourists and business hubs. These assets are leased under fixed long-term agreements with inflation-linked or step-up rents. We recorded 4.2% like-for-like rental growth in September 2025 supported by our repositioning efforts with tailwinds from RevPAR growth, continuing to support operations of our tenants. Across Europe, international travel and overnight stays are continuing to grow steadily. We continue to view our hotel properties as a core growth segment. In this area, we are comfortable expanding beyond our primary markets as these assets are leased to experienced external tenants who operate the hotels while our teams provide active asset management and closely monitor tenant performance. Limor, over to you.

Thank you, Timothy. On Slide 20, we provide an update on ATechX, our OpEx accelerator. Since launching in late 2024 ATechX continues to build momentum. We opened the application process for the third cohort and ATechX hosted its first ever pitch night a few weeks ago. our second cohort comprised of 5 companies specializing in the areas of fitness, fintech, tenant satisfaction, decarbonization, deep tech and material science. Some of these startups move into commercial deployment, and we continue to engage with some of them beyond the program. On the right of the slide, the spotlight an example of one of the companies in our second cohort, Temperate. Temperate produces an innovative cooling device that delivers up to 95% reduction in energy consumption compared to a traditional heating ventilation and air conditioning systems. It operates without cooling fluids, relies on biodegradable materials and despite heat into space, helping avoid heat island effects. This approach offers significant potential for energy and heat cost savings as well as decarbonization across AT's portfolio. Barak, please continue.

Moving to Slide 21, we present a breakdown of our development and invest portfolio, which represents approximately 5% of total assets. Our strategy involves value creation at low risk, whereby development potential is identified and permitted for. Such new development rights are sold as gains or developed with the pre-let contracts. We have properties comprising around 700,000 square meters in the development and invest portfolio currently, and our teams have built a plan that suits the size, location and type of each property. Unfortunately, receiving permits is a long process, and therefore, these properties are not included in the run rate figures. We only actively undertake developments ourselves that are low risk and offer large returns on invested CapEx. Using this strategy, we have created a substantial value and saw development in the amount of approximately EUR 900 million since 2021. We A more detailed list of selective development and conversion projects representing approximately 70% of total value of the development and invest portfolio is presented in the appendix of this presentation. Moving to Slide 22 and the data center opportunity. Our portfolio has strong overlap with Germany's main data center markets, mainly Frankfurt, Berlin, NRW and Munich. By entering this rapidly growing asset class, we're aiming to unlock substantial value from our portfolio and participate in one of the fastest-growing asset class of the real estate market. On Slide 23, we outlined our strategy and the progress we have made so far. Our approach is twofold. In the short term, our hybrid network strategy focuses on partial conversions of commercial assets usage into edge or colocation data centers. Such edge and colocations will benefit from low latency and do not require high amount of power as hyperscalers. We expect the first operating data center in this segment to start operation within approximately 3 years. For the long run, we look to secure the higher energy capacity and full permits for the bigger properties, and as it takes several years to obtain full grid approval for large-scale deployments which would unlock the development potential for such large-scale developments. We are also exploring partnership, which gives us access to additional know-how and which may provide an opportunity to capture the full upside potential along with value chain to raise specific capital in a vehicle that funds the development. In recent periods, we continue to work on the data center strategy, and on this slide outlines the progress we made so far. Our initial analysis resulted in approximately 100 properties that could be suitable for conversion into data centers. From these, we have selected over 10 assets as initial project sites based on strategic and technical criteria and demand. Permits and initial power applications have been submitted for these sites and 6 locations in Berlin have already secured initial power locations, of which 4 are centrally located. Our next steps are to submit new and additional power applications for existing and future selected projects secure additional power and for permitting. Jonas, please continue on the next slide.

Moving to Slide 25, we present our financial results for the first 9 months of 2025. Net rental income totaled EUR 886 million, slightly higher compared to EUR 883 million in 9 months '24. The growth was a result of like-for-like rental growth, partially offset by the impact of net disposals in the period. Operating and other income, which is mainly composed of recoverable expenses and tenants decreased by 6% year-over-year, where property operating expenses decreased by 4%. Both items were mainly impacted by disposals carried out between the periods. Finance expenses totaled EUR 173 million in 9 months '25, lower by 3% compared to EUR 179 million in the same period of 2024. The decline was a result of our proactive measures such as gross debt repayments and hedging activities, further supported by the downward trend in market interest rate between the periods. This positive impact was partially offset by lower interest earned on our cash position as well as the refinancing impact from higher average rates on the new bonds issued. We reported deferred tax income of EUR 230 million compared to EUR 52 million in the comparable period in '24, mainly due to the onetime impact from the change in the German corporate tax rate effective from 2028, whereby the rate gradually changes from the currently 15% to 10% by 2032. Accordingly, we recorded an impairment of goodwills amounting to EUR 157 million in the period. As the goodwill is mainly attributed to GCPs and TRG deferred access, which were due to positive impact related to changes in the income tax, as mentioned earlier. As EPRA NAV KPIs exclude goodwill, any change in the goodwill balance has no impact on these KPIs. Altogether, profit for the period amounted to EUR 882 million, compared to a loss of EUR 154 million in the first 9 months of 24%. On a per share level, net profit amounted to EUR 0.49. On Slide 26, we present our adjusted EBITDA and FFO results. Adjusted EBITDA in 9 months 25 amounts to EUR 750 million, slightly lower compared to the same period in '24. This was mainly due to the impact from net disposals in the period and lower contribution from JVs, partially offset by strong operational growth and improved operational efficiencies. Adjusted EBITDA before JVs increased slightly to EUR 711 million. FFO I amounted to EUR 221 million, decreasing by 6% compared to EUR 236 million in the comparable period of '24. Here, the higher perpetual notes of divisions, which are mitigated going forward as a result of the perpetual note refinancing and buyback conducted in Q4 '25, and lower JV contributions had a negative impact. Per share FFO 1 amount to EUR 0.20 compared to EUR 0.22 per share in the same period of '24. FFO II Which includes the disposal gain of our total costs amount to EUR 271 million, higher year-on-year due to higher results from disposals, partially offset by the lower FFO on Slide 28. Turning to Slide 28, we highlight our EPRA NAV metrics. EPRA NAV amounted to EUR 10.4 billion, increasing by 4% compared to December '24. EPRA NTA amounts to EUR 8.5 billion or EUR 7.8 per share as of September '25, increasing by 5% compared to December '24. This increase in EPRA NAV metrics were mainly driven by the positive property valuations recorded in operational profits However, for EPRA NAV and EPRA NTA, the positive impact from the onetime deferred tax income was offset by the associated reduction in deferred tax liabilities adjustment. On Slide 29, we present our maturity profile, which was extended as a result of recent issuances and buybacks. Our average debt maturities were 3.6 years as of September which extends to 4.5 years if we account for our liquidity position and recent capital market activities. We continue to maintain facial flexibility as we have strong access to different sources of financing from capital markets support our strong credit rating of BBB S&P, a high amount of unencumbered assets with diverse asset types and locations and strong mortgage banking relationships as well as ongoing RCF in the amount of EUR 0.9 billion, with an average maturity in the second half of '28. We will retain a high hedging ratio of 97% and kept the cost of debt low at 2.2% albeit increasing slightly as a result of recent refinancing impacts. In Q3 '25, we tapped our Series 41 bond before EUR 150 million. Additionally, after the period, we issued approximately EUR 1.2 billion of bonds across 3 different instruments of which a majority constituted the new Series 42 with a low group rate of 3.25%. Slow coupon marks a material improvement from 4.8% in the issuance a year earlier. Additionally, we issued a new EUR 150 million CHF bond at a coupon of 1.5%, improving from the 1.72% coupon CHF1 issued in 2019. The significant reduction in the margin cost of debt is a combined result of our improved financial position, acknowledge our strong investor base as well as improved base rates. On Slide 30, we present an overview of our strong financial profile and debt metrics, all of which have improved in December '24. LTV decreased to 41%, mainly as a result of both net disposals and positive proper LTV valuations in the period. LTV increased slightly compared to June mainly due to the FX impact related to our U.K. portfolio and investments during the period. In addition, we continue to maintain a large balance of unencumbered investment property, which amounts to EUR 17.1 billion or 70% of rental income. Our ICR was 4.1x, improving from 4x in 9 months 24 and net debt to EBITDA, 10.7x in '25, improving from 11x in 9 months '24. Lastly, on Slide 32, we reiterate our full year guidance for 25. We continue to guide for FFO I in the range of EUR 280 million to EUR 310 million, which translates to EUR 0.26 to EUR 0.28 per share. We expect positive impact from continued rental growth, hotel repositionings and improved operational efficiencies. On the other hand, we expect some offsetting effects from the full year impact from disposals closed in '24 and '25, higher coupons on potential notes compared to '24 as well as reduced interest income on our cash balances and refinancing of current cost of debt. It should be noted that as a result of the recent perpetual notes transaction, perpetual coupon payments are expected to reduce only slightly quarter-on-quarter in Q4 '25 and reduced materially by approximately EUR 50 million on an annualized basis going forward. This impact is partially offset by a slightly higher fund expense result of senior conditions in Q4 '25. As usual, we will provide an update on our 2016 guidance as part of our full year '25 results in March.

This concludes our presentation. As always, you can find further material in our appendix. With that, we would like to start the Q&A. Before we invite your direct telephone questions, we would like to answer questions that we have received by e-mail prior to this call. For simplicity reasons, the team has taken liberty to group similar questions in order to answer as many questions as possible. Allow me now to read out this question. Could you provide an update on your views regarding external growth? What do you expect the impact to be on your leverage?

Thanks. We continue to view our position in the current market as positive to capitalize on accretive growth opportunities. Currently, we see capital recycling as a very accretive source to fund growth. Therefore, we expect to continue disposing properties who are looking into acquire a below market value -- sorry, we expect to continue disposing properties. We're looking to acquire below market value with high upside potential in order to capture the accretive spread between the disposal and acquisition price. We see an asymmetric market recovery with smaller players facing financial difficulties where large players are recovering and are benefiting from increasing and strong access to capital. In this context, we view ourselves as well positioned to capture attractive opportunities due to our established deal sourcing network, our solid reputation as a preferred market buyer and our liquidity. We have EUR 600 million of assets held for sale, of which a quarter is already signed. We are currently reviewing an acquisition pipeline of several hundred million euros comparing comprising preliminary of residential and hotel properties. Looking at the impact on leverage as we mainly look to acquire our true capital recycling, it should not have a significant impact on leverage. That being said, timing of transaction could impact the leverage metrics between periods. On the other hand, the uplift in EBITDA from buying properties at high yields would be supportive for FFO and ICR.

Thank you, Barak. Could you provide more details on your rent like-for-like performance?

Sure. We achieved like-for-like rental growth of 3.1% across the portfolio with the strongest performance in Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg, London and Leipzig. The majority of our portfolio with around 60% of residential and hotel properties are performing very well. Our residential portfolio continued to benefit from the expanding supply-demand imbalance in key metropolitan areas, delivering solid growth of 3.9%. The wholesale portfolio recorded a strong growth of 4.2%, supported by the repositioning measures completed in recent periods, which are supporting rental growth as well as in the next periods. Offices recorded 1.5% growth, primarily driven by the indexation. Looking ahead, we expect this positive trend to continue, particularly in the whole term residential segment underpinned by favorable market fundamentals. Office rental growth should remain slightly positive in the near term, driven by indexation impacted by slight headwinds on vacancy. However, we do see further upside as economic conditions improve on the back of the German physical stimulus. Overall, for the portfolio, we will continue to unlock value through positioning and selected conversions and anticipate overall like-for-like rental growth of 2% to 3% in 2025.

Thank you, Timothy. Could you provide an update on the recent performance of your hotel portfolio? What is your outlook for this asset class over the upcoming period?

Our hotel portfolio continues to demonstrate strong performance, driven by a favorable market environment and targeted repositioning of selected assets. This is reflected in the 4.2% like-for-like rental growth as of September 2025. The European hospitality sector entered 2025 with solid momentum with robust and fundamentally stable demand. Looking ahead, we expect demand to remain robust, supporting the operations of our tenants. Our strategy of repositioning combined with contractual rent step-ups and indexation position us well for continued tenant growth. Given the resilience and attractiveness of this segment, hotels remain a core strategic focus for us, and we aim to further expand this asset class internally and externally.

Thank you, Frank. How do you view the current leasing activity and occupancy levels within your office portfolio? Are you considering further conversions of office properties?

Leasing activity during the first 9 months of 2025 was in line with recent years' average. Demand continues to be soft, primarily due to Germany's economy, which is the key driver of office demand. However, we are seeing encouraging signs with economic sentiment improving and government stimulus measures supporting a potential recovery. The significant stimulus package announced by the German government will support economic growth in the coming years. As the economy strengthens, we expect office demand to follow suit. Meanwhile, new office supplies remain constrained due to low construction activity and conversions to alternative users, creating a favorable long-term supply-demand dynamic. On a like-for-like basis, in-place rent increases, driven mainly by indexation have supported positive rental growth of 1.5%. In the first 9 months of 2025, we extended 110,000 square meter of leases with an average WALT of 4.5 years and an in-place rent of EUR 15 per square meter, representing 2% above previous rents. We also signed new leases for 100,000 square meter with a WALT of 8 years and an in-place rent of EUR 14.2 per square meter, 3% above the previous levels. As to conversions, we continue to identify office assets suitable for conversion to commercial residential. We are also analyzing conversion potential supported by the new Bau-Turbo regulation, which is simplifying change of use processes. Our diverse operational expertise enables us to optimize portfolio use and we evaluate the best and most value-accretive use. Several office to service apartment conversions have been signed and are expected to generate rent starting in 2026 and additional properties under review and analysis. Additionally, we actively evaluate data center opportunities and select locations to unlock additional value.

Thank you, Timothy. How do you assess your current liquidity position? How do you intend to deploy your cash?

We have a strong liquidity position, which has been further supported by recent capital market transactions. In past periods, our strong cash position was an important factor in navigating market volatility successfully. However, the ongoing improvement in market conditions point to lower needed levels of excess cash. The repayment of debt through the scheduled maturity for as part of liability management exercises continues to be our main focus, and we may also deploy cash to pursue accretive acquisitions if we see the opportunity. This is reflected in the first 9 months where we deployed cash to reduce gross debt by EUR 1.1 billion. The strong investment demand, both in our bonds and perpetual notes issuances further underscore the company's ability to obtain funds at competitive rates also reflected in the increasing spreads for our instruments in the market. As always, we will seek to maintain our conservative financial position while capitalizing external growth as part of the capital recycling. Our lower leverage metrics and headroom to credits and covenant ratios provide us the ability to execute our disciplined acquisition strategy from a strong position.

Thank you, Jonas. Could you provide an update on your disposal progress? What is your disposal strategy going forward?

Across the first 9 months of '25, we signed approximately EUR 350 million of disposals. During the same period, we closed approximately EUR 460 million of disposals, consisting of 44% offices, 32% residential, 10% hotels and 14% across development and remaining asset class types. Disposal locations, including Berlin, Hanover, Frankfurt, Bremen as well as noncore and other locations. Close disposal were conducted at book values and multiple of 20 times. Going forward, our strategy is to continue pushing targeted disposals that enable capital recycling, whereby lower-yielding disposals are used to fund acquisitions of attractive higher-yielding opportunities while maintaining a conservative balance sheet. Specifically, we plan on focusing on disposing the remaining held for sale portfolio and select noncore properties and development rights. Consistent with our approach in previous years, external growth will remain opportunistic. We will engage in transactions that meet our strict acquisition criteria and create accretive growth.

Thank you, Barak. Could you provide some more details on your current valuations and expectations for valuation results for the upcoming periods?

We conducted a full external valuation of our portfolio as part of our H1 report, and we will carry out another revaluation as part of our annual report. The positive revaluation results in H1 '25 were primarily driven by strong operational growth, supported by recovering transaction market and lower financing costs. Looking ahead, we expect organic value growth to continue, reflecting the underlying operational performance of the portfolio. While we do not anticipate significant yield compression in the near term, this could become an additional value driver of long-term operational growth over the medium term potentially towards 2027. This will come on the back of increasing transaction volumes, low supply in the market and improved financing conditions.

Thank you, Jonas. For your data center plans, will you convert existing commercial space to acquire new assets. What progress have you made so far? How do permitting and conversion challenges compared to office to residential project?

We are currently reviewing the potential of conversion into data centers within our existing portfolio which could create significant upside. And the fact that we have strong overlapping portfolio with data center markets gives us an advantage and higher upside compared to other players. The main challenge is securing sufficient energy capacity, particularly in markets where grid of ability is limited. To address this, we are following a dual-track approach, obtaining parcel capacity for edge or colocation data centers in the near term while working towards full permitting and higher energy allocations over the medium to long term, a process expected to take 3 to 7 years. To date, we have selected over 10 assets at initial project sites and have made progress with permit applications and initial power requests. Our next step focused on securing additional capacity and completing the permitting process while continuing to review the pipeline. We are discussing also to partner up with leading market players with a proven track record in developing data centers to support the potential execution. This could save us time, reduce CapEx requirements and enable us to build scale. By comparison, office to service apartment conversions are significantly less complex. This project typically fall under the same zoning category and acquire only a standard building permit, which can usually be obtained within 6 to 12 months. The recently introduced value regulation further simplifies change-of-use processes and shorten time lines, enabling more time-efficient transformation and potentially allowing for more conversion opportunities, including full change of use to regular residential. We review the potential of each asset on a case-by-case basis, selecting the most fitting and value supportive use. This is the advantage of having a diversified portfolio and keep knowledge of all major asset sides.

Thank you, Barak. Do you expect to distribute dividends in 2026 will you change your payout ratio? And would you consider a share buyback instead of cash dividend?

In 2025 and over past periods, we have undertaken a compressive range of measures to strengthen our financial position. At the same time, we have continued to see market recovery, stabilization evaluations, increased transaction volumes and better economic outlook. In light of these developments, we feel confident about resuming paying dividends next year. Prior to the AGM next year, we will assess payment payout ratio, which is 75% of FFO 1 per share and the method of distribution, whether in form of cash or buyback or a combination of both.

Thank you, Frank. Could you comment on your latest guidance for 2025? Do you expect any changes after your perpetual notes transaction? What are your expectations for 2026?

We reaffirm our guidance issued in March, protecting F1 in the range of EUR 280 million to EUR 310 million, equivalent to EUR 0.26 to EUR 0.28 per share. Our strong results for the 9 months '25 period was fully aligned with expectations and guidance. FFO I is expected to benefit from solid operational results, including like-for-like rental growth of 2% to 3%, supported by continued strength in the eventual portfolio and gains from hotel reopenings and repositioning. These positives will be partly offset by the full year impact of '24 disposals and additional disposals conducted and planned in '25. Our current guidance does not assume any material acquisitions. Interest expenses are expected to increase slightly in Q4 due to the liability management exercise we executed. But perpetual note coupons will reduce slightly in Q4 '25 as a result of perpetual notes buyback. We will publish guidance for 2026 and March next year, together with our full year '25 results. The main drivers of the '26 guidance will be continued EBITDA growth, mainly driven by further internal growth. We expect finance expense to increase as a result of refinancing of upcoming debt maturities, which will be partially mitigated by additional revenue from like-for-like at the hotels that rents and conversion projects. Regarding perpetual notes, our recent transaction is highly supportive, and we expect the positive impact of the lower coupons transaction to offset the impact from higher coupons related to the notes with the first call date in '26. We expect to get more clarity on these moving pieces over the next months and we'll give the detailed update with the full year results.

Thank you, Jonas. Could you please confirm, the lower contribution from JVs in the EBITDA is related to a timing difference?

The contribution from JVs declined as the payouts with certain investments are not linear. Some of our positions reduced the dividends compared to last year, which were higher than usual. This year's level is in the same range as in 2023 period and we conservatively expect this amount to remain around this level going forward.

Thank you, Tim. Those were the questions that we received prior to this call. We can now start the open session for your questions. [Operator Instructions]. The first question comes from the line of Neeraj Kumar from Barclays.

I have 3 questions with regards to hybrids. I'll go on even. So firstly, is it fair to say that on a stand-alone basis, the hybrid LME exercise leads to higher PLD as the bonds were redeemed at premium on average the new hybrid issue at discount? My second question is, can you help us understand your intentions for the refinancing of non-core '26 hybrids given the improvement in capital markets? Do you still see exchange as a potential? Or do you think the pain coal and replacement of the hybrid is a base case scenario if the current market environment prevails in 2026. And lastly, you're currently at around 15% limit from S&P after the reduction from the recent LME. Do you intend to reduce the hybrid cap stack even further under the 10% S&P limit as the recent transaction was excluded from those rules?

First of all, thank you very much for your questions. It's great to have you on the call. In terms of your question, we expect an immaterial negative impact on EPRA LTV from this transaction on a stand-alone basis. In terms of your second question, on the strategy of this transaction, I think, as we also explained, is really to manage the coupons related to our perpetual notes. That's why we targeted certain instruments. And the '26, as you know, have resets -- I think Q2 next year. So still some time to go. So predominantly, the focus here on the recouponing on managing the coupon expenses. And that's why we press targeted the other notes. In terms of your last questions on the 15%, I think this reduction of EUR 500 million is a very good reduction in hybrid stack, really helps us to manage our hybrid expenses going forward. Overall, we're looking here from a steel impact but a reduction was EUR 5 million, which would offset potentially the additional expenses related to 2x. So from that point of view, I think we're happy with the reduction we've made so far.

The next question comes from the line of Manuel Martin from ODDO BHF.

Three questions from my side, please. First question is on the property valuations. Could you give us a bit more detailed outlook on what you might expect in the second half of the year? Would it be something maybe similar to the first half of the year in terms of valuation result? Maybe you could give us some hints there. This would be the first question. Second question, it's on the FFO guidance of 10 to 25. Given that Q3 seems to be a bit slow in terms of FFO 1 also due to joint venture contributions. Do you have an idea where you will come out in the range of your guidance rather at the lower end or midpoint, do you expect JVs to contribute significantly in the fourth quarter? Maybe you could elaborate a bit on that, please? And my third question is on the office portfolio. The vacancy rates went slightly up to 12.9%. Maybe you can give us some color on which part of the portfolio, which kind of assets were the cause of this? And do you expect this trend to continue in because I mean the office market seems not to be very easy for the time being. These are my 3 questions, please.

Manuel, thanks for your questions. Your first question on the valuation. So we don't have -- we're in the process. We don't have the numbers clearly yet. We already get some indication that valuations as we see in H1, moving along the operational performance. So some of that operational performance has translated into valuation growth. we see clearly when we publish our full year financials more details on that. On the FFO guidance, yes, I mean, if you look at the projection, how it's going, you see that we are around to mid-level of the guidance around the mid level. So we see that as a realistic level that we can land in for the full year. The office vacancy, there was a slight uptick, correct, looked at normal part here, we have the maturity schedule of the leases, you see that. So some part of the of the leases are maturing every year. The majority were able to pull on for the tenants who are leaving, we're also able to find new tenants but not always necessarily. So this was not any specific location or property. This is just generally across the board. Next question and briefly, before I move on to the next question, let me as just following up what you asked you before time for the '26 is. I think our base case is a new hybrid and replacement.

We now have a question from the line of Jonathan Kownator from Goldman Sachs.

So a few, if I may. Just to come back to this JV point. The contribution in 2023 was about EUR 43.2 million was EUR 49.9 million in 2024. So is the EUR 43 million -- EUR 43.2 million, a good basis to think about going forward? That's the first question, please. Second question, on the vacancy that you're showing or the occupancy as you prefer, just trying to understand if your reconversion project and your development projects are excluded from the vacancy or included in the vacancy at this stage. And yes, that will be it.

Jonathan, thanks for your questions. Yes, your projection for the JV is -- look, again, it's not linear, but the EUR 40 million is realistic to see. So yes, last year was a little bit of an outlay, but the 2023 numbers that you're referring to you are more going forward, we will see more realistic. The vacancy, so some of the vacancy are in the development and other assets which are vacant, which we also plan to develop our -- in the portfolio line clearly.

The next question comes from the line of Paul May from Barclays.

Are you able to provide the multiple yield on leased offices that you sold to if you saw any manner you can remove those, just to get a sense of where the office yields are and another one question -- a question.

Sorry, Paul, can you please repeat them? It was unfortunately quite difficult to understand. If we appreciate you speak slightly. Thank you.

Sure. So first one is, if you're able to provide the multiple or yield on leased offices that you sold, so excluding any vacant offices, just to get a sense of where offices are being disposed at on either a multiple year basis? And then I've got a follow-up question on your answer.

Thanks. Thanks for being on the call. I'm good to have you here. And I think in terms of the disposals of offices, yes, big part of the disposal we did in the first 9 months was in relation 2 offices. However, into that portfolio, clearly, there's a big utilization factor where this office are located, a big impact on the yield. So difficult to give you an average number here.

Okay. I'm sorry, you gave -- you give an average for all disposals -- sorry, why it's not possible to do it for the ops in isolation. But that's fine. In terms of then the valuation of your offices, I think we're at 5.2% gross rental yield, which on an NOI basis is in the low 4s actually. Just wondering what gives you confidence that, that is the right valuation of those offices given vacancy rates continue to increase the best assets or theoretically the best assets in Germany are valued at higher yields than your yields according to CBRE. So I just wondered what gives you confidence that your portfolio with a high vacancy rate is worth more on a yield basis than the market the best assets in the market. If you go to that, that would be great.

Thanks, Paul. We'll come back to your first question. Again, I think it's difficult to give an average value because, again, it's a very diverse amount of disposals to give you a number, we're looking here in the multiple around 21 times.

And about our valuations, again, we reiterate this message. All our assets are externally evaluated by professional bid-outs and why they see this clearly is because our assets are in strong locations with the right fundamentals where market rents are higher, where vacancy rates are low. Clearly, right now, the sluggish economy has an impact on our letting activities, but these assets should be performing according to the local market. And that's why also valued in similar ranges like the local markets where our assets are located. And just now also when we sell the assets also, so on book value, that's again, I think, a validation of the values of our ...

With that, I would like to thank all of you that participated in this call and the questions you raised before and during the call, all the best, and goodbye.