M&A Awards 2019

Acquisition International - 2019 M&A Awards 3 “google” of the property management industry. ‘We are currently in a transition period to optimize our processes and benefit from the economies of scale as market leader,’ he clarifies. ‘For this, we transfer our entire portfolio to a new IT system with integrated processes, such as billing and reporting. The digitization in the Real Estate sector has historically been slow but started to pick up in recent years.’ Marc is aware that clients expect a problem-free process without the need to go to their office. As the world shifts to an online outlook, a holistic IT strategy is indispensable. Interacting with up to thirty external service providers, sourcing targets, entertaining sellers while performing Due Diligence and preparing the heads of internal teams, there are people who would find Marc’s job overwhelming. Yet, Marc takes it all in his stride. ‘Having this responsibility at just 31is like a reward for working 60-80 hours in Investment Banking in London and Amsterdam before,’ he smiles. It’s certainly a reward that has been well-earned! Contact: Marc Feth Company: FONCIA Web Address: https://de.foncia.com/ arc focuses on the consolidation of the German property management market, made up of 22,000 companies of which 80% manage less than 3,000 residential units. He explains ‘It is a challenge to get a holistic picture on the market due its fragmentation, whilst establishing relationships with relevant targets’. At the moment, Marc is in touch with c. 30 potentially interesting targets for the consolidation of the market. Many property management companies are small and run by their founders ranging from their 50s to 70s. They’re looking to sell because they have no succession plans. ‘Sellers have often built up the company and identified themselves for decades with the firm and the employees. Therefore, the sale process can be emotional and requires me to be very sensitive to their feelings and reactions’, Marc illustrates. Being an M&A Manager, therefore, is not just about the buying and selling of a company. As representative of the company absorbing the smaller business, he must consider where synergies can be lifted, e.g. merging offices, and specify how the new structure will look like. Marc uses this to describe the main difference between his work and that of an external M&A advisor. External advisors just want to close the deal and receive their success fee. In contrast, Marc aligns directly with the heads of the different departments to achieve FONCIA’s long term strategy. Handling multiple projects with various internal and external teams make the work of FONICA’s M&A manager quite the challenge, ‘though an exciting one‘, he laughs. In a continually changing market, smaller businesses struggle to keep up with new regulations such as data protection laws and more complex reporting. Therefore, the market consolidation will continue. ‘At the same time, smaller properties with less than 10 units will find it more difficult to find a property manager. These objects generate too many expenses for the fees charged.’ Processes must be optimized, ‘many companies are still paper heavy and unable to provide data/reporting with their IT systems. It is not unusual that I receive big “Leitz” folders with paper information, which then needs to be sorted and scanned. The older client base in connection with a less modern IT infrastructure makes the Due Diligence process more challenging.’ As textbook author in the uprising PropTech (Property Technology) sector, Marc welcomes the efforts of FONCIA to become the new M In a nutshell, FONCIA is Germany’s largest property manager for both private and institutional home owners with around 120.000 units under management. Marc Feth, the in-house corporate development manager, has successfully doubled the size of the company in the last one and a half years. In the light of his award-winning success, we caught up with Marc to find out more about his impressive achievements. M&A Manager of the Year 2019 (Germany) Marc Feth