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More than 55 years of passion for real estate

HISTORY

Hardly any other company has had such a lasting influence on the history of shopping centers in Europe as ECE – but our company has also long been an established player in other asset classes, such as company headquarters, office buildings, logistics centers, hotels, and residential districts. Discover what has been driving us for over half a century. 


1965

Early days

Carefree construction and concentrating on the actual core business - that was what mail order pioneer Werner Otto (1909-2011) always wanted when he set up Otto-Versand in the 1950s and 1960s. However, the reality was very different. Almost every one of his construction projects was associated with a lot of trouble. So Werner Otto made a virtue of necessity and founded his own real estate company in 1965 - ECE. With this company, Otto also developed the first classic malls for the German market.

1974

CONSOLIDATION AND DIVERSIFICATION

Just in time for the oil crisis of 1974/75, we halted our expansion and used the pause in growth for a comprehensive consolidation. The aim was to secure and optimize the existing centers. This task was taken over by Dr. Heinrich Kraft as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ECE in 1974. Kraft completely reorganized the team and used the crisis to take over and complete high-rise developments in Frankfurt am Main that had run into difficulties.

1984

NEW SHOPPING CENTERS IN URBAN AREAS

At the beginning of the 1980s, we returned our focus to the development and realization of malls. While the first centers were primarily built in district centers, we now began developing central inner-city shopping centers - such as the Löhr-Center in Koblenz.

1993

EXPANSION INTO THE NEWLY FORMED GERMAN STATES AND BERLIN

German reunification also opened up new perspectives for us as a company. While the first developers were already building greenfield malls in the new federal states shortly after the fall of the Wall, we pursued a sustainable strategy with well thought-out location concepts. These included the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden in Berlin (now The Playce), the Promenaden at Leipzig Central Station and the Altmarkt-Galerie in Dresden.

2000

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

In 2000, Alexander Otto, son of the company founder Werner Otto, took over as Chairman of the ECE Management Board. He gave the company an international orientation and developed ECE into the European shopping center market leader.  In addition, Alexander Otto acquired stakes in the largest Brazilian shopping center developer and operator Aliansce Sonae and the US shopping center REIT SITE Centers.

2006

SUCCESS IN ALL ASSET CLASSES

The growing activities in other asset classes were bundled in 2006 in the new management area "Office, Traffic, Industries" (now "Work & Live"). 
The portfolio includes large properties such as corporate headquarters, office buildings, industrial buildings, logistics centres, hotels and entire city districts. 
 

2009

START INTO THE HOTEL BUSINESS

With the development of hotel projects in Dresden's city centre and at the new Berlin airport, we entered a further asset class. We are now the third largest hotel developer in Germany. The Otto family also acquired Travel Charme Hotels in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2016 and took a stake in the Ruby Hotels in 2019. 

2010

EXPANSION OF RESIDENTIAL ACTIVITIES

Many shopping centres also have apartments. With the development of the Alstercampus and the Mitte Altona district in Hamburg, we separated our residential activities from the shopping business for the first time. In 2019, we ventured into the UK despite the brexite and started a project development in London, and in 2020 the Otto family acquired 2,100 apartments in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. 

ECE Real Estate Partners, Fonds-Plattform

2011

FUND PLATFORM

The new company ECE Real Estate Partners successfully launched its first shopping center fund in 2011. Its subsidiary in Luxembourg has been a licensed Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) since 2014. ECE Real Estate Partners now manages real estate worth EUR 5.5 billion in several open and closed-end funds.

Digitalisierung, Digital Mall

2016

DIGITIZATION

As the retail sector becomes increasingly digital, the importance of omnichannel platforms is growing. This is why, as part of our digital strategy, we are the first shopping center operator to implement an online product search for goods available at our centers – the “Digital Mall.” Together with the online retailer OTTO, we are also creating a new, never-before-seen cross-channel connection between brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce through our Connected Commerce concept.

2021

ECE BECOMES ECE GROUP

As of January 1, 2021, ECE has reorganized itself as an integrated group in the real estate and investment business. The ECE Group under the leadership of CEO Alexander Otto is responsible for the strategy and management of the entire group. Under it, the two market divisions ECE Marketplaces and ECE Work & Live form independent companies. In addition, the fund company ECE Real Estate Partners acts as an independent, regulated Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM). As a substructure, ECE Group Services provides all services within the group.

2021

Fund platform hotel

Our fund management company ECE Real Estate Partners expands its activities and launches its first hotel fund, the "ECE European Lodging Recovery Fund". The starting property is the building ensemble "Bonvecchiati" in the historic center of Venice. In total, the fund is to invest in eight to ten hotels with a combined volume of around 600 million euros.

2022

Funds-Platform Living

With the "ECE Better Living Europe Fund", the specialized Group company ECE Living is launching its first European residential real estate fund. The focus is on modern build-to-rent properties in European growth cities, including Leeds, Manchester and Copenhagen.