Shopping centers as an investment
We create places of experience with investment value
Would you like to invest in shopping centers or further develop your retail property and leverage previously hidden potential? Then you've come to the right place! As an operator and investor, we have been creating places of experience with growth potential for 60 years.
2.800
Lease contracts concluded in 2024
30
billion €
Assets under Management
400
million €
total project construction volume in 2023
3.000
Retail real estate experts
in the company
Stability
Professionally managed malls offer stable long-term return opportunities as investment properties.
Cashflow
We create permanently attractive places of experience with a sustainable cash flow.
Safety
Securing values, increasing values: We steer the properties entrusted to us into a secure future.
3 questions for Alexander Otto, CEO ECE Group and investor
Why shopping centers?
What makes shopping centers interesting for investors?
We are currently operating at a historically low valuation level. This opens up great opportunities. This is because shopping centers offer extremely well diversified cash flows and therefore stable distribution yields due to their diverse tenant and sector structure.
What appreciation potential does shopping center real estate offer?
Compared to other property classes, shopping centers offer more opportunities for active value appreciation. For example, through the tenant mix, the cost structures or the flexibility within the property, which makes it possible to expand or reduce space as needed.
How do shopping centers perform in times of crisis?
In the times of crisis in recent years, shopping centers have once again proven to be very resilient. As an asset class, they offer triple protection against inflation - firstly through the property, i.e. the asset value of the land. Secondly, via the indexed tenancy agreements and thirdly, via the turnover rents. This means that the assets remain stable in value even in the event of high inflation.
Operative Exzellenz
Center as an investment
High level of on-site expertise
Our Center and Leasing Managers know the environment of the properties entrusted to them very well and have excellent local networks.
Excellent property & facility management
Through long-term planning and intelligent use of resources, we keep ancillary costs under control and manage lease contracts securely.
Comprehensive reporting
We have adapted our systems and processes to your requirements and provide you with highly digital and comprehensive reports.
Strong asset and project management
Our asset and project management is one of our top services, as it ensures that all strategic development topics are implemented efficiently and on time.
Excellent sustainability
The ECE ESG product catalog
As investors' ESG strategies are very different, ECE does not offer a one-size-fits-all solution, but provides support with various ESG products. Together with customers, the experts develop a customized strategy with tailored measures for the complex asset class of retail real estate. Always in view: the political requirements on the path to climate neutrality.
ECE map2zero
Customized climate neutrality
Creation of an energy renovation roadmap for shopping centers on behalf of the owners to gradually achieve climate neutrality.
ECE guide2ESG
Well-founded ESG strategy for the property
Valuation of 50 key data points of the property and the entire portfolio with regard to key ESG KPIs and development of an ESG strategy based on this.
Funding management
Management of an energy-efficient refurbishment
including analysis of the potential for subsidies and application for subsidies for the energy-efficient refurbishment of a retail property.
Taxonomy check
Classification according to the EU taxonomy
Systematic valuation of the center with regard to the classification according to the EU taxonomy, according to which financial products and investments may be declared as environmentally sustainable.
Climate risk analysis
Creation of an overview of the physical impacts of climate change on a center with recommendations for risk mitigation.
Find out more about our ESG measures
200 marketplaces in Europe
160 marketplaces in Germany
approx. 18,000 tenants
7 million m² of sales space
200 leasing experts
820,000 m² of leased area in 2024
value add
We find the right solution for every center
We don't just manage your property - we develop it further. We use our expertise to help you leverage hidden potential. From realigning leasing and targeted rebranding to refurbishments - we work with you to find the right solution for your shopping center.
Gastro hotspot with the best prospects
Main-Taunus-Center
Food garden instead of department store: The Main-Taunus-Zentrum in Sulzbach near Frankfurt am Main, one of the largest and highest-turnover shopping centers in Germany, is getting another attraction in place of the demolished Karstadt building. With the new Food-Garden, a new lively and urban center with a high-quality, varied Gastronomy and food offer is being created in the middle of the open-air center designed above on around 7,000 m².
Shopping & Entertainment
Rosengardcentret Denmark
Whether it's laser tag, go-karting or an obstacle course - the first Flip Out in Europe outside the UK opened in October 2023 at Rosengårdcentret in Odense, Denmark. The British company's special indoor adventure park offers pure action and adventure with its numerous attractions, making it a perfect addition to the existing business sectors and tenant mix. For its further expansion in Europe, Flip Out is in close contact with ECE - especially for the German market.
Shopping & Entertainment
Non-Retail in the Zwickau-Arkaden
Creating new reasons to visit, tapping into new target groups and thus achieving a win-win situation for investors, new and existing tenants alike - this is the goal ECE is pursuing with the establishment of location-appropriate non-retail offers. In the Zwickau-Arkaden, ECE has realized serviced apartments with limehome, the leading tender of digitalized design apartments in Europe, in former office space on the second and third floors of an adjacent building.
Subsequent occupancy of large retail spaces
Subsequent occupancy of Galeria Karstadt in the Rathaus-Center Dessau
The former Karstadt space in the Rathaus-Center Dessau has new tenants: MediaMarkt and the successful Swedish concept Rusta. With the successful re-letting of almost 6,000 m², the interdisciplinary team of the ECE Group, consisting of the center team on site, colleagues from Asset Management and Leasing as well as experts from Architecture & Construction, has reached a significant milestone in the revitalization of the former Karstadt space.