Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Investors Press for Profits at Berlin’s Super Return Conference as Protests Grow

Berlin’s housing minister is meeting financiers to address debt burdens in care facilities, proposing measures to rein in rent surges by corporate landlords.

Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • More than 4,500 financial investors controlling over $50 trillion have gathered in Berlin to target healthcare practices, clinics and housing for double-digit returns.
  • Acquisitions have saddled care providers with heavy debts, prompted property sell-offs followed by costly leasebacks and led to staff cuts and wage suppression.
  • Publicly listed firms now control about 15 percent of Berlin’s housing stock, with Blackstone having raised average rents by 22 percent from 2019 to 2023.
  • Protest groups including Finanzwende, Verdi, Deutscher Mieterbund and the Bündnis gegen Mietenwahnsinn have rallied outside conference venues to demand curbs on such investments.
  • SPD housing minister Verena Hubertz met Vonovia’s CEO Rolf Buch and CDU MP Jan-Marco Luczak conferred with Buwog chief Eva Weiß to explore regulatory and funding options.