Service 10 · Advisory

Before every acquisition
there should be a concept.
Not just a price.

We deliver due diligence, market analyses and viable usage concepts — for buyers who want to know what they are buying, and for sellers who want to achieve their best price.

What it is about

Whoever buys a retail property buys its concept too.

A purchase price is the consequence of an assumption: that the property will still work in five years. Anyone who does not test this assumption is buying the assumption — not the property. That is exactly where the mistakes are made that haunt an investor for ten years.

That is why we examine retail properties not only commercially — but operationally. How does the tenant mix actually work? Which OCR levels are sustainable, which are on the edge? Which investments are unavoidable over the next five years? Which urban-planning shifts are looming?

What we deliver: an assessment with clear recommendations — buy, do not buy, or buy under the following conditions. Plus a usage concept for the next five years that supports the purchase price.

What we deliver in concrete terms

Six building blocks. One question: does the property support its purchase price?

We deliver a complete operational due diligence — complementing the legal and technical DD provided by other advisors.

01

Urban-planning analysis

Where does the property sit in the urban fabric? Which traffic flows, which competitor locations, which municipal planning decisions will affect it over the next ten years? We deliver a location assessment that includes municipal policy.

02

Micro- and macro-analysis

Catchment area, purchasing power, population development, competing properties — we systematically analyze what the property can achieve based on its location. Without this analysis, every rent assumption is speculation.

03

Tenant mix and OCR assessment

Which tenants are sustainable, which are wobbling? Which leases are expensive, which are favorable? We evaluate the tenant mix by sustainability, not by lease term — and deliver a risk assessment per tenant.

04

Sustainable concept development

From the analysis follows the concept: how should the property be positioned in five years? Which uses should be added, which reduced? What investments are required? We deliver a plan, not just an evaluation.

05

Mall flow and floor planning

How are the spaces cut? Where are the dead zones, where the power zones? Which conversions would raise value? We bring operational experience to the floor-plan assessment — something an architect alone cannot deliver.

06

Investment and profitability calculation

What does the concept cost to deliver? What does it bring in NOI and market value? We model scenarios — best case, base case, worst case — and deliver an honest assessment of return expectations.

"A good acquisition due diligence answers not only the questions the buyer asked. But also those they should have asked."

— Our position
Why CM

Three principles of our acquisition due diligence.

Operational depth

We examine retail properties from the perspective of center managers and leasing professionals — not from the perspective of valuation algorithms. That is the difference between a DD that holds, and one that simply ticks the box.

Clear recommendation

We do not deliver a collection of options for you to choose from. We deliver a reasoned recommendation — and stand by it. Even when it is uncomfortable.

Concept rather than appraisal

Others deliver appraisals. We deliver concepts. What would we do if the property were ours tomorrow? This question forces a clarity that a pure appraisal does not have to deliver.

Dr. Marcus U. Hüttermann
Your contact

Dr. Marcus U. Hüttermann

Advisory & Concept · CM Immobilienmanagement GmbH
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