‘80% of the assets would have to be replaced.’

The merger with Gegenbauer has significantly strengthened Apleona in infrastructure facility management. This has a positive effect on integrated contracts. Acquisitions are also driving growth in the building technology sector.

Technical facility management and integrated contracts are the biggest drivers for the German FM market. Apleona CEO Jochen Keysberg is convinced of this and expects growth of 5% to 6% for this sector in 2024. During a visit to Immobilien Zeitung, he said of his company: ‘We always aim to grow slightly above the market.’ Apleona's target of purely organic growth of more than 10% has been achieved.

The merger with Gegenbauer, which was completed in 2023, has made Apleona the strongest facility manager in Germany (see ‘Apleona is the new number 1’, page 1). Last year, turnover in Germany amounted to around €2.75 billion. According to Keysberg, total international sales were around €3.6 billion. ‘This year, we will break the €4 billion mark,’ he predicts.
 

Apleona has recently acquired major international companies as customers. These include the logistics company Fedex. The service provider manages 380 properties for Fedex in 17 European countries from Ireland to Bulgaria, including large distribution centres. ‘Many logistics companies have grown rapidly in recent years and have encountered reliability problems with their properties,’ says Keysberg. If gates or ramps don't work, for example, this can have serious consequences for business. ‘The contracts don't stipulate that we carry out maintenance twice a year. Rather, we have to guarantee availability.’

The situation is similar for large pharmaceutical companies. Technical expertise is particularly important here because the manufacturing processes for medicines are so expensive. Apleona is not responsible for production facilities, but for the production environment. ‘If the temperature drops by 5°C, it can cause millions in damage,’ explains Keysberg.

Thanks to the merger with Gegenbauer, Apleona can now carry out many infrastructure tasks throughout Germany on its own. In addition to cleaning, safety is a particular focus. This is particularly appreciated by customers in ‘critical environments,’ reports Keysberg. ‘Of course, we can better determine quality when we don't have subcontractors.’
 

But ‘technical delivery capability,’ which has traditionally been one of Apleona's strengths, has also been improved thanks to Gegenbauer. Here, a dense network of company-owned locations and employees is crucial for efficiency and flexibility. The merger was prepared over a long period of time, which is now paying off. ‘We haven't lost a single contract as a result of the merger,’ emphasises Keysberg. On the contrary, there has been a lot of positive feedback from customers. For example, contracts have been merged where Apleona and Gegenbauer had provided different partial services for a company at the same locations.

In addition, Apleona has recently made international acquisitions and plans to continue doing so. Keysberg cites two main motivations for this. On the one hand, the aim is to improve delivery capabilities for international customers in Europe. On the other hand, Apleona is striving for market leadership in some countries, similar to Germany. This is the case in Ireland, where the service provider generates sales of around €200 million in technical and integrated FM and is now number one, according to Keysberg.

In Germany, Apleona recently acquired the Diehl Group, which specialises in building technology. ‘We strongly believe that demand for building technology measures will increase enormously in the wake of the decarbonisation of the real estate portfolio,’ says Keysberg. Initially, transparency, monitoring and optimised operations will be the main focus for many customers. This alone will make it possible to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% in the heating, air conditioning and ventilation sector. At the same time, this is where the most CO2 can be saved per euro invested.

This ratio is also relatively good for small investments, such as in smart thermostats. However, further savings will require larger investments, for example in replacing ventilation systems. According to Keysberg, around 80% of the systems in the buildings managed by Apleona are at least 18 years old. They should actually be ‘replaced tomorrow’. That will not happen, ‘but we will approach our customers and make suggestions.’ The service provider has digitally recorded all systems. The data can be used to determine where the main consumers are and what should be replaced first.