ABOUT US
Established in 2007 and headquartered in Berlin, BATO Group has a long-term track record in delivering superior risk-adjusted real estate investment returns to institutional investors, family offices and high net-worth individual investors. We also manage the proprietary funds of our principals, co-investing alongside our partners and making standalone real estate principal investments.
BATO Group is active in the commercial, residential and the logistics real estate markets in Berlin, Germany’s tier one cities and selected European gateway cities.
At BATO Group, we take pride in delivering tailored investment and asset management services to our partners with strong regard to their risk tolerance, return requirements, geographical and sectoral preferences and investment horizons.
Being private and independent, we are not constrained by any complex internal regulations, conflicting mandates or slow decision making. By contrast, we are fast, flexible and always take investment decisions based on individual transaction merits, being guided mainly by its risk-return profile from a micro-perspective and the point in the cycle from a macro perspective.
As active investors and equity partners in all of our projects, we bring our fully integrated local expertise and specialised knowledge from our experienced team and trusted partner network to the investment table.
We work with a wide range of German and international real estate investors, ranging from high net-worth individuals, single and multi-family offices, private equity funds and other institutional investors. We know the varying requirements and approaches of these different investors and can develop a strategy and source the most suitable real estate investments for each investor category.
On the financing side, our well-established network of banks and financial institutions enable BATO Group to ensure an optimal capital structure to maximize equity returns without over-levering the investments.
Over the years, we have built a solid and tested partner network, including architects, technical planners and project managers; legal, tax and financial advisers; marketing and PR consultants and other specialised service providers.
Our reputation and transparency allows us to have an efficient open dialogue with the responsible government authorities both on municipal and city levels when we need to secure planning consent or a building permit.
Berlin is BATO Group’s stronghold. We have the proven ability to navigate Europe’s most dynamic and promising – but equally challenging and often non-transparent – property market. We have a very strong network of partners to source off-market transactions ahead of competition.
Our senior team members also have a solid track record of managing investments and closing transactions in other German tier-1 cities (Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart), but also in selected European gateway cities (e. g. in London, Milan, Rome, Warsaw, Istanbul, Moscow and other). We currently also have footprints in Munich and in London and we are monitoring those markets for a potential entry at the right point in time. In other gateway cities like Lisbon, Paris, Athens, but also Miami and other cities, we have trusted partner networks with local institutional but equally entrepreneurial managers, which enables us to screen selected potential investment opportunities on a global scale.
Our emerging logistic strategy is pan-German and pan-European.
We are generally sector-agnostic, and our skill set allows us to close and manage successful investments in any of the mainstream sectors. The office segment has traditionally a heavy weight in our AUM, but we have done quite a lot of residential multifamily investments, and the senior team has practical international experience in retail, logistics and student-housing transactions.
We also operate across the risk spectrum from core to opportunistic investments, however, we tend to favour the core plus and value-add segments. We tend to avoid complete greenfield ground-up developments, but we like to have development components as part of larger campus projects or heavy refurbishment programmes.
The acquisitions targeted by BATO Group range typically between €25 and €100 million per project. However, due to our wide range of existing partners who have varying investment requirements, we also selectively consider – based on returns, risk and deal certainty – both smaller and larger transactions, including portfolio transactions.
We calibrate our return targets versus the risk profile, investment horizon and leverage of the specific investment, and we would rather under-promise and over-deliver than vice-versa.
We are passionate and knowledgeable about real estate, architecture, urban planning and sustainability – this allows us to think out of the box and see opportunities where other potential buyers fail to do so. Each of our projects normally has a special theme or unique features which set it apart from the competition and make the investment more defensive.
We strongly advocate a vertically integrated model with a strong investment management mindset. We manage the whole lifecycle of the project, including sourcing, all aspects of acquisition process (due diligence, structuring, financing, documentation, closing), pro-active hands-on asset management (including marketing and leasing, refurbishment and (re)development, bank and investor reporting, loan management, etc.) and ultimately the disposal, distribution of profits and unwinding the structure.
We are big believers in alignment of interest. We always start by understanding the goals and requirements of our partners in any given investment, and we aim to co-invest meaningfully in most of our projects and calibrate our incentive structure for the specific project’s business plan. We strongly believe that we should make money if our partners make money.
Our Team
BATO Group boasts a small but very close and efficient team. Our Managing Partners Andrea Barbato and Stefan Naumov lead a very diverse and talented team of further 10 people, including acquisition and asset managers, marketing and finance officers. With 5 nationalities and 7 languages spoken among such a small team, we offer a truly multi-cultural environment and a global mindset.
We are in a rapid growth phase following our most recent exciting acquisitions coupled with a very strong pipeline, so we are now pro-actively looking for more talented real estate professionals to join our team. Watch this space for new position advertisements to come out soon!
Andrea Barbato
Andrea Barbato is the founder and managing director of BATO Group Real Estate Investments GmbH. In 2007, he established the company in Berlin and ever since has operated in this market.
After majoring in Law in Rome, Italy, Andrea started his career in London, working for a real estate fund. This inspired him to expand his horizons and look for other business opportunities in less volatile markets, in order to ensure more stable investments. His attention was drawn to Germany – a country open to foreign investors, with a secure economy and having reliable and transparent political relationships – and particularly to Berlin, a European capital with a stable social and political climate, which had attracted massive government investments for the modernization and redevelopment of its infrastructure. This stability has been well perceived by investors, who not only get an investment but also a peace of mind.
Over the years, Andrea kept growing the business, gradually expanding from smaller “friends and family” club investments to bigger transactions with large family offices, private equity funds and institutional investors. Being an excellent networker, Andrea has grown a unique network of business partners in Berlin, Germany and Italy, through which BATO Group regularly gets access to unique off-market real estate acquisition opportunities thanks to the high speed, reliability of execution and the discreet manner of business, which are all valued by its partners.
Stefan Naumov
Stefan Naumov is Managing Partner of BATO Group since the beginning of 2020 when he joined forces with Andrea Barbato to further expand the investment management business of BATO Group in Germany and in Europe.
Stefan is a senior real estate investment professional with over 20 years of diverse experience in real estate principal investment, development and financing, in both emerging and developed markets. Having worked for a wide variety of institutional and entrepreneurial real estate companies, Stefan has a track record of assembling and managing real estate portfolios and strategies “from the cradle to the grave”. Since 2010 to 2018, Stefan was with GIC Real Estate in London. Working for the real estate investment management subsidiary of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, he was initially responsible for growing its Emerging Europe portfolio and from 2015 he was leading GIC’s efforts to scale up the real estate portfolio in Germany and in particular in Berlin. Stefan left GIC in 2018 to embark on an entrepreneurial path. In this new setting, Stefan initially worked with a large Turkish family office to set up their Berlin operations and acquired three Berlin assets on their behalf, before teaming up with Andrea Barbato to join BATO Group.
Previous real estate roles held by Stefan include Head of Investments of Horus Capital, a large Moscow office developer and investor, Associate Banker with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and an Analyst at Brunswick Capital. Stefan started his career with PwC’s tax structuring team in Moscow.
KEY PROJECTS
BATO Group currently has in excess of €600 million of assets under management. Out of over 120,000 m2 of total net rentable area, ca. 80% is commercial (predominantly offices) and ca. 20% residential. In 2019-2020, BATO Group concluded several high-profile acquisitions and one disposal with a combined transaction value in excess of €200 million.
Gross AuM
Total Net Rentable Area
Target Investment Size
Our Objects
Below we present a selection of BATO Group’s current and past assets under management. It best illustrates our passion for beautiful real estate and highlights our rigorous stock selection based on location, asset quality and unique features which help to preserve and enhance property cash flows and valuations at any point in the cycle.
Berlin-Mitte
Berlin-Mitte
Am Treptower Park 28-30,
Berlin Treptow-Köpenick
Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Berlin Pankow
GET IN TOUCH
Our office is strategically located in the heart of Berlin, a stone’s throw away from Potsdamer Platz, Friedrichstraße and Checkpoint Charlie, which allows us to be within easy reach from all of our portfolio assets in Berlin.
General Contact
BATO Group Real Estate Investments GmbH
Mauerstraße 76
10117 Berlin
Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 30 339 359 40
Fax: +49 (0) 30 339 359 51
Mail: info@batogroup.com
WHAT’S NEW
Navigating Economic Uncertainty: Berlin's Economic Performance in the First Half of 2023
Berlin, the vibrant capital of Germany, has long been a hub of economic activity and innovation. However, the first half of 2023 presented a challenging economic landscape for the city, mirroring broader trends across Germany and Europe. Despite these challenges, Berlin's economy showed signs of resilience, with certain sectors demonstrating strength and potential for future growth.
Berlin´s Office Leasing Market in 2023: Challenges and Outlook
With a growing population, a thriving startup scene, and a strategic location in the heart of Europe Berlin has emerged as a significant hub for businesses and entrepreneurs. Office leasing activity in Berlin has been dynamic in the last decade, but has experienced a weak performance since the beginning of 2023 influenced by various economic and social factors. Nonetheless, rental growth driven by structural trends in the market is expected to remain strong in the medium term.
Berlin´s new Coalition commences work
Following the February 2023 election in Berlin, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Conservatives (CDU) have been working to form a coalition government. After seven weeks of negotiations a coalition agreement has been reached to govern the state of Berlin.
Berlin´s Economic Growth 2022
The Berlin economy seems to have coped well with 2022, a year still marked by crises. The GDP growth in the German capital was above the national average. Key important drivers were the digital sector as well as tourism and hospitality.