21 July 2021
Kuoni Mueller & Partner and Julius Bär announced that they have entered into an agreement to acquire 83% of the shares in Kuoni Mueller & Partner, a leading real estate service provider based in Zurich. The two companies will expand their real estate offering in Switzerland.
With this step, Kuoni Mueller & Partner (KM&P) is gaining an additional large network and has the opportunity to develop new service offerings. Julius Baer's real estate focus has so far been mainly on mortgage financing. In order to meet the growing demand for comprehensive real estate solutions in Switzerland, Julius Baer will create a new unit that is entirely dedicated to this important asset class. It will expand its offering from the mortgage financing already offered to cover the entire life cycle of real estate, including advice, brokerage, financing and structuring as well as related services such as investment management, valuation and specialized real estate management.
Kuoni Mueller & Partner will form a central component of Julius Baer's real estate offering and act as Julius Baer's strategic partner in the areas of real estate valuation, management and brokerage of residential real estate – the latter via both traditional and digital channels such as the existing KMP platform Maklando. In the brokerage business for residential real estate, the strong KMP presence in the greater Zurich area is to be expanded to the French-speaking part of Switzerland and market coverage is to be built up in Ticino as well. Julius Baer will continue to work with third-party providers in the real estate sector and will therefore continue to pursue an open architecture approach in the future.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Dominik Weber, currently majority owner and CEO of KM&P, will be responsible for the management and development of the new real estate unit within Julius Baer. He will hold the newly created role of 'Head Real Estate Advisory'. Dominik Weber has many years of extensive experience in various areas of the real estate sector, from investment management to commercial brokerage, especially in Switzerland, but also abroad. He will make a significant contribution to the development of Julius Baer's real estate offering and, as a minority owner, will continue to be Chairman of the Board of Directors of KM&P.
Dominik Weber, CEO of KM&P and designated Head Real Estate Advisory of Julius Baer: "I am proud that we have found a new partner in Julius Baer who will take KM&P to the next level. At the same time, I am pleased to be working at Julius Baer, the leading independent Swiss wealth management group to develop a strong real estate business. This step is based on our experience in the Swiss real estate sector and our large network. It offers me personally a new challenge that is equally beneficial for both sides, Julius Baer and KM&P."
Dieter Enkelmann, Group CFO and Head Finance & Markets Julius Baer, commented: "I warmly welcome all KM&P employees to Julius Baer and I am delighted that in the future we will be able to offer our Swiss and international customers a contemporary offer for their real estate investment needs in Switzerland. With Dominik Weber and his team, we have gained the right experts to design and manage our services together with the KM&P team, the numerous customer advisors and experts involved within our bank. The new offer will benefit everyone involved, especially our customers."
