Katharina Martin and Michael Merkelbach joined forces as Co-Managing Directors of our Asset Management team. The duo, who both previously held senior management roles in the company’s commercial and technical asset management teams respectively, took over the reins from Paul Sattlegger, who will continue to work with our asset management team in an advisory capacity. Together, Katharina and Michael will build on the achievements of the Asset Management team to date, by initiating new processes and developing and implementing our proactive asset management approach centered around its flagship fund series. This approach focuses on real estate development projects capable of delivering long-term added value through tailored asset management concepts.
“In Katharina and Michael, we’re thrilled to have found an energetic and experienced management team from within our own ranks, who understand our business, our strategy, and our market inside out. Together, Katharina and Michael will look to integrate all our asset management activities across our entire portfolio and translate them into a proactive asset management approach which is central to the success of our value-add strategies. This new approach allows us to be more targeted in positioning our real estate projects, which automatically increases our potential to add value and generate greater returns. Right from the point of purchase, Katharina and Michael will work closely with the investment, ESG, and finance teams to ensure that our ESG strategy is implemented across all stages of the value chain,” explained Philipp Horsthemke, Founding Partner.
Katharina has many years’ experience working with mixed-use real estate and shopping centers, with a focus on planning and implementation of refurbishment and repositioning projects. Before joining Coros, she was asset manager for a real estate portfolio at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. She has an MSc from Vienna University of Economics and Business and a CEMS Master in International Management.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Michael and pooling our knowledge from our different backgrounds. We’ve worked together before and complement each other well, so I’m very excited to build an even stronger team together,” said Katharina Martin, Co-Managing Director Asset Management. “In recent years, the asset management world has become more strategic and complex – but also more exciting. That’s why it’s so important to take a whole-team approach to asset management and work closely with the other teams within Coros.”
Michael comes to the role with a wealth of project development and project management experience, as both a company founder and entrepreneur in an international context. For many years, his big focus has been high-end retail projects and office and residential properties in the Benelux countries, Spain, Paris, and, since 2022, Berlin. The implementation of ESG strategies has played a vital role in these projects, including the double-platinum certified (LEED, WELL) Vizcaja12 project which he headed up for Coros in Madrid.
“At Coros, I have the opportunity to combine my experience in the areas of design and refurbishment, with my knowledge of ESG strategies and my project management skills. I understand Coros and I identify with our corporate values and approach,” said Michael Merkelbach, Co-Managing Director Asset Management.
We recently launched the latest iteration of our flagship fund series. This new fund will be used primarily to invest in asset classes in Germany that demonstrate long-term growth potential, in particular refurbishment and retrofitting projects for dysfunctional properties and quarters in Munich and Berlin. The job of the new Co-Managing Directors will be to oversee any future projects launched under the new Fund III, and also see any ongoing Fund I and Fund II projects through to successful completion.
