The short-sellers around Viceroy Research and Fraser Perring were right with their analyses. The struggling German real estate group Adler Group announced a 2022 loss of almost €1.7B due to a devaluation of the real estate portfolio and value adjustment on receivables. In 2021, the company reported a net loss of almost €1.2B. The Adler Group has been under fire from Viceroy Research for several months. Perring considers the Turkish-born Austrian Cevdet Caner to be the beneficial owner.
According to a valuation, the value of the rental portfolio at the end of 2022 was 1.9% below the previous year’s figure of €5.2 billion. The 2022 numbers are unaudited as the company has not yet found a new auditor. Last year, the auditing firm KPMG terminated its mandate due to differences of opinion. A restructuring plan calls for Adler Group to publish an audited annual report for 2022 and 2023 by the end of September 2024.
Adler Group wants to pay off its multi-billion debt without a complete breakup of the group. “We will not do a breakup,” CFO Thomas Echelmeyer said in a conference call. He said the company wants to “keep a Berlin portfolio with a much smaller scale and a much smaller project development portfolio.” He added that this would allow the Adler Group to pay off all its debts. However, the group will also have to cut jobs, he said.
Adler Group had agreed with creditors in November on a financial restructuring, and a London court had confirmed the plan. According to the plan, the Adler Group is not entitled to pay dividends to shareholders for 2022 and beyond, which includes the real estate group Vonovia. The London settlement was a crucial milestone on the road to securing the group’s financial stability, said CEO Thierry Beaudemoulin.
