Stories

2023 proved to be one of the most challenging years in the real estate sector in a long time – rising interest rates, far fewer transactions, and valuation corrections were just some of the headline issues. In spite of this, Swiss Prime Site ended the year with a strong operational result. René…

Karin Voigt is Chief Portfolio Officer at Swiss Prime Site, with responsibility for a real estate portfolio of around 180 buildings in some of Switzerland’s top locations. We discussed quality, modern portfolio management, sustainability, digital real estate and the levers that control them. She…

Since 2017, the site in Basel known simply as «Stüggi» to the locals is being completely transformed and repositioned. A former shopping centre has been turned into an urban development for leisure, entertainment, work and – above all – research, development and knowledge transfer. The former dyeing…

Developing property on greenfield sites or repositioning existing plots takes foresight, imagination, a self-starter attitude and a certain amount of courage. Annette Bohr tells us about her work as a Development & Construction Project Manager at Swiss Prime Site Immobilien.

René Zahnd (CEO) and Marcel Kucher (CFO) look back on an eventful 2021 financial year. Despite numerous challenges, positive results were generated and many milestones reached.

After being approved as a fund manager by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Swiss Prime Site Solutions launched its first real estate fund on 1 November 2021. This was reason enough to talk to Maximilian Hoffmann, CIO funds, about the company’s plans and goals.

The general digitalisation of society and the accompanying need for flexible solutions to ensure convenient and modern day-to-day working is having a considerable influence on the real estate market. Property developers like Swiss Prime Site are trying to successfully meet this growing need for…

The topic of the «circular economy» is one of the central components of a business and a promising factor in the success of our company’s sustainable direction.

The real estate industry has been catering to the growing demand for logistics properties for some time now. Over the past ten years, this trend has been further accelerated by greater mobility and general digitalisation in society. But it was not until the start of the current decade that a real…

Andrea Schaller and Macarena Concha work for Swiss Prime Site Solutions. As Communications Manager and Head of Construction respectively, they carry a lot of responsibility and are passionate in pursuing their goals. In the following interview, they talk about how they tackle their work and flourish…

2020 was a year that demanded much from us, both as people and as a community, and presented us with many challenges. In his report on the 2020 financial year, René Zahnd, CEO of Swiss Prime Site, reviews the events of the past year.

The current pandemic has shown that radical change is also sweeping through office settings. It is incumbent on property investors to work with their tenants to come up with sustainable solutions for future office spaces.

As the leading real estate company in Switzerland, Swiss Prime Site is committed to sustainability and assumes responsibility for its actions, the environment and society. An innovation workshop held in September 2020 examined the question of how Swiss Prime Site’s business models could do more to…

Buying and selling real estate requires an entrepreneurial mindset, teamwork and, above all, business management knowledge. Mikaela Carlsson and David Gysin talk about their work as project managers in the Acquisitions & Sales team at Swiss Prime Site Immobilien.

The thicker, the better. Until recently, an expression to that effect was the standard catchphrase in producing annual reports. Every spring numerous publicly listed companies outdid themselves in publishing the most detailed, the most attractive or the longest annual report.

The coronavirus pandemic an immense impact on our economy and society. It is still too early to draw any definitive conclusions, but it is already clear that taking rapid action, and having clean processes, responsible employees and a robust business model offer the best protection against crises.…

Our real estate development YOND in Zurich received the «best architects» gold award in the commercial/industrial buildings category. Furthermore, our completely converted property Schönburg in Berne received a «best architects» award in the residential/apartment building category as well as an…

For approximately 70 years, the City of Zurich has honoured the best buildings, monuments and facilities in the city with the «Award for Good Buildings in the City of Zurich». With this award, the city promotes a diverse and high-quality building culture as well as public awareness and open dialogue…

It has been over two years since Swiss Prime Site issued its first sustainability report. What progress has Switzerland’s leading listed real estate company made, and where does it stand now?

Few industries are more essential to modern society than real estate. One in five jobs is created by or for the sector. Properties determine our field of view whenever we are in urban spaces.

What issues and trends will affect us in the 2020 financial year? In this year's outlook, we discuss economic prospects and the outlook for the real estate industry.

For Swiss Prime Site, innovation is a key driver for sustainable business. By staging innovation workshops, the company aims to anticipate the requirements of stakeholders early on and create added value for them. A report on the most recent innovation workshop on the subject of «changing values».

The mix of financial work, real estate and personal interaction with different stakeholders makes the role of Asset Manager a highly varied one. Phailin Chotirat gives us an insight into his work.

Shareholders’ equity, bonds, convertible bonds, mortgages, payout and LTV ratio, dividend yield: these are all financial instruments or key figures that play an important role for Swiss Prime Site and their stakeholders. Behind every number is an important statement that is also significant in…

Properties should be sustainable and districts vibrant. The cities of the future are not only technologically smart but also more socially cohesive and greener. What role does innovation play in the successful and sustainable development of living environments?

Ever more electric cars can be seen on Swiss roads each year. As an innovative, sustainable real estate firm, Swiss Prime Site wants to provide its customers and tenants with the option of charging their electric vehicles quickly and easily. The company starting by commissioning ten charging…

To take the view from outside means to be open and courageous. The change of perspective rewards us with new ideas and helps us to become better.

The traineeship programme by Swiss Prime Site, established in 2017, gives talented young people an opportunity to experience the exciting world of real estate first-hand. Over the course of the programme, which lasts between 18 months and two years, a small group of promising talents gains in-depth…

We are used to receiving «non-financials» under the label of «sustainability» as a kind of ancillary company report offering a look back over the past financial year. This practice reveals a lot about the significance attributed to non-financials – and demonstrates that companies’ non-financial…

Illustrating a company’s CO₂ footprint requires more than simply measuring its own direct emissions. Greenhouse gases emitted by its suppliers or third parties must also be considered in the overall picture. Urs Baumann, Head of Sustainability & Innovation, explains how it is even possible to…

What are the issues and trends for the real estate industry to watch in 2019 and beyond? Alexandra Bay, Head Group Research at Swiss Prime Site, has analysed and summarised the economic outlook and prospects for the property market.

The nursing field requires extensive and, most importantly, precise documentation. Digital systems like careCoach help ensure a high quality of care for patients. To achieve consistent standards at all its sites, Tertianum is currently introducing this innovative software throughout Switzerland.…

Over 350,000 children in Switzerland suffer from rare diseases. And their families suffer with them. Frank Grossmann, founder of Orphanhealthcare, offers these children and their parents a better quality of life and gives them a new outlook. Swiss Prime Site provides the foundation with space for…

The letter we all get once a year detailing «ancillary cost accounts» is anything but ancillary for Swiss Prime Site Immobilien. It doesn’t just present significant costs for tenants or the company itself, it also reflects the environmental impact, which is of great significance to Swiss Prime Site…

In our age of digitalisation, more and more innovative, digital and technically specialised companies have been choosing Switzerland as a business location. Why? Quite apart from the obvious factors such as taxes, transport infrastructure, demographic trends and the education system, one reason…

Convenience. E-commerce. Logistics. Real estate. Words that at first glance bear little relation to each other. Mention this to Peter Lehmann, CEO of Swiss Prime Site Immobilien, and he starts to discuss it with great enthusiasm. It’s all about consumer habits, customer expectations, economic…

Any company, such as Swiss Prime Site, that makes a commitment to sustainability must also be very specific in its implementation; for instance, a reduction in CO₂ emissions. This is why the real estate development company uses energy from Swiss and European hydropower for its properties. It is…

Morten Jensen has been Head of Facility Management at Jelmoli for more than a quarter of a century. He took us on a tour of the labyrinth of rooms under the historic department store and showed us what’s involved in keeping a business up and running in a building complex of this size.

A budget designer hotel with 400 beds in the heart of Zürich. The news was already making waves before it opened last year. Tourists could hardly wait, the media and hoteliers were curious. How did the first twelve months go? Were expectations met and doubts dispelled? We met with Urs Vogel, the…

Since August, Swiss Prime Site Solutions has had a new CEO – and Anastasius Tschopp has had a new mission. We met the 39-year old from Lucerne for a chat about scale, team sports and his choice to simply hang up his boots.

The Usego building in Olten has already seen a broad spectrum of occupants: a logistics centre, retailers, a coffee roaster. For the residents of Olten, it is very much a part of local history. For Edna Slegers, who works in Development at Swiss Prime Site Immobilien, it is the home of a new…

Giant leaps are being made towards the future in Basel's Stücki Park. Opening of the new «Village in Stücki Park» is planned for the end of October. The Village will form a place for people to meet. We met the management and project directors and were given a guided tour of the unique construction…

A position devoted to «digital transformation» can in the interim be found in nearly every medium-sized organisation, mostly as a member of management. According to CEO Oliver Hofmann, such an organisation would be the wrong approach for Wincasa. Sandro Principe, Head of Transformation, elaborates…

Attention to detail — at Rivington & Sons, you can see it and taste it. Over a perfect cappuccino served by the barista and company manager Dario Tozzi, we soak up the atmosphere of 1920s and 30s New York.

Am 5. Juni 2018 wurde im aufstrebenden Quartier Plan-les-Ouates in Genf der Grundstein für das Projekt «Espace Tourbillon» von Swiss Prime Site Immobilien gelegt. | Swiss Prime Site Immobilien a célébré la pose de la 1ère pierre le 5 juin de ce mois du projet «Espace Tourbillon», dans le quartier en…

Can we spark students' interest in becoming entrepreneurs? That's what the YES (Young Enterprise Switzerland) company program aims to achieve. Participants from all across Switzerland spent one year hard at work, and on 25th–26th May the final was held at Zurich central station. Noémie Sasse, CEO of…

The beautifully presented fruit and vegetables at the Jelmoli FOOD MARKET are a feast for the eye. They are an important element in the atmosphere at what is arguably Zurich’s best gourmet department store. Yet this apparently effortless perfection in fact demands that the entire display be…

René Zahnd, CEO of Swiss Prime Site, believes that a strong core business, vertically integrated business fields and sustainability-oriented management are the keys to success.

«Switzerland needs a land-use planning that focuses more on tomorrow rather than today», thinks Patrik Schellenbauer, Chief Economist of the think tank Avenir Suisse.