EQS-News: Background to BaFin's announcement of April 29, 2024 on the audit order for the half-year financial report 2023 of Gateway Real Estate AG

Background to BaFin's announcement of April 29, 2024 on the audit order for the half-year financial report 2023 of Gateway Real Estate AG

Berlin, May 06, 2024. On April 29, 2024, BaFin published an announcement on the audit of the condensed financial statements as of June 30, 2023 and the associated interim management report of Gateway Real Estate AG (the “Company” – WKN A0JJTG / ISIN DE000A0JJTG7). The subject of the audit is whether a property valued at around EUR 141.5 million as of June 30, 2023 may have been materially overvalued.

The background to the audit is that the company commissioned a new valuation report in the fourth quarter of 2023 at the request of the financing partner in connection with the reorganization of the current financing for its project development in Augsburg. On the basis of a new valuation procedure, the value of this property was approximately EUR 42 million or 30% lower than the value previously reported in accordance with IAS 40 in the audited consolidated financial statements as at December 31, 2022. In relation to the company's entire property portfolio, this corresponds to a write-down of 3.6 %.

The company announced this devaluation immediately in an ad hoc announcement on November 23, 2023 and already disclosed it in its interim statement as at September 30, 2023.

The project development site in Augsburg is currently used in part for commercial and industrial purposes and the company intends to use it primarily for residential purposes. The company has been working on this together with the City of Augsburg for more than three years. The rezoning was approved and the project development goal confirmed with a draft resolution from the city planning office on September 18, 2023 and a city council resolution on October 19, 2023. From an operational perspective, the company believes that project development in Augsburg remains on a positive path.

In the proceedings now initiated, BaFin is exclusively examining whether the impairment announced by the company and made in its interim statement for the third quarter of 2023 should have already been made in the Group's half-year financial report 2023. The company is convinced that it prepared the half-year financial report in accordance with the rules, as there was no reason to recognize an impairment loss at that time. The company is cooperating fully with BaFin in order to clarify the facts and assumes that the indication-based audit can be brought to an amicable conclusion in a constructive and professional dialog.

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