Peper & Söhne ready to invest 32 million euros in Lolland

€32 million or around DKK 238 million. That’s how much Bremen-based Peper & Söhne expects to invest in the ambitious venture Hub 48 Maribo. It is not just a large amount and a big investment, but also the real estate developer’s first international adventure. And it is hardly a surprise that it is the Fehmarn connection that has made all the difference:

A region of the future
Lolland is a future region. Right now, not much is happening here, but when the tunnel opens, it will be a “knudepunkt”(Danish word for hub), says Marco Dibbern, head of acquisitions at Peper & Söhne and also director of the Danish subsidiary, Peper & Söhne ApS – and pronounces “knudepunkt ” with a soft d.

Knudepunkt with soft d
– It’s a new Danish word I’ve just learned, but it perfectly describes what’s happening in the region. In a few years – in 2027-2028 – the large logistics operators will have to establish themselves here. But by then it is too late to invest. So we are taking a risk, but it also gives us a chance, says Marco Dibbern, who otherwise sticks to speaking German.

Added to the program
FemernReport meets Marco Dibbern and his boss, Malte F. Wilkens, who is the CEO of Peper & Söhne, at a construction conference organized by Business Lolland-Falster. The German property developer has been hastily added to the programme, but had the conference been a music festival, Peper & Söhne would have been at the top of the poster.

Properties for €322 million
Peper & Söhne is behind a total of 543,143 square meters of real estate in Germany. Upwards of 200,000 square meters are storage and production halls, upwards of 38,000 square meters are offices, 6,500 square meters of a hotel – and the rest is “the loose ends”. The company represents a total investment portfolio of over 322 million Euros (equivalent to just over DKK 2.4 billion), so the investment in Denmark constitutes ten percent of Peper & Söhne’s total activities. And that’s just the beginning:

– Interesting companies attract interesting companies. And we have good experience and good cooperation with logistics companies, smaller industry and craft companies in Germany, and we would like to attract them to Denmark. It often helps to give a little push, says Marco Dibbern.

Lolland has space and manpower
Why do you choose Lolland and not, for example, Fehmarn?

– You can’t get that kind of land in Fehmarn. There are, of course, building plots, but not at all on that scale. And there is no labor either. In Lolland there is space and manpower. And then it reminds a little of Northern Germany, where we come from. Things are in order, and people are improving their quality of life – and then it’s fun, adds Malte F. Wilkens.