Exporo

Exporo is a German real-estate crowdfunding and crowdinvesting platform headquartered in Hamburg. Founded in 2014 by Simon Brunke, Björn Maronde, Tim Bütecke and Julian Oertzen, the company was created to give private, self-directed investors digital access to real-estate opportunities that had traditionally been difficult to reach without substantial capital or institutional relationships. Its platform model presents investors with selected property projects and explains the proposed investment structure, expected term and return characteristics before investment decisions are made. The company launched its online platform in December 2014 and developed quickly within Germany’s emerging real-estate crowdfunding sector. One early project, Feldbrunnenstraße, raised €2.1 million from 440 investors after a 14-week campaign in April 2015, making it one of the largest European real-estate crowdfunding financings at that time. By August 2015, the platform was reported to have arranged more than €9 million in funding volume. In October 2017, Exporo was reported to have attracted €61 million in annual investments and to account for approximately 60% of the German real-estate crowdfunding market. Exporo’s offering is organized around two complementary concepts. Exporo Financing allows investors to provide capital for individual real-estate projects, generally through investments with a defined term and fixed interest rate. These transactions are associated with development, construction or other project-financing activities and expose investors to the credit and completion risks of the relevant borrower or project. Exporo Equity is designed around direct participation in selected income-producing properties or property portfolios. Investors receive distributions linked to rental surpluses and may participate in changes in the value of the underlying real estate. This distinction separates shorter-term project financing from longer-term participation in existing property assets. In January 2018, Exporo became the first crowdinvesting platform to issue a bond for one of its real-estate projects, the Mitten in Hannover portfolio. The project comprised four existing buildings containing 54 apartments and five commercial units. The properties were held and managed through an Exporo subsidiary, with the financing described as combining investor capital and a bank loan. The bond structure illustrated the company’s move beyond conventional project crowdfunding toward securities-based participation in existing real estate. Exporo also pursued international expansion. In August 2018, it offered participation in a property project in Vienna’s fifth district, marking its move into another European market. Following a €43 million financing round in June 2019, the company indicated plans to expand particularly into France and the Netherlands. Its Dutch platform was launched in October 2019 and its French site followed in March 2020. The international model emphasized crowdinvesting in existing buildings, with investors acquiring bonds and receiving distributions associated with rental income. The platform’s growth has also highlighted the risks of digitally distributed property investments. In 2019, the developer connected with the Portfolio Marburg and Portfolio Marburg II projects entered insolvency proceedings. Approximately €4 million had been invested in the two projects, which Exporo had rated A and B on a scale ranging from AA to F. The case illustrates that platform ratings and real-estate security do not eliminate borrower-default, project-completion or recovery risks. Exporo therefore operates in a financial-services segment where accessibility and diversification are balanced by the possibility of loss, delayed repayment and illiquidity.

Exporo was established in Hamburg in 2014 by Simon Brunke, Björn Maronde, Tim Bütecke and Julian Oertzen. The founders developed the company as an online platform for real-estate crowdfunding, with the stated purpose of making selected property investments available to private investors through a digital process. The platform went live in December 2014 and was based in Hamburg’s HafenCity as the business expanded. Its early development coincided with growing interest in alternative finance and online investment marketplaces in Germany. In April 2015, the Feldbrunnenstraße project completed a 14-week campaign that raised €2.1 million from 440 investors. The transaction was described as the second-largest real-estate crowdfunding campaign in Europe at that time. By August of the same year, Exporo’s cumulative funding volume was reported to have exceeded €9 million. The platform continued to expand its position in the German market. In October 2017, annual investments arranged through Exporo were reported at €61 million, equivalent to roughly 60% of the German real-estate crowdfunding market. The company’s model focused on self-directed investors rather than institutional capital providers and used a digital interface to present project information and investment opportunities. A significant product development occurred in January 2018, when Exporo became the first crowdinvesting platform to issue a bond for one of its real-estate projects. The Mitten in Hannover project involved four existing buildings with 54 apartments and five commercial units in a central Hannover location. The properties were held and managed by an Exporo subsidiary. The financing combined investor funding with a bank loan, illustrating a structure based on an existing property portfolio rather than only on a conventional construction loan. Exporo began internationalizing its offering in 2018. In August, investors were offered the opportunity to participate in Wohnen im 5. Bezirk, a property project in Vienna’s Margareten district. The company subsequently sought expansion into other European markets. A €43 million financing round completed in June 2019 included Partech and earlier investors such as Eventures, Holtzbrinck Ventures and Heartcore. Following the round, France and the Netherlands were identified as important expansion targets. The Dutch platform launched in October 2019, while the French site opened in March 2020. The international model emphasized crowdinvesting in already existing buildings. Rather than limiting participation to development financing, investors could acquire bonds associated with property assets and receive payments connected to rental income, generally on a quarterly basis. In Germany, the platform likewise distinguished between Exporo Financing, which offered fixed-interest participation in individual real-estate projects, and Exporo Equity, which offered participation in selected property portfolios through rental distributions and potential exposure to property-value changes. The company’s history also demonstrates the risks inherent in online real-estate investment. In November 2019, the developer associated with Portfolio Marburg and Portfolio Marburg II filed for bankruptcy. Approximately €4 million had been invested in the two projects, which had received Exporo ratings of A and B on a scale from AA to F. The event drew attention to default risk in crowdfunded real-estate loans and to the limitations of platform assessments. A property-related investment can still be affected by borrower insolvency, construction or operating problems, delayed repayment and limited liquidity. Exporo’s development therefore combines financial-technology innovation and broader investor access with the credit, valuation and execution risks inherent in the underlying real-estate assets.

• 2020

  French platform opens

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  Exporo launches its French site and extends its crowdinvesting model to France.

• 2019

  Venture financing round

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  Exporo completes a €43 million funding round with Partech and existing investors participating.

• 2019

  Dutch platform launches

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  Exporo launches its Netherlands platform as part of its European expansion.

• 2019

  Portfolio Marburg developer enters bankruptcy

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  The developer of Portfolio Marburg and Portfolio Marburg II files for bankruptcy, affecting approximately €4 million invested through the projects.

• 2018

  First Exporo project bond

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  Exporo introduces a bond for the Mitten in Hannover project.

• 2018

  Expansion into Austria

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  The platform offers participation in a property project in Vienna’s Margareten district.

• 2017

  Exporo reaches a leading position in Germany

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  The company is reported to have arranged €61 million in annual investments and approximately 60% of the German real-estate crowdfunding market.

• 2015

  Feldbrunnenstraße campaign closes

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  The project raises €2.1 million from 440 investors after a 14-week campaign.

• 2014

  Exporo is founded in Hamburg

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  Simon Brunke, Björn Maronde, Tim Bütecke and Julian Oertzen establish the real-estate investment platform.

• 2014

  Online platform launches

  [1]Exporoen.wikipedia.org

  Exporo launches its online platform in December, beginning its digital real-estate crowdfunding operations.

A digital access point for private investors seeking exposure to professionally selected real-estate projects and income-producing properties, positioned between conventional property ownership and institutional real-estate finance.

• Real-estate project financing

  Exporo Financing

  Exporo Financing enables private investors to participate in selected real-estate projects through digitally arranged investments with defined terms and fixed-interest characteristics. The projects may involve development, construction or other forms of property financing. Investors receive access to project information through the platform, but remain exposed to borrower default, construction delays, completion problems and the possibility of losing capital.

• Real-estate equity participation

  Exporo Equity

  Exporo Equity provides participation in selected existing properties or property portfolios. The model is intended to give investors exposure to rental income through distributions from rental surpluses and to changes in the value of the underlying real estate. It differs from shorter-term project financing by linking the investment more directly to operating property assets and their longer-term performance.

• Property-backed bond · 2018

  Mitten in Hannover bond

  Launched in January 2018, this bond was associated with four existing buildings in Hannover containing 54 apartments and five commercial units. The properties were held and managed through an Exporo subsidiary. The financing structure combined investment from platform users with bank lending and represented Exporo’s early move into bond-based crowdinvesting.

• 2019

  Portfolio Marburg developer bankruptcy

  The developer associated with Portfolio Marburg and Portfolio Marburg II filed for bankruptcy in November 2019. Approximately €4 million had been invested in the two projects through Exporo, which had rated them A and B on a scale from AA to F. The case illustrated the default risks of crowdfunded real-estate loans and the fact that platform ratings do not remove investment risk.

  Source

Read more

• 2018Wohnen im 5. Bezirk

  Austria

  Exporo offered investors participation in a property project in Vienna’s Margareten district, representing the platform’s expansion beyond Germany.

  Outcome. The campaign was presented as an international real-estate investment opportunity using Exporo’s crowdinvesting model.

  Source
• 2015Feldbrunnenstraße

  Germany

  Exporo used a 14-week crowdfunding campaign to finance the Feldbrunnenstraße project. The campaign attracted 440 investors and reached a €2.1 million volume.

  Outcome. The financing was completed and was described as one of Europe’s largest real-estate crowdfunding campaigns at the time.

  Source

• 2019

  European expansion after venture financingStrategy

  Background

  After completing a €43 million financing round, Exporo identified additional European markets as a growth opportunity, particularly France and the Netherlands.

  Action taken

  Exporo launched a Dutch platform in October 2019 and a French site in March 2020. The international model focused on crowdinvesting in existing buildings, with investors acquiring bonds and receiving payments associated with rental income.

  Aftermath

  The company extended its brand and platform model into multiple European markets, although the available reference material does not establish the later performance or operating status of those sites.

  Venture financing. €43 million (June 2019)

  Source

• 2018

  Launch of the Mitten in Hannover project bondProduct launch

  Background

  Exporo was developing beyond conventional project crowdfunding and sought to offer private investors access to existing income-producing property through a security-like investment structure.

  Action taken

  The platform launched a bond linked to four existing buildings in Hannover, with 54 apartments and five commercial units. The properties were held and managed by an Exporo subsidiary, and the financing combined investor funding with a bank loan.

  Aftermath

  The launch marked an important shift toward crowdinvesting in existing property portfolios rather than focusing exclusively on individual development or construction projects.

  Source

1. 1Exporoen.wikipedia.org