Gimv acquires a majority stake in Munich-based Köberl Group, including Fink Gebäudetechnik GmbH & Co. KG and GEMA Gebäudemanagement GmbH & Co. KG. The aim of the partnership is to sustainably further the group’s long-term growth together with the current managing owners, who will remain in their current roles. The focus will be on strengthening its own inhouse services, expanding regionally and driving digitalisation efforts. With Gimv, the Köberl Group will now also be able to reinforce its market position through external growth.

GEMA Gebäudemanagement GmbH & Co. KG together with SGM Süddeutsche Gebäudemanagement GmbH is an innovative and agile specialist, who acts as a one-stop-shop for technical, infrastructural and commercial facility management, in particular for residential and commercial buildings. The unique selling proposition of GEMA Gebäudemanagement is the adaptability and synchronisation of its own processes with the process landscape of clients, specifically tailored to each client’s business needs. This allows for optimal, value-enhancing fulfilment of its contractual obligations. In addition, customers can track all relevant processes and events along the building lifecycle online and in real-time. Fink Gebäudetechnik GmbH & Co. KG is one of Munich’s most renowned providers of technical building services for heating, ventilation and sanitary systems. In addition to a focus on building renovations and conversions, Fink Gebäudetechnik also acts as a technical general contractor. The Köberl Group has long-standing experience in its markets, profound technical competence as well as a strong network of regional and local suppliers and customers.

In recent years, Fink Gebäudetechnik has received several awards for its apprenticeship and training programs, for example the “Erasmus-Grasser-Preis” by the city of Munich, the “Bayerns Best 50” award by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and the “Deichmann-Förderpreis für Integration” at both state and federal level. For its social engagement the company received a Bavarian family entrepreneurs award in 2016. GEMA Gebäudemanagement also received the “Bayerns Best 50” award in 2019. The group will continue to focus on personnel expansion and human resources, including apprenticeship and training programs as well as cooperation with universities.

In addition to expanding into new regional markets, the Köberl Group also plans to strengthen its own inhouse services, drive digitalisation efforts and expand its services portfolio. The aim is to strengthen its position as a full-service provider based on customer-specific concepts in facility management as well as its position in building technical services with a broader but continuing high-quality offering. This will also benefit both employees and customers of the group.

Managing owners Armin and Karl Köberl decided to bring Gimv on board as a financially strong and long-term oriented partner. The investment of Gimv supports the group’s future development, which now also includes acquisitions, long-term personnel growth, but also its potential to optimally meet future requirements of the market. Armin and Karl Köberl will retain a significant minority share and will remain with the group in their current roles as managing owners.

Armin and Karl Köberl, managing owners of Köberl Group, comment: “Our decision to partner with Gimv was very deliberate, because this partnership also allows us to ideally realise our considerations for the group’s future. We are happy to have found an experienced investment firm, which perfectly matches our goals – an orientation towards long-term growth, introducing new services, ensuring quality and creating jobs – without imposing the strict investment holding periods of typical private equity funds. With our continuing mid-market approach, we will continue to meet the demands of our customers in an agile, structured and process-oriented manner. Therefore we will significantly contribute to enhancing the value of the properties managed by us.”

Maja Markovic, responsible for Gimv’s Sustainable Cities platform in the DACH region, adds: “GEMA and Fink have an excellent reputation and position in the growing market for facility management and technical building services. Köberl Group will benefit from increasing requirements regarding building technologies, energy efficiency, cost effectiveness and saving of resources. These themes perfectly fit with our investment thesis on growing sustainability, most notably in the infrastructure, environment and logistics sectors. We are looking forward to our partnership and cooperation with Armin and Karl Köberl to implement the group’s strategic goals.”

This new investment will become part of Gimv’s Sustainable Cities platform, which, in additional to more general B2B services, focuses on sustainability across various sectors. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by competition authorities. No further financial details of the transaction are being published.