Former Simcor shareholder invests 2m euros in homes in Berlin

Mihai Voiculescu, former chairman and shareholder in Simcor construction materials producer of Oradea, has so far invested 2m euros to acquire around 60 apartments in two blocks of Berlin, using proceeds he got from the sale of his stake in Simcor. The businessman plans to buy a block of apartments by yearend in order to own 100 apartments. “The German real estate market is more stable at this moment, and all apartments are now rented out. I tried to invest in Bucharest, too, where I bought 10 apartments, but I stopped as the crisis emerged and they were no longer profitable,” Voiculescu says. He owned, together with Stache Lutz, Simcor group that was sold in 2008 to Poland’s Enterprise Investors group. Voiculescu, who was a minority shareholder, chose not to disclose the sum he got in the wake of Simcor sale. The businessman says Berlin’s housing market is more appealing because 80% of inhabitants live in rented housing units, unlike in Bucharest, where 85-90% are owners. Berlin apartments are rented at a price of 7 euros/sqm and have areas of between 30 and 70 square metres.