Aareon acquires software and consulting company CalCon

Mainz/Munich, 27 November 2019 – Aareon, Europe’s leading provider of systems and consulting services for the property industry and its partners in the digital age, will acquire Munich-based CalCon Group’s business on 1 January 2020. Both companies already have a long-standing partnership as part of a joint marketing and distribution agreement.

Software developer CalCon was originally spun off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP. The company, which currently employs about 80 people, has become the market leader with its USP epiqr®, a process for assessing structual condition of properties in Germany and Austria. CalCon’s solutions make it possible to obtain an efficient, cost-effective and objective assessment of a property’s technical condition and energy efficiency characteristics, and to draw up a reliable maintenance plan and budget. On this basis, the cost of the associated measures is automatically calculated using comprehensive statistical extrapolations.

CalCon is responding to rising market demands – as regards data depth, information compression and the networking of state-of-the-art technologies – with the new generation of its AiBATROS® product. This was developed as a web-based solution and can be run as either a cloud or on-premises solution. The product, which uses a statistical approach to data collection, has now been expanded to include a real-data approach for processing information from third-party sources (e.g. the Internet of things) and big-data capability, in which the computing intelligence for automatic data generation has been substantially improved. Further advantages of the new generation include an open and highly flexible IT structure for different target groups and advanced connectivity.

Currently, around 100 leading property management companies in Germany and Austria deploy CalCon solutions to analyse the condition of the buildings in their portfolios, calculate building costs and plan maintenance. They include housing companies, public-sector enterprises and, increasingly, commercial property companies.

Dr Manfred Alflen, Chairman of the Management Board of Aareon AG: “With the acquisition of the CalCon Group, we are continuing our strategy of achieving profitable international growth. It is also enabling us to obtain an industry-specific solution that broadens our product portfolio and strengthens our market position as a software provider for the property industry. CalCon’s products – which occupy a unique position in the marketplace – complement our Aareon Smart World portfolio across different countries and offer our customers high added value. At the same time, we are leveraging further business potential in both the public sector and commercial property segment in Germany and Austria. CalCon’s solutions will help us access interesting new target groups, such as the public sector and church/non-profit organisations.”

Aareon will make use of CalCon’s solutions to increase the number of processes it covers across the real estate lifecycle – especially as regards predictive maintenance and investment planning based on measurement data – and enhance its position in the fields of technical process management, building information modelling and strategic facility management. Going forward, both companies will profit from the joint development of new solutions. The CalCon Group will continue to serve its customers with its own market presence, and these customers will now be able to utilise the comprehensive array of products offered by Aareon Smart World.

Sigrid Niemeier, CEO of CalCon Deutschland AG: “The CalCon Group is about to take the next step in its growth journey. I am delighted that, under the auspices of Aareon AG, Europe’s market leader, we will now have the opportunity to expand into further markets and exploit many synergies in the housing sector. What makes this deal quite special is that our two companies already have a long-standing partnership, sustainable business strategies, and enormous trust in each other.”

About CalCon

The CalCon Group, which was spun off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP in 1999, comprises CalCon Deutschland AG, CalCon Austria GmbH, epiqr Software GmbH and CalCon Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH. In addition to the marketing, further development and implementation of the software solutions epiqr® and AiBATROS®, the CalCon Group’s portfolio includes professional consultation and services in the fields of business process management, building condition management, strategic development of real-estate portfolios, sustainability and energy-efficiency analyses as well as research and development. The Group’s customer base includes housing industry companies, public-sector institutions, corporates and investors. CalCon’s software solutions have already become industry benchmarks and are used to actively manage real-estate assets valued at some € 240 billion.