Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1484365
10 INTERVIEW 17.11.2022 Who are the Von der Heyden Group and what are its activities in Malta? Von der Heyden Group, as a Group, was founded over 33 years ago by a Ger- man national, Sven Von der Heyden, who owns 85%. e other 15% is owned by an Irish family. For the past eight years, the group has been set up in Malta. With its holding structure, finance company and head office based in Malta, establishing business operations on the island were a natural off-shoot considering its inter- national expertise in hospitality, catering and real estate investment. Of course, as a European-based group, our main focus remains Europe. On that point, how do you respond to criticism that you are asking Maltese investors to put their money into foreign investment projects? Especially in the current economic cli- mate, it is never a good strategy to invest all activity in one country, as this poses a concentration risk. Not only has the Group been established in over 20 cit- ies around Europe, but has in the recent years taken steps towards investing in new investment classes like residential, yachting, as well as warehouse logis- tic segments. We have recognised the importance of moving into other asset classes in strategic time to continue this process of diversification. However our core focus remains primarily the A class office segment and hospitality. Over its 33-year history the group in- vested in various sizeable projects within the A class office in Europe. While we would have loved to do something with- in the segment in Malta, we feel that of- fice space segment in Malta is quite sat- urated, so it is not something we look at locally. With our hospitality and catering arm under the Cugó Gran and Ham- mett's Collection brands respectively, Malta has proven to be a lucrative invest- ment opportunity. is was the reason why we operate and decided to acquire the Macina property. We also do not look for standard hotels, but ones that offer a unique and immersively cultur- al experience, where the Macina in the Grand Harbour, with its history, offers e Von der Heyden Group Finance plc has been granted approval for the listing of a new 10-year €35 million bond issue at a competitive 5% coupon. BusinessToday spoke to its executive director, Tonio Fenech, to understand the Group's vision for the early redemption of its 2017 bond and the launch of its new bond, as well as get an insight into the Group's current projects and future plans 'Investing everything in one country poses certain concentration risks' Tonio Fenech Andersia Silver in Anders Square, in Poznań, Poland