The Investorentour Ruhr starts for the seventh time on 19.09.2024. What makes this format so successful?
Dirk Leutbecher: Experience the Ruhr region" is the slogan of the Investor Tour. And this slogan already contains a lot of what the investor tour is all about. After all, the sites presented on the tour could also be viewed on the Internet or discussed over the phone. However, the tour is much more than just a series of different facts about potential investment areas. As is so often the case, you "experience" the important things along the way and on site alongside the dry facts. Even on the bus, you have the opportunity to talk to the contact persons. And on site, you get a feel for what makes the location special. In my lectures on project development at universities, it's always important for me to tell students never to rely solely on Google Maps and colorful brochures. And if you've had a currywurst for lunch with the people responsible for the cities, it's much easier to pick up the phone later to talk about current or other projects.
How did the idea of "experiencing" the Ruhr region come about? And how did this format grow?
Dirk Leutbecher: You have to do something, I've often heard. And then you just had to do it. In many conversations, the idea of such an event was already there. But apparently no one had the energy, the drive or whatever you want to call it, to just do it. Nevertheless, the first participants still had to be convinced. But then word simply "got around" that there were interesting projects, ideas and people on the tour. At the beginning, however, it was not foreseeable that we would grow to five tours. It's great that it worked out. However, without the great teamwork with BMR, this would not have been possible on our own..
STONY Real Estate Capital
Dirk Leutbecher is Managing Director and founding partner of STONY Real Estate Capital GmbH & Co. KG. He founded STONY Real Estate Capital at the beginning of 2010 as an independent financing and structuring partner for real estate projects and real estate transactions. These areas are still the main focus of the company today.
STONY Real Estate Capital also organizes special networking and training events for participants from all areas of the real estate industry. In 2014, the Real Estate Conference Ruhr was created as a network meeting that is also known beyond the Ruhr metropolis, which was transferred to the new MEET@RUHR format in 2022..
![](https://www.business.ruhr/fileadmin/_processed_/8/8/csm_Leutbecher_1__002__8d994f4058.jpg)
The real estate industry is still in crisis mode. How do you assess the development of the market??
Dirk Leutbecher: You would have to have the famous "crystal ball" for that. Especially as there is no such thing as a "market" in Germany. Firstly, not from a regional perspective, and secondly, not across the various asset classes. If you compare the office and logistics markets, for example, the current situation looks completely different. The office market is extremely tight. Home office and ESG are just two keywords here. And the Trianon building in Frankfurt illustrates how quickly millions in value can be destroyed. The logistics market, on the other hand, is described by some as the "Gallic village" of asset classes. Even if not everything shines here, the market outlook is much more positive.
In your opinion, what is the strongest argument for investing in the Ruhr region?
Dirk Leutbecher: Here I refer almost mantra-like to the different fluctuation ranges compared to the so-called A-cities. To put it bluntly, things don't go up as quickly in the Ruhr area, but they don't go down as quickly either. That may be boring, but it is also a hedge, especially for different investments in different regions.
That could also be interesting:
![Render view of the Levi Strauss & Co. property](https://www.business.ruhr/fileadmin/_processed_/e/f/csm_Levi-Strauss-Immobilie-im-Ruhrgebiet_462326a8ae.jpg)
Drees & Sommer: „The Ruhr region has people who are up for it."
To the interview![Shown is a modern high-rise buildingf for office space, the front is completely glazed.](https://www.business.ruhr/fileadmin/_processed_/0/7/csm_Essen_BMR_Thyssenhaus_2019_Legrand_c6013cc981.jpg)
Real estate exchange Ruhrgebiet
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