KENSINGTON Finest Properties International AG intends to raise real estate services to the next level.
With effect from 19 July 2023, a consortium of investors led by Kensington Deutschland GmbH has taken over KENSINGTON Finest Properties International AG. The acquisition by the long-time master franchisee and licensing partner signals a new stage in the development of the real estate company, which has been known as a boutique agency since its founding in 1998.
The previous owners and founders, Mehrdad and Ingrid Bonakdar, have placed the company in the hands of a consortium of experienced executives and investors as part of a succession plan. The new owners are Sven Binnewies, Daniel Malek and Christoph Wiesenbach, as well as other partners.
“Our goal was to exit the operational business in 2023. We are very pleased to have found buyers with our long-term business partners who have a high level of expertise and an excellent track record to take the KENSINGTON brand to the next level. We thank the entire KENSINGTON team for what they have created,” says Mehrdad Bonakdar, founder of KENSINGTON International.
“As licence partner from the very beginning and holder of several local licences as well as the master licence for Germany, it was an understandable step to pass the company into our hands,” says Sven Binnewies, the new CEO of KENSINGTON International.
The new owners of KENSINGTON Finest Properties International AG: Daniel Malek, Sven Binnewies and Christoph Wiesenbach (from left).
The new management team plans to prepare the company for global challenges through innovation, further growth and quality.
“Our existing team in Germany will play a central role in shaping the services and steering the system headquarters,” adds Binnewies. “We are proud of our successful team from Germany, which in the future, together with the international team, will also steer many issues internationally.”
The new management structure is complemented by Daniel Malek as CFO and CEO for the German-speaking region and Christoph Wiesenbach as COO. In the future, Daniel Malek will lead the business for Germany, Austria and Switzerland as CEO and be responsible as CFO International. Christoph Wiesenbach will manage the further organisation and the important development of the global licensing partners for the existing and future franchise partner system from the central AG side.
Overall CEO of the AG, Sven Binnewies, will concentrate on the further development of international markets, structures there and the overall external representation of the new global AG. In this expanded role, Binnewies aims to open up further international markets and acquire new master licence partners. In addition, he will specifically push the acquisition of further service providers to expand the service portfolio for licence partners and exclusive services. His tasks will also include representing the AG in international committees and associations.
“We will connect, use and live the KENSINGTON philosophy even more strongly. Our focus will be even more on the topic as an international network. Our network is our strength,” explains Binnewies and concludes: “At this point, our personal thanks go to the founders Ingrid and Mehrdad Bonakdar, for their leadership style, always characterised by great humanity, and for the great work that we are now allowed to take over and expand.”
About the KENSINGTON Finest Properties International AG:
The real estate company KENSINGTON, which was founded 25 years ago, specialises in the marketing of high-quality real estate and has been growing internationally since 2011 through an exclusive franchise system and is currently represented in over 90 locations in five countries. An international franchise network consisting of trained real estate experts offers a comprehensive range of services. Franchisees and their teams receive ongoing training at the KENSINGTON Academy.
In addition to classic residential properties, KENSINGTON also offers commercial and investment properties under the brand name KENSINGTON Commercial Properties.