natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
I denne forbindelse skal det bemærkes, at NEUWOGES mener, at en markedsøkonomisk aktør kun ville være gået ud fra en huslejestigning på […] % pr. år, en risiko for manglende lejeindtægter på […] % og en stigning i forvaltnings- og vedligeholdelsesudgifter på […] % [83].
Accordingly, the following analysis will not be based on the numbers used in NEUWOGES’ submissions; rather, it will use the numbers that NEUWOGES included in its original profit projection, which assumed a progressive reduction from […] m2 to […] m2 until 2003.
På grundlag af disse antagelser ville det samlede cashflow ifølge NEUWOGES være nominelt -[…] EUR og diskonteret -[…] EUR, hvilket især skyldes den mere end syv gange så høje risiko for manglende lejeindtægter.
Second, to determine the financial impact of the contract for NEUWOGES, expected when the transaction was concluded, future income and costs must be discounted, requiring a discount rate to be set.
Markedsforventninger
In line with its original letter and the cash-flow analyses provided by NEUWOGES, the Commission assumes the discount rate to be 5 % per year [75].
For det første henvises der til de dokumenter, der indeholder oplysninger om de faktiske forventninger, som de to parter, der deltog i handelen, havde.
Reliability of NEUWOGES’ cash-flow analyses
For det andet fremgår det af protokollen fra bestyrelsesmødet den 16. december 1997, at ledelsen i NEUWOGES vurderede risiciene, som var forbundet med handelen, som værende »til at bære« [84].
Before proceeding to provide an independent economic analysis of the general management contract, it is first necessary to comment on the ex post cash-flow analyses provided by NEUWOGES, which are supposed to demonstrate the cash-flow that a prudent MEO would have expected the general management contract to generate ex ante.
Yderligere fremgår det af protokollen, at NEUWOGES baserer deres handlinger på beregninger, som indregner en huslejestigning på […] % hvert tredje år, en udgiftsstigning (uden risikoen for manglende lejeindtægter) på […] % og en risiko for manglende lejeindtægter på […] % [85].
NEUWOGES argues that under realistic ex ante assumptions — claimed by NEUWOGES to be an increase of rent of […]% per year, an indexation of costs of […]% per year and a vacancy rate of […]% — the general management contract would, ex ante, have been expected to lead to a total negative cash-flow of EUR […] in nominal terms and of EUR […], discounted [76].
Før underskrivelsen konsulterede NEUWOGES revisionsfirmaet Nordrevision, som vurderede, at en huslejestigning på […] % godt nok var i overensstemmelse med den almindelige inflationsrate, men nok ikke ville kunne realiseres [86].
NEUWOGES also submits that only where allegedly unrealistic ex ante assumptions are made — rent increase of […]% per year, vacancy rate of […]%, and stable costs — could the general management contract have been expected to result in a positive value of EUR […] in nominal terms and EUR […], after discounting [77].
Derudover mente Nordrevision, at udgangsniveauet for udgifterne (beregningerne er baseret på skønnede udgifter på […] % af lejen) under antagelse af, at alle lejemål kunne udlejes, ville være realistisk, men at det dog ville være nødvendigt med en indeksering af udgifterne svarende til indekseringen af leasingafgiften [87].
On this basis, NEUWOGES submits that it was clear, ex ante, that rent increases of […]% would have to be enforced every year simply to cover the leasing payment, leaving no room for increases in costs.
BAVARIA gik på sin side ud fra, at det ved en konstant befolkningsudvikling i Neubrandenburg (på grund af tilstedeværelsen af flere store tjenesteudbydere) [88] og bygningens gode placering kunne forventes, at meget få lejemål ville stå tomme [89].
It must be observed in this respect that NEUWOGES makes assumptions about the cost levels that are unpersuasive (and the initial cost levels are the same in all the analyses provided by NEUWOGES).
Derudover gik de ud fra, at huslejestigninger svarende til indekseringen af leasingbetalingerne ville være muligt [90].
The calculations underlying the general management contract, as concluded, assume total costs (administration, maintenance, risk of loss of rent) amounting to some […]% of the rent.
Afslutningsvis gøres der opmærksom på, at vurderingen af handelsværdien fra 1997, som NEUWOGES bestilte før salget, indeholder oplysninger om de forventede relevante udviklinger.
In contrast, NEUWOGES’ cash-flow analyses assume an initial cost level (after modernisation) of not less than […]% ([…]% risk of loss of rent, […]% administration and maintenance).
Vurderingen fra 1997 tog udgangspunkt i et udgiftsniveau på […] % til […] %, men der er dog ingen oplysninger om, til hvilken procentsats risikoen for manglende lejeindtægter blev vurderet [91].
Even if the dramatic increase in loss of rent (from […]% to […]%) is ignored, there is an increase in other costs from […]% to […]% of the rent.
Vurdering
NEUWOGES’ submissions do not adequately explain why this increase would be necessary.
Forvaltningsomkostninger
On the contrary, NEUWOGES states that the level of […]% (EUR […] per m2) was plausible for the period directly after the modernisation, but would then increase every year by […]% [78].
For det første virker forventningerne til forvaltnings- og vedligeholdelsesudgifterne både med hensyn til udgangsniveauet ([…] EUR/m2 el. […] % af lejen) og med hensyn til den forventede stigning ([…] % pr. år) plausible.
Similarly, the valuation commissioned by NEUWOGES before the sale assumed total cost levels (including risk of loss of rent [79]) of between […]% and […]% (1997 valuation).
Hvad angår udgifternes udgangsniveau, kan denne konklusion drages ud fra NEUWOGES egen konstatering af, at udgifterne for tiden umiddelbart efter renoveringen dermed var sat tilstrækkeligt højt.
As the valuation does not specify what percentage is allocated to loss of rent, it is not possible to determine how its basic assumptions regarding other costs depart from those of NEUWOGES.
For det andet fremgår det af Pestel-vurderingen, at forvaltnings- og vedligeholdelsesudgifterne i 1997 ville være på gennemsnitligt […] EUR/m2.
In any event, even if one were to assume that the 1997 valuation was based on an estimate of risk of loss of rent of […]%, the other costs assumed by NEUWOGES are higher.
Det er […] EUR mindre end de udgifter, som var fastsat i forbindelse med salg og tilbagelejningshandelen [92].
In the light of this, NEUWOGES’ cash-flow analyses cannot be accepted and must be corrected on the basis of an initial cost level of […]% excluding risk of loss of rent [80].
Endelig befinder udgifterne i vurderingerne fra de sagkyndige sig også i denne størrelsesorden.
In the light of this, it must further be remarked that NEUWOGES’ submission that rent increases of […]% would need to be enforced to cover the increase in the leasing payment alone is erroneous.
Der kunne med sikkerhed forventes en stigning i disse udgifter.
Since the leasing payment is calculated as a percentage of the original overall rent (here […]%), a rent increase of […]% would allow both the increase in the leasing payment and an increase in the costs by […]% to be covered.
Antagelsen om en stigning på […] % pr. år syntes plausibel og forsigtigt.
Where the costs are stable, a smaller rent increase would already suffice to offset the increase in the leasing payment.
Nordrevision foreslog kun, at en sådan indeksering af forvaltningsudgifterne skulle tilpasses efter indekseringen af leasingafgiften.
In fact, assuming a risk of loss of rent of […]% and otherwise stable costs, a yearly rent increase of […]% would suffice to cover the increase in the leasing payment.
Dette ville betyde en årlig stigning på […] % om året, dvs. en lavere stigning end faktisk antaget af NEUWOGES.
Any increase over and above that would be available for NEUWOGES to offset rising costs or make a profit.
I øvrigt er NEOWOGES nu selv af den opfattelse, at det ville have været realistisk at forvente en stigning på […] % om året, hvilket betyder, at en værdistigning på […] % pr. år sikkert ikke ville have været uacceptabelt lavt.
When entering into the contract, NEUWOGES itself undertook a nominal cash-flow analysis [81].
Risiko for manglende lejeindtægter
In this analysis, it assumed that its own costs (administration, maintenance) would rise by […]% p.a., that it could increase the rent by […]% every three years, that it could maintain a vacancy rate of […]% and that […]% of the apartments would be sold on to the tenants.
Hvad angår risikoen for manglende lejeindtægter, var det ikke urealistisk at regne med generelt manglende indtægter på […] %.
On this basis, NEUWOGES expected a nominal cash-flow of EUR […] to be generated by the general management contract over its duration of 30 years.
Det konstateres først, at antagelserne ved vurderingen af kontrakterne foretaget af Nordrevision ikke blev anfægtet, selv om rådgiveren ytrede en anden form for bekymring med hensyn til den generelle økonomiske situation og ejendomsmarkedet i Neubrandenburg [93].
The formal investigation procedure has revealed no reason to believe that these calculations were made on the basis of expectations known to be too optimistic.
For det andet syntes vurderingen af handelsværdien fra 1997 på trods af manglende præcise oplysninger om risikoen for manglende lejeindtægter ikke at antage en specielt høj risiko for manglende lejeindtægter [94].
No evidence has been submitted that the NEUWOGES representatives who presented these figures to NEUWOGES’ board did so believing they were inaccurate.
Som det fremgår af de interne beslutningsdokumenter fra BAVARIA, gik BAVARIA på baggrund af tilstedeværelsen af forskellige store tjenesteydere ud fra, at befolkningstallet i Neubrandenburg ville forblive stabilt, og at de omtalte lejligheder efter renoveringen næsten alle ville kunne udlejes.
In fact, it appears that NEUWOGES does not allege that its managers were consciously entering into a disadvantageous transaction for political reasons, but rather that an erroneous assessment was made of the economic implications (which, in NEUWOGES’ submission, a MEO would have avoided) [82].
Ifølge NEUWOGES' oplysninger forventede byen Neubrandenburg og delstaten Mecklenburg-Vorpommern rent faktisk stabile befolkningstal og en stabil indkomstudvikling i årene 1997/1998.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to enquire whether these expectations were such that a MEO would not have based its decision on them.
Endelig må der ikke ses bort fra, at NEUWOGES-ledelsen, som ledte en virksomhed, der ejede mere end 30 % af lejlighederne i Neubrandenburg og dermed besad et grundigt kendskab til det lokale ejendomsmarked, anså de risici, som var forbundet med salg og tilbagelejningshandelen for at være til at bære og i deres egen projekteringer gik ud fra en risiko for manglende lejeindtægter på […] %.
In this context, it is noted that NEUWOGES submits that a MEO would have expected a rent increase of merely […]% p.a., a risk of loss of rent of […]% and an increase in administration and maintenance costs of […]% [83].
Der er ingen synlig grund til, at anerkendte eksperter i det lokale ejendomsmarked skulle have baseret deres beregninger på denne antagelse, hvis de havde været så urealistisk lave, som NEUWOGES nu hævder.
On the basis of these assumptions, NEUWOGES claims that the total cash flow would be EUR – […] in nominal terms and EUR – […] after discounting, with the more than sevenfold increase in the loss of rent having the most significant impact.
Samtidig skal de dokumenter inddrages, som NEUWOGES har fremlagt i forbindelse med spørgsmålet, om hvorvidt en fornuftig markedsøkonomisk aktør på det relevante ejendomsmarked (betonbyggerier i Østtyskland) ville have forventet et højere antal tomme lejligheder, hvis de pågældende dokumenter havde stammet fra tiden før indgåelsen af salg og tilbagelejningshandelen.
Market expectations
Af de fremlagte vurderinger er det kun Pestel-vurderingen, som er udarbejdet før indgåelsen af de omtalte kontrakter.
As a first step, reference is made to the documents providing information as to the actual expectations of the two parties to the transaction.
Det skal dog bemærkes, at Pestel-vurderingen omhandler Østtyskland i sin helhed og ikke tager hensyn til specifikke lokale omstændigheder i Neubrandenburg, hvilket begrænser dens betydning i denne sag.
First, the minutes of the supervisory board meeting of 16 December 1997 demonstrate that NEUWOGES’ managers considered the risks involved in the transaction as ‘bearable’ [84].
I vurderingen fremlægges nogle generelle problemer for det østtyske ejendomsmarked, men alligevel leverer vurderingen isoleret set ikke tilstrækkelige beviser for, at en markedsøkonomisk aktør ved sin investeringsbeslutning ikke ville være gået ud fra en risiko for manglende lejeindtægter på […] %.
On the basis of these minutes, it is, furthermore, clear that NEUWOGES acted on the basis of calculations that assumed a rent increase of […]% every three years, an increase in costs (without reference to the risk of loss of rent) of […]%, and a risk of loss of rent of […]% [85].
Leje
NEUWOGES consulted the auditor Nordrevision before signing the contracts, which estimated that a rent increase of […]% corresponded to the general inflation rate, but would probably not be achievable [86].
Hvad angår lejen, så skal det først gentages, at NEUWOGES ikke mente, at den forventede leje efter renoveringen ville være for høj.
It also took the view that, while the initial costs were reasonable under the assumption of no vacancies (the calculations were based on an estimate of costs of […]% of the rent), an indexation of those costs in line with that of the indexation of the leasing payment was necessary [87].
Derimod hævder de, at lejen ikke kunne forhøjes i det forventede omfang.
BAVARIA, for its part, assumed that, on the basis of an expectation that the population of Neubrandenburg would remain stable (due to the establishment of various big service providers) [88] and the good location of the buildings, a very low vacancy rate could be expected [89].
Set i lyset af LG Rostocks konstatering af, at de gennemsnitlige huslejer på […] EUR/m2, som GVV'en var baseret på, bevægede sig inden for rammerne af de officielle anvendelige gennemsnitlige huslejer [95], kan det konkluderes, at den oprindelige gennemsnitlige leje var realistisk fastsat.
It further assumed that rent increases in line with the indexation of the leasing payments would be achievable [90].
Hvad angår indekseringen af den aftalte leasingafgift, er der ingen direkte beviser for, hvilke gennemsnitlige huslejestigninger man tog udgangspunkt i i 1998.
Finally, it should be pointed out that the valuation of the property commissioned by NEUWOGES before the sale contains information about relevant expected developments.
Nordrevision konkluderede kun, at de oprindeligt fastsatte […] % pr. år svarede til den almindelige inflationsrate, men sandsynligvis ikke lod sig gennemføre i Neubrandenburg [96].
The 1997 valuation assumed cost levels of between […]% and […]%, but did not specify what percentage is allocated to the risk of loss of rent [91].
Den omstændighed, at NEUWOGES til slut gik med til en indeksering med »kun« […] % og forventede at kunne hæve huslejen med […] % hvert tredje år (eller […] % pr. år), synes at bekræfte, at der var blevet taget hensyn til denne advarsel.
Assessment
I vurderingerne af handelsværdien var der ikke formuleret nogen direkte forventninger om fremtidige huslejestigninger.
Administration costs
Ikke desto mindre skal det fastholdes, at vurderingerne af handelsværdien, fordi de ikke indeholdt nogen eksplicitte antagelser om udviklingen af inflationen og lejen, åbenbart gik ud fra en konvergens mellem lejestigninger og den generelle inflation (som i de forgangne årtier havde ligget på 3,5 %) [97].
First, the expectations regarding the costs of administration and maintenance, both as regards their initial level (EUR […] per m2, or […]% of the rent) and the expected increase ([…]% p.a.) appear reasonable.
LG Rostock var af den opfattelse, at indekseringen set i lyset af den gennemsnitlige inflationsrate på årligt 3,52 % pr. år i de 28 år før indgåelsen af kontrakterne var rimelig [98].
As regards the initial cost level, this finding results from NEUWOGES’ own statement that, at least for the period directly following the modernisation, these costs had been set at a sufficiently high level.
Desuden gjorde retten opmærksom på, at udviklingen for lejerenter gennem en periode på 30 år naturligvis er svær at forudse, men at den ikke så noget påfaldende misforhold mellem indekseringen af leasingafgiften og den udvikling i huslejerne, som kunne forventes.
Secondly, the Pestel study states that, in 1997, the costs of administration and maintenance would on average amount to EUR […] per m2, which is EUR […] lower than the provision for the same costs in the sale-and-lease-back transaction [92].
Den af NEUWOGES fremlagte Pestel-vurdering indeholder ingen oplysninger om de faktiske forventninger hos parterne på det østtyske ejendomsmarked og ingen specifikke oplysninger om Neubrandenburg.
Finally, the costs assumed in the expert valuation were also in this range.
Ikke desto mindre indeholder den henvisninger til, at det østtyske ejendomsmarked var et potentielt svært marked.
While an increase in these costs could certainly be expected, it would appear that assuming an increase of […]% p.a. was reasonable, even somewhat cautious.
På baggrund af de yderligere anførte forhold er Pestel-vurderingen dog ikke tilstrækkelig til at bevise, at enigheden om en indeksering af leasingbetalingerne med […] % pr. år og forventningen om at kunne gennemføre lejestigning på […] % pr. år, var urimelig.
Nordrevision had suggested keeping such an indexation of the administration costs in line only with the indexation of the leasing payment, namely an annual increase of […]%, lower than that actually assumed by NEUWOGES.
Løbetid
Incidentally, an indexation of […]% is what NEUWOGES itself now submits could reasonably have been expected, demonstrating that […]% p.a. was certainly not unreasonably low.
Hvad angår kontraktens løbetid, argumenterer LG Rostock, at bestemte leasingkontrakter er kendetegnet ved lange løbetider (på op til 30 år), og at kontrakter som de omtalte dermed ikke var usædvanlige [99].
Risk of loss of rent
Selvfølgelig indebar en løbetid på 30 år visse risici, dog bød den også på muligheden for stabile indtægter samt en høj grad af sikkerhed med hensyn til at garantere de udgifter, som kunne forventes.
With respect to the risk of loss of rent, it was not unreasonable to expect a general loss of rent level of […]%.
Yderligere betød en lang løbetid også, at de nødvendige månedlige leasingbetalinger for at opnå en forrentning af køberens investering enten var lavere, eller at salgsprisen ved lige høje leasingbetalinger var højere, end det ville have været tilfældet ved en kortere løbetid [100].
First, it must be noted that Nordrevision did not question this level in its assessment of the contracts, despite expressing other concerns about the general economic situation and the real-estate market in Neubrandenburg [93].
Set i det lys synes aftalen om en løbetid på 30 år ikke at være ufornuftig.
Second, the 1997 valuation, despite not specifying the assumed risk of loss of rent, does not appear to assume significantly higher risks of loss of rent [94].
Konklusion
BAVARIA’s internal decision-making documents indicate that BAVARIA assumed that, in view of the variety of large services providers established in Neubrandenburg, the population of the city would probably remain stable and that almost all the apartments in question could be rented out after they had been modernised.
De af NEUWOGES ytrede forventninger i deres oprindelige beregning kan ikke anses for at være urealistiske.
Indeed, according to NEUWOGES, in 1997/98 the City of Neubrandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Land assumed stable population numbers and stable income development.
Set i lyset af de fremlagte dokumenter kunne NEUWOGES virkelig gå ud fra, at de ville opnå en fortjeneste inden for rammerne af GVV'en.
Finally, the fact cannot be ignored either that NEUWOGES’ management, which ran an undertaking that owned more than 30 % of the apartments in Neubrandenburg and thus had intimate knowledge of the local real-estate market, judged the risks involved in the sale-and-lease-back transaction to be bearable and based its own projections on a risk of loss of rent of […]%.
Diskonteres de forventede nominelle fortjenester på det relevante tidspunkt (starten af 1998), viser det sig, at NEUWOGES' beslutning var baseret på antagelsen om, at GVV'en havde en nutidsværdi på […] EUR.
It is not clear why these experts in the local real-estate market would have based their calculations on this assumption if it had been as unreasonably low as NEUWOGES now claims.
Samlet vurdering
At the same time, account has to be taken of the documents provided by NEUWOGES in connection with the issue of whether a prudent participant in the relevant real-estate market (prefabricated apartment blocks in East Germany) would have expected higher vacancy rates, in so far as the documents date from before the conclusion of the sale-and-lease-back transaction.
Kommissionen er allerede nået frem til den konklusion, at EBV'en og GVV'en er to dele af en og samme integrerede handel.
Of the studies provided, only the Pestel study dates from before the conclusion of the contracts at issue.
Til at fastslå den samlede værdi af handelen for NEUWOGES er det dermed nødvendigt at lægge begge kontrakters nutidsværdi sammen.
In this context it must be observed, however, that the Pestel study concerns East Germany as a whole and does not take into account the specific local conditions in Neubrandenburg — a state of affairs that limits its probative value in the present context.
NEUWOGES kunne forvente følgende fordele af EBV'en:
While the study points to some general problems in the East German real-estate market, the study in itself is not sufficient to establish that a MEO would not have based its investment decision on an assumed risk of loss of rent of […]%.
Derudover skulle GVV'en, som konstateret i afsnit 7.2.4, baseret på NEUWOGES realistiske forventninger fastsættes med en diskonteret nutidsværdi på […] EUR.
Rent
Dermed havde salg og tilbagelejningshandelen for NEUWOGES en samlet værdi på […] EUR.
Moving on to the rent, it must first be observed that NEUWOGES has not submitted that the expected rent levels after modernisation were set too high.
SAMMENLIGNING MED ANDRE FORRETNINGSMULIGHEDER
It claims, rather, that these could not be increased by as much as expected.
For at det kan undersøges, om den af NEUWOGES med BAVARIA indgåede salg og tilbagelejningshandel er i overensstemmelse med kontrakter, som en markedsøkonomisk aktør ville have besluttet sig for at indgå, skal handelens værdi nu sammenlignes med værdien af andre forretningsmuligheder.
In the light of Rostock Regional Court’s finding that the average rent level of EUR […] per m2, on which the general management contract is based, was within the range set by the applicable rent table [95], it can be concluded that the initial average rent level was set at a realistic level.
Hvis NEUWOGES fra et økonomisk synspunkt havde haft mere fordelagtige alternativer, kunne valget af salg og tilbagelejningshandelen ikke have været set som en handelsmulighed, som en markedsøkonomisk aktør ville have valgt.
As regards indexation of the agreed leasing payment, there is no direct evidence of what average increase of rent was generally expected in 1998.
I denne sammenhæng skal det bemærkes, at udlejning af bygningerne uden renovering eller ligefrem en nedrivning nok ikke ville have været et muligt alternativ.
Nordrevision remarked only that the […]% per year originally set corresponded to the general inflation rate, but was not likely to be achievable in Neubrandenburg [96].
Udlejning ville uden renovering kun have indbragt begrænsede indtægter.
The fact that NEUWOGES did eventually agree to an indexation of ‘only’ […]% and expected to be able to enforce rent increases of […]% every three years (or […]% p.a.) appears to demonstrate that it took this warning into account.