Corporate Governance
The Group places a strong emphasis on corporate governance, executed responsibly by the Board of Directors and the management teams. The Group is proud of the high confidence of its investors, which is reflected in the impressive placement of funds by major global investment banks. Among AT’s shareholders and bondholders are the large international leading institutional investors and major global investment and sovereign funds.
Aroundtown follows very strict Code of Conducts which apply to its employees and business partners, and include policies for Anti- Bribery, Anti-Corruption, Anti-Discrimination, Conflict of Interest and others.
For more information, see Code of Conduct and Code of Conduct for Business Partners.
Aroundtown is not subject to any compulsory corporate governance code of conduct or respective statutory legal provisions and therefore not required to adhere to the “Ten Principles of Corporate Governance” of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange or to the German Corporate Governance Code, which are only applicable to domestic issuers. Nevertheless, Aroundtown already complies with most of the principles and continues to take steps to implement environmental, social and corporate governance best practices throughout its business. The Group’s efforts support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those relating to Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (#16) and Partnerships for the Goals (#17).
Shareholders' rights
The Group respects the rights of all shareholders and ensures that they receive equal treatment. All shareholders have equal voting rights and all corporate publications are transmitted through general publication channels as well as on a specific section on its website. The shareholders of Aroundtown SA exercise their voting rights at the general meeting of the shareholders, whereby each share is granted one vote. The voting rights attached to shares held by TLG Immobilien AG in Aroundtown SA are suspended. The suspension of the voting rights also applies to shares held and/or acquired by Aroundtown SA, either directly or through subsidiaries, pursuant to its buy-back programme. The Annual General Meeting of the shareholders takes place at such place and time as specified in the notice of the meeting. At the Annual General Meeting of the shareholders the board of directors presents, among others, the directors report as well as consolidated financial statements to the shareholders. The Annual General Meeting resolves, among others, on the financial statements of Aroundtown, the appointment of the approved independent auditor of the Group and the discharge to and appointment or re-election of the members of the Board of Directors.
Board of directors
The Board of Directors makes decisions solely in the Group’s best interests and independently of any conflict of interest. The Group is administered by a Board of Directors that is vested with the broadest powers to perform in the Group’s interests. All powers not expressly reserved by the Luxembourg Companies Act or by the articles of association to the general meeting of the shareholders fall within the competence of the Board of Directors.
On a regular basis, the Board of Directors evaluate the effective fulfilment of their remit and compliance with corporate governance procedures implemented by the Group. This evaluation is also performed by the Audit and Risk Committees. The Board of Directors currently consists of a total of six members, of which three are independent and one is non-executive. The members are elected by the General Meeting and resolve on matters on the basis of a simple majority, in accordance with the articles of association. The number of directors, their term and their remuneration are determined by the general meeting of shareholders
and the maximum term of directors’ appointment per election is six years according to Luxembourg law, but directors may be re-appointed after such term.
The Board of Directors is provided with regular training on regulatory and legal updates, sector-specific and capital markets subjects and ESG matters.
Members of the Board of Directors
| Name | Position |
| Mr. Frank Roseen | Director |
| Ms. Jelena Afxentiou | Director |
| Mr. Ran Laufer | Non-Executive Director |
| Mr. Markus Leininger | Independent Director |
| Ms. Simone Runge-Brandner | Independent Director |
| Mr. Markus Kreuter | Independent Director |
Senior and Key Management
| Name | Position |
| Mr. Barak Bar-Hen | Co-CEO / COO |
| Mr. Eyal Ben David | CFO |
| Mr. Oschrie Massatschi | CCMO |
Internal controls and risk management systems
The Group closely monitors and manages any potential risk and sets appropriate measures in order to mitigate the occurrence of any possible failure to a minimum. The risk management is led by the Risk Committee, which constructs the risk management structure, organization and processes, and coordinates risk-related training. The Risk Committee monitors the effectiveness of risk management functions throughout the organization, ensures that infrastructure, resources and systems are in place for risk management and are adequate to maintain a satisfactory level of risk management discipline. The Group categorizes the risk management systems into two main categories: internal risk mitigation and external risk mitigation.
The internal controls and compliance of the Group is supervised by Mr. Christian Hupfer, the CCO (Chief Compliance Officer) of the Group.
Internal Risk Mitigation
Internal controls are constructed from five main elements:
- Risk assessment – set by the Risk Committee and guided by an ongoing analysis of the organizational structure and by identifying potential weaknesses. Further, the committee assesses control deficiencies in the organization and executes issues raised by internal audit impacting the risk management framework.
- Control discipline – based on the organizational structure and supported by employee and management commitments. The discipline is erected on the foundations of integrity and ethical values
- Control features – the Group sets physical controls, compliance checks and verifications such as cross departmental checks. The Group puts strong emphasis on separation of duties, as approval and payments are done by at least two separate parties. Payment verifications are cross checked and confirmed with budget and contract. Any payment exceeding a certain set threshold amount requires additional approval by the head of the department as a condition for payment.
- Monitoring procedures – the Group monitors and tests unusual entries, mainly through a detailed monthly actual vs. budget analysis and checks. Strong and sustainable control and organizational systems reduce the probability of errors and mistakes significantly. The management sees high importance in constantly improving all measures, adjusting to market changes and organizational dynamics.
- ESG risk related expenditures – the Group has included identification of potential financial liabilities and future expenditures linked to ESG risks in the organizational risk assessment. Future expenditures on ESG matters and opportunities are included in the financial budget.
External Risk Mitigation
As ordinary course of business, the Group is exposed to various external risks. The Risk Committee is constantly determining whether the infrastructure, resources and systems are in place and adequate to maintain a satisfactory level of risk. The potential risks and exposures are related, inter alia, to volatility of interest risks, liquidity risks, credit risk, regulatory and legal risks, collection and tenant deficiencies, the need for unexpected capital investments and market downturn risk. The Group sets direct and specific guidelines and boundaries to mitigate and address each risk, hedging and reducing to a minimum the occurrence of failure or potential default.
