Why putting people first matters
Choose your topic and read more about how we take care about our employees, their families and communities as well as how PATRIZIA supports children worldwide:
Covid-19 and PATRIZIA
Our thoughts and sympathies are with everyone affected by the coronavirus outbreak. For PATRIZIA, our first priority – as it was for many people and businesses around the world – was to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and partners, and for the communities we live and work in.
The global nature of our business, and an early move to digitise our workforce, meant that we could switch to remote working very quickly – protecting our staff and their families, while continuing to serve tenants and investors in the best way possible.
Our purpose
Since the very beginnings of the company 37 years ago, we’ve always believed in putting people first. This is enshrined in our purpose: ‘building communities and sustainable futures’. For us, this means being aware of our wider responsibilities and always striving to contribute to society in a positive way. At the same time, we’re also aware of the privileges we enjoy, and we’re keenly aware that others aren’t so lucky.
Our business in this extraordinary time
The way we have always managed our portfolio, and the strength and diversity of our investments, means that we can provide much-needed stability in a time of uncertainty.
Over the last 37 years, we’ve built up a leading position in the European investment management market – one which has helped us weather three different crises and emerge stronger. And our current diversified and long-term committed AUM base gives us a solid and resilient position in these times of uncertainty.
Without people, cities are just empty buildings
Eerily deserted streets, empty shops, echoing, desolate squares … our cities are on hold waiting for life to return. In this Cities Without People video series, we show the element that is missing in cities today – people, and how vital they are to creating a vibrant, energetic community.
Empty Cities: Hamburg
Empty Cities: New York
Empty Cities: London
Empty Cities: Augsburg
Empty Cities: Copenhagen
I. Safety and Health always come first
1. Wash your hands frequently & thoroughly!
Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Why? Washing your hands kills viruses that may be on your hands.
2. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth!
Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Why? Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your respiratory system and body.
3. Practice respiratory hygiene!
Make sure you, and the people around you, cover mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when coughing or sneezing. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately. Why? Droplets spread the virus. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you.
4. Maintain social distancing!
Maintain at least 2 metres distance between yourself and anyone else. Why? When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the virus and get infected.
5. Reduce your social contacts!
By reducing your social contacts you show solidarity with older people or people with medical conditions who are thought to be at greater risk. Why? Viruses spread exponentially. By reducing your social contacts you help to #flattenthecurve and slow the spreading of corona.
6. Avoid handshakes!
Handshakes can transfer viruses from one person to another. Why? Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses and thus spread the virus.
II. Our employees act responsible and work safely
Everyone at PATRIZIA is committed to act responsibly and in a disciplined way to help to protect our families, colleagues and most importantly the weakest in our societies to stay safe and healthy. We have comprehensive measures in place to safeguard the well-being of our employees and to support our clients and partners and the many communities we operate in. Since mid of March, most of our 800+ PATRIZIAns based in 24 office locations across four continents have been safely working from home. We adjusted quick and seamless to the new situation thanks to our stable and reliable IT system. We have comprehensive guidelines in place to protect and update our employees on a daily basis that help them stay safe, manage work and family life at home while continue serving our partners and running our operations smoothly. We at PATRIZIA know, if we all act responsibly we save lives and help everyone stay healthy!
Helping our communities stay safe
Our PATRIZIAns also contribute to make best out of the crisis.
Interaction helps everyone
Camile works in the department Fund Services at the PATRIZIA office in London. During the times of Corona she helps out her neighbours as much as she can.
How do you support your neighbours during the current situation?
My next door neighbour is heavy pregnant so she can’t go out as much. Her husband is trying to keep up the family financially by doing jobs here and there as he lost his job doing the crisis. I check in on her often during the day for a chat and offer help. When I go shopping, I offer to get any urgent supplies she needs. They also have an allotment which I have dropped things off there for them in the past and I plan to go there to help them out with planting when the weather gets better.
Which impact has helping others during this exceptional situation?
Living alone it is good for me to be able to chat and interact with my neighbours, so I don’t miss out on human interaction and I don’t end up feeling isolated. Helping others takes my mind and their mind as well of all the negative news. It helps me not to focus on my own problems but how I can be a better friend and neighbour to others.
Thank you, Camile & TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy
Training and recruiting NHS staff
Nick is part of the UK asset management team based in London. One of the assets he manages is Waverley Gate, a c.200,000 sq ft office building in central Edinburgh. The building is home to a number of tenants including Amazon, H&M, Microsoft and the NHS.
What did you do to help?
As we all know, the NHS have had to mobilise quickly to tackle covid 19 and part of this has led to training requirements for nurses as well as the recruitment of huge numbers of volunteers. With the NHS Scotland already a tenant at Waverley Gate and the other tenants mainly working from home, we have some flexibility on how we use the common areas so we decided to approach the NHS Scotland, about using the common parts or parking for their staff. It took a couple of days for them to respond but they expressed an interest in using the break out area on the ground floor for a 3 day interview and training programme for NHS volunteers before they’re placed in local hospitals. So far, our assistance has helped the NHS get an extra 343 volunteers into the local hospitals and more initiatives are planned at Waverley Gate over the next few months.
How do you cope with the lock-down?
Lockdown has been a challenging time and whilst I have been very busy with work, I am missing the office and the level of day to day normality it provides.
Thank you, Nick, TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy!
Testing is key
Dan is Head of UK & Ireland in the Real Estate Development team at PATRIZIA. Based in London, he is currently working on the development of a BTR apartment block which is alongside Edgbaston cricket stadium in Birmingham in the Midlands which is one of the UK’s covid-19 hot spots.
What did you do to help?
“Testing is key to fighting the virus and drive through testing facilities are becoming increasingly important. Finding a suitable location for testing areas is not always easy - the stations must be isolated from the public as well as easy to access. As development partner to Warwickshire County Cricket Club and Homes England, we are pleased to be able to provide a parking area which the National Health Service (NHS) can use for its containment efforts which ticks both boxes.”
How do you cope with the lock-down?
“It is a real challenge to stay at home and effectively balance the requirements of both family and work in a confined environment. The increasing number of tools available to work remotely continue to make the current situation easier, but I am really looking forward to being able to meet in person soon with extended family, friends and colleagues.”
Thank you, Dan, TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy!
Home-made masks
Jowita works at the PATRIZIA Foundation that helps children worldwide by building schools, children homes and hospitals. Now she supports a local initiative in Leipzig. Learn more about the initiative.
Jowita, what is the initiative about?
Sewers from a little shop in Leipzig had to close their shop and are now producing face masks. Some of the home-made masks are distributed for free for elderly people and people in need.
How do you help?
I distribute the masks in my local community. This helps in two ways: It supports the sewers to sustain their little sewing shop and helps people to better protect themselves against the virus.
Thank you, Jowita, TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy!
Painting for patients
Jae-Marie is member of the Fund Management team at the PATRIZIA office in London. Despite the critical situation, she and her family try to stay positive and support others in need.
Jae-Marie, how are you helping others to stay positive?
My daughter Marlie is painting for patients. Marlie is five years old. As she misses her grandmothers, she started painting colourful and cheerful pictures for them. And now, we are also sending Marlie’s pictures to the Nightingale Hospital.
How did that come?
Marlie really enjoys the thought that her pictures may cheer-up patients. We learned from her school, that the pictures are sent to a local hub, where they are laminated and then taken to the hospital to be placed on display. Before that, we were posting postcards to a local care home via www.ageuk.org.uk.
Thank you, Jae-Marie, TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy!
Staying in touch
Kathrin is member of our Marketing team at our PATRIZIA office in Augsburg. Bavaria was the first federal state in Germany that imposed a curfew, but Kathrin found other ways to stay in touch with her loved ones.
Kathrin, how do you get through the crisis?
My focus is on staying in touch with my father. He is 80 years old. As my family and I cannot visit him, we made a corona-advent-calendar for him. It is a box with several small surprises for him – and keeps his spirits up.
What else do you do?
I support a couple of friends who have started their own restaurant business with free marketing tips and we regularly order food at their restaurant.
Thank you, Kathrin, TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy!
Small things that count!
Sabrina recently joined PATRIZIA in London and focuses on cheering up her neighbours and friends in the current crisis.
Sabrina, how do you help your friends?
Well, I do many small things. About every day I sent a card with a positive quote and a personalised message to a friend. I bought bulk masks on Ebay and sent some to friends, baked for my neighbours, organised for an elderly friend the delivery of her favourite newspaper – and prepared gin and tonic for my flat mate. I know he is looking forward to the Friday Gin, and so do I!
What do you hope for after the crisis?
I believe the lockdown is an opportunity to become better people. That is why small things count!
Thank you, Sabrina, TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy!
Stay healthy and happy
Claudia has been part of PATRIZIA’s International Capital Market team in New York for 2.5 years. The Big apple today, is the epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis. She shares her experience with us.
Claudia, how do you take care?
My top priority is staying healthy given the limited medical supplies. Every person not infected will help someone else that needs the medical care more. One way to do this is social distancing - I have been working from home since mid-March and stay quarantined in my apartment.
How do you help your community?
I try to help our community restaurants and grocery stores get through this crisis by ordering food and drinks for take-away. I tip each delivery guy generously. This way I can still enjoy my favorite pizza, while helping others. In order to stay in shape, I run up and down the 28 floors of my building. All of this makes me happy and keeps me healthy!
Thank you, Claudia, TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy!
Tenfold returns
Pilar works in the Asset Management department at the PATRIZIA office in Madrid. She is volunteering in a disabled care center and in a nursing home.
Pilar how did you start working at the two institutions and what are you doing there exactly?
Before the pandemic I volunteered for different initiatives. Through this, I learned from other volunteers about the possibility of helping in the two institutions. At first, I started at the disabled care center and now am helping at the nursing home as well. At the disabled care center, I look after children. I spend the afternoon with them, we play games, listen to music and dance together. I also help the staff serve dinner and clean up. At the nursing home it is a little harder because of the full protective equipment we wear. We help by serving food, doing the laundry and kitchen tasks.
What has working there taught you?
We are facing a totally new situation worldwide where we have a lot of uncertainty. I am lucky to be able to focus on work, doing sports and being connected to my loved ones in my daily life. Not everyone can do the same and we should feel grateful about all the privileges we have. Helping others is part of who I am and giving back is very important to me. I have learned that everything I give to others, I will get back tenfold.
Thank you, Pilar & TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy
Remote “Happy Birthday” performance!
Anne is working in PATRIZIA’s Augsburg office and taking care of young and old.
Anne, how do you help the young?
We have become a copy shop for school homework. Right now, our neighbours’ kids do a lot of home schooling. As their parents do not have a printer at home, we now print their homework and bring them a huge staple of paper each day. The kids are really happy about this.
What else do you do?
My parents are 75 and 80 years old, so they need to stay at home. That`s why we bring them their groceries. Last weekend, we had a virtual party for my dad’s 80th birthday. He was quite happy with the remote performance of our “happy birthday” singing.
Thank you, Anne, TCASH – Take Care and Stay Healthy