What BF.direkt does

BF.direkt AG is a Stuttgart-based, privately held German financial services holding company founded in 1998 that specializes in real asset financing across real estate, infrastructure, and corporate debt markets. It operates as a pure holding entity coordinating six wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: BF.advisory GmbH (formerly BF.real estate finance; debt advisory and structuring for asset- and cashflow-based financing), BF.capital GmbH (asset manager for institutional Private Credit strategies in corporate, infrastructure, and real estate debt — managing approximately €2 billion in AuM), BF.infrafinance GmbH (logistics real estate and infrastructure project financing), BF.agency GmbH (loan agency and trustee services), CoRE Solutions GmbH (commercial real estate leasing), and Nova Fides GmbH (servicing and restructuring of commercial/NPL loans).

The company's business model is sales-led B2B enterprise financial services, reaching institutional clients (project developers, property asset holders / Bestandshalter, asset managers, and corporates) through direct field sales led by CSO Fabio Carrozza, intermediating between capital providers (banks, institutional investors, debt funds) and capital seekers. Since inception, the group has arranged over €20 billion in cumulative credit volume, with a current run-rate advisory volume of approximately €1 billion per year and explicit medium-term growth targets to at least double advisory volume and scale AuM from ~€2 billion to over €5 billion. Revenue is generated across five streams — debt advisory fees, asset management fees, agency/trustee fees, leasing fees, and NPL restructuring fees — all negotiated transaction-by-transaction with no publicly disclosed pricing.

The firm maintains operations across four German cities (Stuttgart HQ, Berlin, Munich, Krailling), employs 50+ professionals, and holds regulatory licenses under Sections 34c and 34i of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO) for loan and real estate loan broking. Differentiated content assets include the monthly BF.Marktradar research product and the quarterly BF.Quartalsbarometer sentiment index (with Handelsblatt Research Institute and ~38 surveyed experts). The company is privately held by founder/CEO Francesco Fedele and three board members (Carrozza, Ciriello, Sangermano) who took equity stakes in January 2026 as part of a strategic repositioning that expanded scope from real estate into infrastructure and corporate debt.

Name

BF.direkt

Legal name

BF.direkt AG

Website

https://bf-direkt.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BF.direkt AG is a Stuttgart-based holding company coordinating six subsidiaries that arrange debt advisory, institutional private credit asset management, infrastructure financing, agency/trustee, leasing, and NPL restructuring services for German project developers, property asset holders, asset managers, and corporates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Debt Advisory & Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163), Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents (6162)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Finance / Structured Credit (FSANADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Large-Cap / Sponsor Finance Direct Lending (FSANADAJ)

Keywords

• Real estate financing
• Debt advisory services
• Private credit asset management
• Infrastructure financing
• Commercial loan restructuring

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Debt Advisory Fees: BF.direkt AG and its subsidiary BF.advisory (formerly BF.real estate finance) generate revenue through advisory mandates for structuring and arranging debt financing for real estate, infrastructure, and corporate projects. Advisory volume targets at least doubling from approximately 1 billion EUR per year.
2. Asset Management Fees: BF.capital, as asset manager of the group, manages institutional Private Credit strategies (corporate private debt, infrastructure debt, real estate debt). Target AuM of more than 5 billion EUR in the medium term (from current ~2 billion EUR).
3. Agency & Trustee Services: BF.agency provides agency and trustee services as part of the financing value chain.
4. Leasing: CoRE Solutions (CoRE = Core Real Estate) provides real estate leasing services.
5. Restructuring Services: Nova Fides handles management and restructuring of commercial loans (NPL management).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BF.direkt AG is a Stuttgart-based holding company that bundles real asset financing expertise through six subsidiaries, offering debt advisory for asset-based and cashflow-based financing (BF.advisory), asset management of institutional private credit strategies (BF.capital), financing for logistics real estate and infrastructure project developments (BF.infrafinance), agency and trustee services (BF.agency), real estate leasing (CoRE Solutions), and servicing and restructuring of commercial loans including NPL management (Nova Fides). The group has arranged over 20 billion EUR in credit volume since inception and manages approximately 2 billion EUR in assets under management.

Product overview

BF.direkt AG operates as a holding company coordinating a group of six subsidiaries offering a comprehensive suite of real asset financing services. The portfolio includes BF.advisory (debt advisory and structuring), BF.capital (institutional private credit asset management), BF.infrafinance (logistics and infrastructure project financing), BF.agency (agency and trustee services), CoRE Solutions (real estate leasing), and Nova Fides (loan restructuring). The group also produces proprietary research products, including the BF.Marktradar monthly market analysis and the BF.Quartalsbarometer quarterly sentiment index.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BF.advisory: Advisory services for asset-based and cashflow-based financing
• BF.capital
• BF.infrafinance
• BF.agency
• CoRE Solutions
• Nova Fides
• BF.Marktradar
• BF.Quartalsbarometer

Products and services

• BF.advisory (formerly BF.real estate finance)
• BF.capital Private Credit Asset Management
• BF.infrafinance Project Financing
• BF.agency Agency & Trustee Services
• CoRE Solutions Real Estate Leasing
• Nova Fides Commercial Loan Restructuring
• BF.Marktradar Monthly Market Analysis
• BF.Quartalsbarometer Quarterly Sentiment Index

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20 billion EUR in credit volume arranged since inception in 1998
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dr. Markus FaulhaberminorOthers · 7 May 2026Dr. Markus Faulhaber was elected to the Aufsichtsrat (supervisory board) of BF.capital GmbH. He remains Senior Strategic Advisor of the BF Group, supporting institutional investor advisory in Debt Investments. Previously served nearly 40 years at Allianz Group including as board member of Allianz Deutschland and CEO of Allianz Leben.
• Wüstenrot & Württembergische AGminorOthers · 9 January 2026Christian Beutel, Prokurist of Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG, serves as deputy Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender (deputy supervisory board chairman) of BF.capital GmbH.
• Globe Trade Center (GTC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2025BF.real estate finance (now BF.advisory) advised GTC on bank financing for acquisition of 5,200 residential units from Peach Property Group valued at 448 million EUR. Future acquisition financing mandates are planned with GTC. GTC is a Warsaw-listed real estate investor/developer active in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe.
• Handelsblatt Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBF.direkt AG conducts the quarterly BF.Quartalsbarometer survey in cooperation with the Handelsblatt Research Institute. The survey polls expert panels of commercial real estate lenders to gauge market sentiment. Professor Dr. Steffen Sebastian (IREBS) serves as scientific advisor.
• KfW Development BankminorOthersKfW development bank subsidized loans were included in the overall debt financing package for the Globe Trade Center residential portfolio acquisition, alongside classic bank loans and debt fund financing.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Helaba (Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen): Helaba is a German Landesbank with strong real estate financing and corporate banking activities. Comparable to BF.direkt's BF.advisory on German CRE/infrastructure debt intermediation and to BF.infrafinance on infrastructure project financing mandates.
• DWS Group: DWS is one of Europe's largest asset managers with significant real estate and infrastructure debt capabilities. Directly comparable institutional private credit competitor to BF.capital, with broader product portfolio and global distribution.
• BayernLB: BayernLB is a German Landesbank with a real estate and infrastructure lending franchise structured around project developers and Bestandshalter. Directly comparable target segments to BF.advisory/BF.infrafinance and competing for similar refinancing mandates in Germany.
• Allianz Real Estate: Allianz Real Estate is the global real estate investment platform of Allianz Group, a major institutional debt and equity CRE investor. Senior Strategic Advisor Dr. Markus Faulhaber (ex-CEO Allianz Leben) bridges the two. Directly comparable to BF.capital on the institutional private real estate debt mandate side.
• CBRE Capital Markets – Debt Advisory: CBRE's Capital Markets debt advisory business intermediates commercial real estate financings globally including in Germany. Comparable advisory service line to BF.advisory, but at materially greater scale and with broader product set.
• LBBW (Landesbank Baden-Württemberg): LBBW is a major German Landesbank with significant real estate and corporate finance activities. Multiple BF.direkt executives (CFO Ciriello, prior LBBW AM backgrounds) link the two. Competes with BF.advisory on German CRE lending mandates and with BF.capital for institutional mandates via LBBW's AM arm.

Direct peers

• pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank: pbb is a leading German specialist bank for commercial real estate finance and public investment finance. Direct peer on real estate debt advisory and structuring for institutional and corporate clients in Germany, overlapping with BF.advisory's core mandate type.
• Berlin Hyp: Berlin Hyp is a German real estate bank focused on commercial real estate finance, especially for institutional investors, developers and Bestandshalter. Highly comparable target customer base and product focus (CRE debt intermediation/lending in Germany) to BF.direkt's BF.advisory and BF.capital subsidiaries.
• Arcus Infrastructure Partners: Arcus is a specialist European infrastructure debt and equity investment manager. Direct peer to BF.capital's infrastructure debt strategy and to BF.infrafinance on the project-finance origination side in European markets.
• AEW Capital Partners: AEW is a global real estate investment manager with significant European CRE debt strategies for institutional investors. Same target LP base as BF.capital and same product focus on real estate debt origination in Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BF.direkt