GWU Eckernförde

What GWU Eckernförde does

GWU Eckernförde (legally: Genossenschaftliches Wohnungsunternehmen Eckernförde eG) is a registered housing cooperative founded in 1920 in Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The cooperative develops, manages, and rents residential properties, owning 2,969 apartments at the end of 2023 — of which 783 are socially subsidized under the Wohnraumförderung program (Sozialbindung) — and managing a total of approximately 5,000 own and third-party units across Eckernförde, Kiel, Schleswig, Rendsburg, Gettorf, and Kronshagen. It serves 4,852 cooperative members and is governed as an eingetragene Genossenschaft, meaning profits are reinvested into the housing stock rather than distributed to external shareholders.

The GWU Group operates four wholly-owned subsidiaries that vertically integrate its service stack: NHV Hausverwaltung GmbH (residential and WEG property management for both GWU and external clients), NEV Energieversorgung GmbH (heat energy supply for new and modernized buildings, founded 2022), EUS GmbH (in-house crafts and engineering with 39 workers covering painters, electricians, carpenters, tilers, masons, facility management, and cleaning, founded 2016), and GWU EB GmbH (a joint venture with Eckernförder Bank handling developer sales of turnkey new-build homes). The digital layer comprises a member/tenant service portal, a mobile service app, a 24/7 virtual chatbot named "Neela," and a 24/7 Pick-up-Box postal service; back-office runs on Aareon's SAP-based ERP. Sustainability is anchored in the GREENBLUE_45 initiative, which targets full carbon neutrality of the building stock by 2045.

Revenue comes from three streams: recurring monthly residential rental income on the 2,969 owned units (primary), one-time turnkey property sales through GWU EB GmbH, and fee-based property management and craft services delivered to external clients via NHV and EUS. Pricing for individual units is not publicly disclosed and includes a mix of market-rate and subsidized rents. In 2023 the balance sheet total reached €211.1M (up from €197.6M in 2022, a 6.8% increase), the annual surplus was approximately €3.1M (compared with €3.47M in 2022), and €16.3M was spent on new construction, conversion, and modernization.

Name

GWU Eckernförde

Legal name

Genossenschaftliches Wohnungsunternehmen Eckernförde eG

Website

https://gwu-eck.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Short description

GWU Eckernförde is a 100-year-old housing cooperative in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, owning 2,969 apartments (783 socially subsidized) and managing approximately 5,000 units across six cities, serving 4,852 members through four integrated operating subsidiaries covering property management, energy supply, craft services, and developer sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Housing

NAICS

Residential Property Managers (531311), Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings (531110)

SIC

Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Association Maintenance, Vendor & Capital Project Management (BPAJAHAM)

Keywords

• Residential rental housing
• Housing cooperative services
• Property management
• Social housing programs
• Real estate development

Headquarters

HQ city

Eckernförde

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Residential Rental Income: GWU generates the majority of its revenue from renting out residential apartments. As a housing cooperative (Genossenschaft), profits are reinvested into property maintenance, modernization, and new construction rather than distributed to shareholders.
2. Property Sales / Purchase Contracts: GWU sells turnkey (schlüsselfertig) residential properties to members and third parties, generating one-time transaction revenue.
3. Property Management Services (Subsidiaries): Subsidiaries NHV Hausverwaltung GmbH (WEG and property management), NEV GmbH (energy supply), EUS GmbH (handyman/engineering services), and GWU EB GmbH (developer sales) provide fee-based services both to GWU properties and external clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

GWU Eckernförde operates as a member-owned housing cooperative that develops, manages, and rents out approximately 2,969 residential apartments (including 783 socially subsidized units) across Eckernförde, Kiel, Schleswig, Rendsburg, Gettorf, and Kronshagen. Through four wholly-owned subsidiaries (NHV Hausverwaltung, NEV Energieversorgung, EUS GmbH, GWU EB GmbH), it delivers integrated property management, energy supply, craft/engineering services, and developer sales of new-construction properties to members and external clients.

Product overview

GWU Eckernförde is a housing cooperative (Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft) offering rental housing, purchase properties, and new construction projects. The company operates as a unified cooperative with four subsidiary companies: NHV Hausverwaltung GmbH (property management), NEV Energieversorgung GmbH (energy supply), EUS GmbH (crafts and engineering services), and GWU EB GmbH (real estate development joint venture). Digital services include Neela (AI chatbot), the GWU Serviceportal (customer portal), GWU Service App (mobile application), and Pick-up-Box (24/7 package pickup). The GREENBLUE_45 initiative drives sustainability goals toward carbon neutrality by 2045.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mietwohnungen (Rental Housing) Residential rental apartments offered to cooperative members and external tenants across Eckernförde, Kiel, Schleswig, Rendsburg, Gettorf, and Kronshagen. Includes both market-rate units and socially subsidized (Sozialbindung) apartments under Wohnraumförderung with reduced rents.
• Kaufimmobilien (Purchase Properties) Turnkey newly built residential properties sold to individual buyers. Offered via the GWU EB GmbH developer-sales joint venture with Eckernförder Bank, combining development expertise with banking and financing.
• Neubauprojekte (New Construction Projects) Development of new-build residential projects in Schleswig-Holstein, adding to GWU's rental and for-sale portfolio. Recent example: Saxtorfer Weg (11 rental apartments, of which 9 are publicly subsidized).
• Property Management Services (NHV Hausverwaltung GmbH) Full-service residential and WEG (German apartment ownership association) property management services for GWU properties and external clients. Operated from Kiel.
• Energy Supply Services (NEV Energieversorgung GmbH) Energy supply for GWU's new buildings and energetically modernized buildings, including data infrastructure and heating-system portfolio management. Established as a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2022.
• Crafts and Engineering Services (EUS GmbH) Planning and execution of construction projects plus maintenance and repair of GWU's building stock. Employs 39 workers including painters, electricians, carpenters, tilers, masons, facility managers, and cleaning staff (3 caretakers and 11 full-time tradespeople). Also serves external clients.
• Developer Sales (GWU EB GmbH) Real estate developer sales of GWU's newly built residential properties to end buyers, in partnership with Eckernförder Bank to provide integrated development and financing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio expanded by 77 apartments in 2023 through new construction and acquisition
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Verband Norddeutscher Wohnungsunternehmen (VNW)coreOthersVNW is the interest and audit association for housing companies in Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Schleswig-Holstein. GWU is a member and subject to VNW's cooperative audit framework. VNW also provides the Data Protection Officer for GWU (Nicola Olivier, based in Hamburg).
• IHK Schleswig-HolsteincoreOthersGWU holds membership with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Schleswig-Holstein, based in Kiel. IHK membership is standard for German businesses and provides regulatory and advocacy services.
• GdW Bundesverband deutscher Wohnungs- und Immobilienunternehmen e.V.majorOthersGWU is a member of the national-level GdW association, which represents housing companies across Germany and advocates at the federal level on housing policy, energy, and urban development.
• ARGE Arbeitsgemeinschaft für zeitgemäßes Bauen e.V.minorOthersGWU participates in ARGE, an association promoting contemporary construction methods, scientific research in building, and environmental protection in the construction sector.
• IfG Forschungsgesellschaft für Genossenschaftswesen Münster e.V.minorOthersGWU is a member of the IfG research association focused on cooperative studies, based in Münster. The association includes all major German cooperative federations and over 100 cooperatives.
• AGV Arbeitgeberverband der Deutschen Immobilienwirtschaft e.V.minorOthersGWU is a member of AGV, the employers' association for the German real estate industry.
• Marketinginitiative der Wohnungsbaugenossenschaften Deutschland e.V.minorOthersGWU participates in this nationwide marketing initiative uniting approximately 410 housing cooperatives to conduct joint marketing activities promoting cooperative housing across Germany.
• Marketinggemeinschaft der Wohnungsbaugenossenschaften Schleswig-HolsteinminorOthersGWU is part of the Schleswig-Holstein state-level marketing consortium of 18 housing cooperatives.
• Wohnungsbaugenossenschaften Deutschland (Guest Apartments Network)minorOthersGWU participates in the national cooperative housing network offering approximately 120 fully equipped guest apartments at favorable rates for members traveling across Germany.
• VodafoneminorOthersVodafone provides cable/TV reception services for GWU residential properties. GWU directs tenants experiencing cable reception issues to Vodafone's customer service (0800-5266625).
• Aareon Deutschland GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationAareon provides and operates an ERP system (SAP) for GWU's property management, accounting, and business processes. Listed as a data processor under GDPR.
• E&P Pensionsmanagement GmbHminorOthersProvides GWU with pension management services. Listed as a data processor under GDPR for employee pension administration.
• LohndirektminorOthersProvides payroll and salary accounting services for GWU employees.
• Telesense Kommunikation GmbHminorOthersOperates an external call center for GWU.
• K&A SchließtechnikminorOthersProvides access control systems (key/card entry) for GWU properties.
• Provinzial VersicherungminorOthersGWU's professional liability insurance (Berufshaftpflichtversicherung) provider, based in Kiel (Sophienblatt 33, 24114 Kiel).
• Eckernförder BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGWU EB GmbH is a joint venture between GWU and Eckernförder Bank for developer sales (Bauträgervertrieb), combining real estate development expertise with banking and financing capabilities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft Kiel eG: Housing cooperative serving the Kiel metropolitan area, directly comparable to GWU in terms of cooperative ownership structure, residential rental focus, and Schleswig-Holstein regional presence. Both serve similar member-tenant segments with subsidized and market-rate housing.
• Bauverein zu Lübeck eG: Lübeck-based housing cooperative (founded 1899) with comparable cooperative model, member-owned residential rental operations, and similar Schleswig-Holstein / northern Germany geographic footprint. Provides a near-perfect structural analog to GWU.
• Wankendorfer Baugenossenschaft für Schleswig-Holstein eG: Schleswig-Holstein-wide housing cooperative with a larger geographic spread but identical cooperative governance and residential rental business model. Highly comparable member base and service offerings.
• Baugenossenschaft Mittelholstein eG: Regional housing cooperative operating in the Rendsburg/Eckernförde adjacent geography of Schleswig-Holstein. Directly comparable in scale, member-owned structure, and residential rental focus.

Regional players

• SAGA Siedlungs-Aktiengesellschaft Hamburg: Public-sector housing company managing over 130,000 apartments in Hamburg, the larger neighboring metropolitan area. Comparable residential rental and property management activities but operates in a different city region at substantially greater scale.

Broad incumbents

• Vonovia SE: Germany's largest residential real estate company with ~500,000 units nationwide. Comparable core business of residential property ownership and management, but operates at vastly greater scale as a listed, commercially-oriented landlord rather than a cooperative.
• Deutsche Wohnen SE: Major German residential real estate company (now majority-owned by Vonovia) with a portfolio of over 150,000 units. Operates in the same residential rental market but as a commercial enterprise rather than a member cooperative.
• LEG Immobilien AG: Listed residential real estate company focused on North Rhine-Westphalia with over 160,000 units. Overlaps with GWU on the residential rental model and northern German operations, though LEG is a commercial enterprise many times GWU's size.
• TAG Immobilien AG: German residential real estate company with a portfolio of ~85,000 apartments, primarily in northern and eastern Germany. Overlaps with GWU's northern German residential rental market focus, but operates commercially and at larger scale.
• Grand City Properties S.A. International residential real estate company with a large German portfolio of ~60,000 units concentrated in urban areas. Comparable residential rental asset class but operates commercially rather than as a member cooperative.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/gwu.eck
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gwu-eck

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries4 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 GWU Eckernförde