As far as some biographical details are concerned, it is undisputed that Reinhold Knodel is a special entrepreneur.

Not everyone has eight siblings.

In addition, a life in a strictly religious, pietistic home, completely isolated, comparable to the Mormons, with no television, discotheque or other amusements for adolescents.

Back then, house music was played in the countryside in Baden-Württemberg, and he still likes it today.

Knodel, now in his late fifties and an entrepreneur in Cologne with 200 employees, did not end up in the real estate industry without detours.

Before he learned to be a carpenter, then he was a policeman.

Only the business administration degree with a focus on real estate management pointed the way.

One thing is certain: Knodel is not an off-the-shelf entrepreneur.

Uwe Marx

Editor in business.

  • Follow I follow

With Pandion AG, which he founded and of which he is the sole owner, he mainly sells condominiums; the commercial property business is significantly smaller.

400 apartments a year are realistic, the turnover was recently between 300 and 400 million euros - which makes the company one of the ten best-selling German project developers.

Around 4,700 apartments are currently in the planning stage, plus ten larger commercial properties - making a total sales volume of 5 billion euros, including 3 billion in the residential sector.

Corona has not harmed this trend either.

The consequences of the pandemic "passed the company almost without a trace," says Knodel.

Sales revenue only fell sharply at the beginning, but picked up again quite quickly.

The big cities are his territory

Knodel not only denies that with this size it is primarily about returns and less about aesthetics, he has implemented this attitude in a business model. Some things that are being built across the country today look like they should be torn down as quickly as possible, he says. Pandion is proceeding differently: “I see no reason why our residential properties should not be attractive in many decades and, in my opinion, should still be in 100 years. We just want to show that attractive architecture can be timeless and therefore also sustainable. "

Pandion's territory is made up of large cities; the company has other locations in Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart. Frankfurt and Hamburg would be "the next logical step," says Knodel. In Frankfurt he has so far held back because after the Brexit he did not want to take part in what he describes as an overbidding competition. The market was overheated. But one way or another, further national expansion is the goal.

As much as he is a child from the country, he is also convinced that only big cities give what Pandion needs. He considers it unrealistic that the pandemic could change this, for example by making the centers less popular and the country more attractive. “I don't believe that inner cities are becoming less attractive and that the trend is towards suburbs or provinces,” says Knodel. “The attractiveness of the A cities in particular remains unbroken and is even increasing. They all have advantages on their side. ”So jobs, culture, gastronomy and so on. That is why he still considers office properties in these locations to be a good idea. For companies they are a plus point in the “war for talents” in the competition for the best employees. “Who wants to be bored in the sleeping quarters?” He asks. It is also "a fallacy,that people want to sit alone in the home office for eight hours every day ”.