Cornerstone provides global real estate investment and advisory services to private investors, family foundations and trusts.
Cornerstone Group was founded in 2008 by H. J. Brun to manage his personal investments in real estate and to provide institutional and private investors with bespoke investment opportunities.
Mr. Brun originally trained as a chartered accountant and holds a degree of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In 1985 he joined the Marc Rich Group where he went through a trainee program in foreign exchange, equities and fixed income trading. After the program he became assistant to the Group Controller and later joined the real estate department. In 1997 he became head of real estate. From 2007 to 2008 he was CEO of the Marc Rich Group.
Mr. Brun has over twenty years of experience in the property sector. The projects he was involved in encompass a wide spectrum, including hotels, shopping malls, residential and office buildings in numerous countries such as Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic and Romania. He currently is on the board of directors of bfw liegenschaften AG, a Swiss stock exchange quoted real estate company.
The key personnel of Cornerstone have been involved in numerous acquisitions and disposal of properties in a variety of jurisdictions. We understand the opportunities but also the pitfalls presented during purchases and sales.
Cornerstone combines a well-developed instinct for prime and alternative locations with award winning architecture, excellent construction quality, reliability and profitability. It has extensive experience in property development, letting and management in various countries, including the Czech Republic, Spain, Russia, France and Germany.
One of Cornerstone´s key competences is the development of so-called ´brownfields´, such as former industrial properties (factories, harbours, etc.). Work on such projects includes pollution removal, re-zoning, adaptive use concepts, location marketing and branding.
The outstanding efforts invested into its office and hotel projects resulted in the ability to regularly attract prime clients, be it as tenants or be it as investors. Household names such as Danone and Panasonic have rented office space in the award winning buildings. Fully tenanted properties were sold to well known investors such as GE.
Cornerstone has developed substantial expertise in location marketing while working on brownfield projects. Such projects are usually located in areas that do not have a good standing. Thus, an area must be made `hip` and desirable to maximise its economic potential. Location marketing increases the velocity of sales and often allows charging a premium over non-branded locations.
Cornerstone has extensive experience in property letting and management in various countries. The knowledge accumulated in numerous negotiations with tenants allows us to create win-win situations for both, the tenant as well as the owner. Long-standing experience with facility managers enables us to achieve cost efficient facility management while guaranteeing excellent service to tenants.
The landmark Torre Picasso is, without any doubt, the best-known and most prestigious office building in Madrid. With 43 floors and a height of 157 m this elegant tower was for a long time Spain’s tallest building.
Kollarova 14 is a typical Prague mid-1800s apartment building. It was carefully restored and updated with the latest technology. A contemporary extension was added in the courtyard.
The project won four awards.
Keystone is located on Rohanske Nabrezi in Prague 8. It enjoys excellent visibility thanks to its corner location.
The project, with its striking Alucobond facade, was designed by fast rising Swiss architects EM2N.
A dilapidated building from 1898 used as a boiler room (Kotelna in Czech) was masterly converted to a light-filled contemporary office building by architect Claudio Silvestrin.
The project, which lies within the city heritage protection zone, won the `Best of Realty´ award in the category for reconstructed office space.
This middle class residential project is located adjacent to a metro station and a tram stop.
While the neighbourhood used to be of mediocre quality in the past it has improved considerably in the last two years, as we had expected.
The project site is located adjacent to a metro station in Prague`s 8th district.
A currently existing single-floor building is let to a supermarket chain.
Acquisition, financing, architectural planning (competition), definition of product, marketing, tax and legal, etc.
The Šaldova Loft project consists of the conversion of a 19th century municipal granary and a contemporary addition.
Modřany is located 10 km south of the Prague city centre on the banks of the Voltava river.
A high concentration of sports facilities (golf, skating, rowing, canoeing, tennis, freestyle park, etc.) and good public transport make this location increasingly interesting.
Its distinct style proved highly attractive to prime tenants, such as Cesky Telecom and Panasonic.
The property is located approximately 27 km south-east of Prague, in the municipality of Křížkový Újezdec.
The project consists of two sites situated on the southern bank of the Kama River, one in the city centre (14.5 ha) and the second 6 km west of the city (39 ha).
Perm is one of Russia´s largest cities and a major administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural centre.
In 2008 the city has taken the bold step to commission a strategic master plan from KCAP, a leading European urban planner. KCAP integrated our masterplan, validating the quality of our design.
Palác Karlín was the first project completed by Real Estate Karlín Group. The facade had to be kept but the interior was completely stripped and re-built with modern technology. The project, designed by Ricardo Bofill, won the prestigious ´Best of Realty´ award.
Andria and Isaura are two Spanish companies founded in 1999. Well located projects and excellent quality were the two main ingredients in its success.
Inaugurated in 1953, the Hotel Fenix was Madrid´s second best hotel after the legendary Ritz. It was acquired in 1985 in a derelict state. During 1986 it was completely stripped, rebuilt and returned to its former splendour.
This master plan was speculatively developed in connection with the privatisation of a large brownfield site in the 8th district of Prague.
The site features a complex mix of existing buildings, including the oldest residential buildings in Karlín and two large scale industrial halls.
The Červený Vrch residential project is situated in Prague 6, adjacent to the Šárka nature reserve.
The project is located in the very centre of Novosibirsk, next to the Opera and with direct access to a metro station. The plans foresaw an underground shopping mall plus one hotel, two office and one residential tower.
Liben Docks is a brownfield project located in the Karlín area of Prague. The plot is situated around a man-made water basin feed by the river Vltava. The master plan is the result of a two stage competition including leading Czech and European architects.
River Gardens is a brownfield project located in the Karlín area of Prague. The plot is situated on the bank of the river Vltava. The master plan is the result of a competition including leading Czech and European architects.
River Diamond is located in Prague 8, between Rohanské nábřeží and the Voltava river. The project was the first luxury residential development in this area of Prague.
Atrium Saldanha is a highly visible office and commercial building located on Praça do Saldanha, a prominent business hub. The project has won multiple awards for architecture and technology.
Villa Restelo is a high-class residential gated community in the north of Lisbon. Notable features include a courtyard park with a previously existing olive grove, a 20m swimming pool, sauna, polyfunctional ball games and squash courts. The community has become one of the most desired in Lisbon with prices of second hand apartments now double the original sales values.
The Zurich office organised another excellent event, this time about cross-border property investments in Germany, France, Italy, the UK, USA and Canada. Baker McKenzie's experts provided condensed and up-to-date insights on crucial regulatory, tax and financing aspects.
Cornerstone has decided to withdraw from the Warsaw office tower project due to concerns regarding compliance and architectural design.
Ein weiteres, ausgezeichnetes Seminar von B&M, diesmal über Transaktionen in der Schweiz. Trotz der teilweise trockenen Materie war das Seminar dank ausgezeichneten Sprechern keine Minute langweilig. Ein ausführliches, gut strukturiertes Handbuch (260 Seiten) gehörte zu den Seminarunterlagen.
Cornerstone has signed a Letter of Intent to enter into a joint venture with a Polish company and a Swiss family office to build a substantial office tower in Warsaw. Cornerstone would act as managing partner, responsible for planning, project management, marketing and eventually the sale of the leased building.
Torre Picasso is sold to Pontegada Inmobiliaria, a company of Anuncio Ortega, owner of the Inditex Group (Zara). The sales price of € 400 mln is below Cornerstone's valuation of € 414 mln, reflecting the buyers ability to close quickly.
The broker was Aguirre Newman.
After the withdrawal of the Swiss real estate company, Cornerstone has been mandated by FCC to look for a buyer.
After the possible sale has been made public in Spanish newspapers, we have been authorized by the owners to disclose that the building reported in our news of 21/09/11 is Torre Picasso. This elegant tower is Madrid's best known office building and features 78'000 m2 LFA on 43 floors.
Cornerstone has been commissioned by a Zurich based real estate company to prepare a study of the Madrid office market, to value one of the city’s most important and emblematic office towers and to enter into negotiations with the sellers.
We have signed the forward sale of Keystone to a vehicle of GLL Real Estate Partners. The exiting shareholders have been retained to manage the construction and letting untill the handover.
A German Real Estate Fund has made an offer to buy Keystone in a forward transaction.
At the same time we have pre-let one additional office floor. Various companies, attracted by the visibility and image of Keystone, are showing strong interest for the ground floor show rooms.
Construction financing obtained: We have signed construction financing with UniCredit. This loan replaces debt contracted with another bank during the financial crisis at less favourable conditions.
Groundbreaking Ceremony for Keystone: Cornerstone and its partners are celebrating the start of the construction.