| Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft m.b.H | |
| Type: | GmbH (≈ limited liability company)[1] |
| Predecessor: | Federal Buildings Directorate Vienna (German: Bundesbaudirektion Wien) Various Federal Buildings Administrations (German: Bundesgebäudeverwaltungen) |
| Foundation: | Vienna, Austria |
| Founder: | Government of Austria |
| Location City: | Vienna |
| Location Country: | Austria[2] |
| Area Served: | Restricted to the territory of the Republic of Austria |
| Key People: | Wolfgang Gleissner (Managing Director) Hans-Peter Weiss (Managing Director)[3] |
| Industry: | Real estate[4] |
| Revenue: | 774 million EUR (2008)[5] |
| Operating Income: | 219 million EUR (2008) |
| Net Income: | 42 million EUR (2008) |
| Assets: | 4613 million EUR (2008) |
| Equity: | 834 million EUR (2008) |
| Owner: | Republic of Austria (100%)[6] |
| Num Employees: | 812 (2008)[7] |
| Subsid: | BIG Finanzdienstleistungen GMBH BIG Entwicklungs-Und Verwertungs GMBH |
Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft m.b.H or BIG is a quasi-governmental company in Austria, which manages Austrian publicly owned real estate.[8] BIG is the central provider of space for several public sector functions such as schools, universities, prisons, courts and police stations.[9] It rents out buildings to the government entities using them, carries out renovations and new investments, and handles sales of buildings and land no longer in use by the public sector.
BIG was created by law in 1992, with the objective of centralizing property management for Austria's public sector. The federal real-estate property had previously been managed by the Federal Buildings Directorate Vienna (German: Bundesbaudirektion Wien) in the Vienna province, and in the other provinces by the Federal Buildings Administrations (German: Bundesgebäudeverwaltungen).[10] The aim was to improve the cost-efficiency of various government departments. The underlying premise for this system of internal rent was that requiring departments to pay for and account for their usage of buildings would force them to rationalise their use of space and allow surplus space to be put to alternative use or sold.
BIG is a legal entity of the form Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, shortly GmbH, which is a form of limited liability company. The sole owner of BIG is the Republic of Austria, and the company's activities cannot be considered separate from government policy.[11] Any changes in ownership would require a prior amendment to the law by simple majority.
Unlike other companies close to the Austrian government, BIG acts on the free real estate market,[12] but its business activities are restricted to the Republic of Austria. The Austrian government is dependent on BIG, since it has a de facto monopoly on special-purpose buildings such as educational facilities and prisons.[13] The Austrian government entities - such as ministries and universities - that rent these buildings, account for 98% of BIG:s rental income, Therefore, BIG and the Austrian public sector may be inferred to be in a bilateral monopoly situation with regard to special-purpose buildings. Rents are fixed on a market-like basis, though with adjustments for special-purpose buildings.[14]
BIG engages in:
In 2008, the book value of the real estate owned by BIG was approximately 4.15 billion EUR. The real estate portfolio consisted of:[15]