Manuel Leuthold, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Varia US Properties, said: “Like all market segments, US real estate has its cycles, and 2023 turned out to be the year of a downturn for the US multifamily sector. Consequently, valuations started to decrease, and transaction volumes froze. However, Varia US navigated through these challenging times with solid operating results, a strategic reduction of debt and with the continuation of its portfolio optimization strategy. We sold ten assets during 2023, generating total proceeds of USD 266.3 million. We used these proceeds to repay USD 135.8 million in mortgages as well as our first corporate bond of CHF 50 million, and we distributed to investors an extraordinary dividend of CHF 3.00 per share”.