GRR GARBE Retail strengthens management team with Thomas Wagner and sets course for pan-European growth
GRR GARBE Retail Real Estate GmbH (GRR GARBE Retail), a leading asset and investment manager, is expanding its management board at the beginning of the year. With effect from 1 January 2026, Thomas Wagner has been appointed to the management board, joining Andreas Freier and Jan Heidelmann.
By strengthening its management team, GRR GARBE Retail is responding to the dynamic growth of its platform and the increasing importance of food-anchored retail properties across Europe.
In this role, Thomas Wagner will assume operational leadership at GRR GARBE Retail. In addition to overseeing business operations, he will be responsible for real estate management and project management. In this capacity, he will systematically align the company’s structures and processes with the planned expansion over the coming years. Jan Heidelmann will place a stronger focus on the development of the corporate strategy, including further national and international expansion at a European level. His responsibilities will include Capital Markets and Strategy, Fund Management and Business Development. Andreas Freier will continue to be responsible for Transaction Management and Asset Management.
Thomas Wagner
Christopher Garbe, Managing Partner at GARBE, commented: “With this structure, we are ideally positioned to further develop GRR GARBE Retail into a leading fully integrated pan-European platform for food retail real estate. The food retail segment is characterised by structurally stable demand and resilient cash flows – particularly in a volatile market environment.”
Andreas Freier and Jan Heidelmann, Managing Directors at GRR GARBE Retail, added:
“Thomas Wagner brings extensive experience across the entire real estate lifecycle. His expertise in transformation processes – from organisational development and digitalisation to ESG – is particularly valuable. He will provide important impetus for the next phase of our company’s growth.”
Thomas Wagner said: “GRR GARBE Retail combines entrepreneurial agility with a high level of real estate and investment expertise. My focus will be on integrating and further developing business processes in order to enhance efficiency, scalability and service quality for tenants and investors alike, particularly in the context of digitalisation and AI.”
Thomas Wagner is a qualified real estate economist, holds degrees in business administration and civil engineering, and has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, including 13 years in senior management roles. His most recent positions include Managing Director at LBBW Immobilien Management GmbH, part of the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Group and one of Germany’s major real estate companies, as well as roles at OFB Projektentwicklung and GGM Gesellschaft Gebäudemanagement, both part of the Helaba Immobilien Group.
About GRR GARBE Retail
GRR GARBE Retail Real Estate GmbH specializes in local supply retail real estate in Germany and Europe, focusing on investment and asset management. Headquartered in Nuremberg, GRR has been part of GARBE since early 2024. GARBE is an owner-managed real estate company based in Germany,
with more than 600 employees across 21 locations in 14 countries and a real estate portfolio valued at approximately EUR 15.0 billion. GRR GARBE Retail itself currently manages around 550 properties in Germany and other European countries with a total value of more than EUR 2.8 billion, supported by a team of over 90 employees.
For more information about GRR GARBE Retail, visit www.grr-garbe.com.