The mortgage reference rate was introduced in 2008 with the aim of harmonizing the rent structure on the nationwide Swiss level. It is determined quarterly by the Federal Office of Housing (FOH) and is decisive for rent adjustments in existing tenancies. Since its introduction, the mortgage reference rate has fallen steadily and reached a historic low of 1.25% on March 3, 2020, at which it had since remained set.
Today, the FOH increased the mortgage reference rate for the first time in over 14 years, setting it at 1.5%. The new mortgage reference rate will apply from June 2, 2023.
If the required contractual conditions under the relevant lease agreements are in place, this adjustment of the mortgage reference rate entitles the landlord to unilaterally increase the rent by up to 3% (subject to further increases based on other factors such as inflation) as of the next possible termination date.
Landlords who wish to exercise this right may assert these increases in compliance with the contractual and statutory form and deadline requirements. In any case, increases must be notified using an official form, must include a justification and must be delivered at least 10 days before the start of the notice period. When sending the rent increase notification by registered letter, it should be noted that in case of failed delivery on first attempt, delivery is deemed to have taken place only after the expiry of the postal seven-day collection period.
The tenant has the right to terminate the lease agreement within the cooling-off period or to contest the rent increase within a 30-day period starting from notification of the rent increase.

Increase of the mortgage reference rate

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HomeToGo_web_640x140

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On February 12, 2025, HomeToGo SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: HTG) announced the signing of a binding agreement to acquire Interhome, Europe&#8217;s second largest vacation rental management company, from Migros, Switzerland’s largest retail company. HomeToGo agreed to a purchase price of CHF 150 m, plus deferred payments of up to CHF 85 m which may become due in tranches until 2029, making this the most significant transaction in HomeToGo Group&#8217;s history and positioning HomeToGo to become Europe&#8217;s leading vacation rental platform.
With this transaction, HomeToGo Group&#8217;s total pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA for FY/24e would triple to more than EUR 30 m.
The transaction is expected to be financed through a combination of new equity, senior debt and available net cash and is expected to close in H1/25, subject to customary regulatory approvals for both the acquisition of Interhome by HomeToGo and the simultaneous acquisition &#8211; in the same transaction &#8211; of the other entities in Hotelplan Group by DERTOUR Group, a renowned international tourism group.
Homburger advises HomeToGo on the Swiss law and tax aspects of the transaction. The Homburger team was led by Frank Gerhard (Corporate / M&amp;A) and included Olivier Bühlmann, Magdalena Stock, Daniel Bötticher, Miriam Oelgarth and Harun Cetin (all Corporate / M&amp;A), Stefan Bindschedler and Michelle Wolf (both Financing and Investment Products), Luca Dal Molin and Joel Fink (both IP / IT), Richard Stäuber and Christoph Grüninger (both Competition), Reto Heuberger, Stefan Oesterhelt and Philippe Weber (all Tax), Vanessa Huber and Jeremy Reichlin (both Employment and Executive Compensation), Gabriel Kasper (Data Protection) as well as Stefanie Pfisterer (Arbitration). Homburger acted alongside a German-based Linklaters team on this transaction.

Homburger advises HomeToGo on its acquisition of Interhome

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YODA plc_web_640x140

Share-Image Teamplate Deals-and-Cases

On December 27, 2024, Yoda PLC, a Cyprus-based investment corporation listed on the Cyprus stock exchange (CSE: YODA), announced the completion of its major investment into ULTIMA CAPITAL SA (Ultima), a Swiss luxury real estate owner, developer and operator listed on BX Swiss (BX: ULTIMA).
As part of the transaction, Yoda has transferred to Ultima, by way of a contribution in kind, 100% of the issued share capital of its wholly-owned subsidiary Papacamp Investments Limited (Papacamp) at a contribution value of approximately CHF 484.6 m in return for 8,076,667 newly-issued shares of Ultima. Papacamp indirectly owns real estate properties and real estate developments in Greece within the luxury hospitality sector. As a result of the transaction, Yoda has become Ultima&#8217;s largest shareholder, with a shareholding interest in Ultima of approximately 53.8%. In addition, Yoda has granted Ultima a loan in the amount of CHF 71 m.
The Homburger team advising Yoda on all aspects of the transaction was led by Stefan Blunschi and included Micha Fankhauser, Oliver Kneubühl, Jonas Stähli and Leander Etter (all Corporate / M&amp;A), Lorenzo Togni and Kaiyan Yeo (both Capital Markets), Claudia Suter, Philippe Weber and Philippe Gobet (all Tax), Stefan Bindschedler and Nathalie Scherrer (both Financing and Investment Products), Stefan Gäumann and Olivier Bühlmann (both Real Estate), and Richard Stäuber and David Thomann (both Regulatory).

Homburger advised Yoda PLC on its investment into ULTIMA CAPITAL SA

Pollen_Street_bw_640x140

Pollen Street Capital has acquired Etops Group, further consolidating the European wealthtech market by adding to its existing investments in niiio Finance Group, fundsaccess, MiFID-Recorder, and FundHero. As part of the transaction, key shareholders of Etops Group agreed to reinvest in the wider group.
Pollen Street Capital is a private capital asset manager with more than GBP 4.2 bn in assets under management.
Etops Group is a Swiss-based provider of software solutions and business process outsourcing services in the wealth management sector.
The Homburger team advising Pollen Street Capital comprised Andreas Müller, Olivier Bühlmann, Jonas Stähli and Harun Cetin (all Corporate / M&amp;A, Real Estate), Reto Heuberger and Philippe Weber (both Tax) and Daniel Junginger (Financing and Investment Products).

Olivier
Bühlmann

Homburger advises HomeToGo on its acquisition of Interhome

Homburger advised Yoda PLC on its investment into ULTIMA CAPITAL SA

Homburger advised Pollen Street Capital on its acquisition of Etops Group

Increase of the mortgage reference rate

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OlivierBühlmann

Homburger advises HomeToGo on its acquisition of Interhome

Homburger advised Yoda PLC on its investment into ULTIMA CAPITAL SA

Homburger advised Pollen Street Capital on its acquisition of Etops Group

Increase of the mortgage reference rate

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Olivier Bühlmann

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Olivier
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