On May 23, 2011, Dr. Mathias Hain and Lutz Rittig founded RITTERWALD as a consultancy with a focus on the residential real estate sector in Berlin and Frankfurt am Main.
Ten years later, RITTERWALD advises both the real estate and energy management sectors, as well as related sectors, on the challenges of the present and the future – at four locations in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.
The name RITTERWALD was inspired by the last names of the two founders: “Ritter” (which means “knight” in German) from Lutz Rittig and “Wald” (which means “forest” in German) from Dr. Mathias Hain (with “Hain” being German for “grove”). While the image of the knight symbolizes analysis and result-oriented action, the forest embodies a place where employees, clients, and new ideas can grow and thrive for the company founders.
In 2021, Dr. Mathias Hain and Lutz Rittig, together with Associate Partners Dr. Christina Welsch and Sören Solzin, Directors Ad Hereijgers in Amsterdam and Austen Reid in London, and over 20 employees, will ensure that RITTERWALD lives up to its good name every day.
We founded RITTERWALD with only one client in 2011. Today, we advise over 100 national and international companies, from municipal housing providers to publicly traded companies. We are particularly proud that we have been able to support our very first clients on the latest issues and projects up to the present day.
In over 500 projects so far, we have been able to help companies boost their efficiency and set themselves up so that they are fit for the future. At an early stage, we focused on the major social issues for our clients – digitalization, Smart City, and sustainability – and developed industry standards.
We started out with two locations in 2011 – in the commercial capital of Frankfurt am Main and at the heart of the rapidly developing real estate sector in Berlin. We spread out within Europe in 2017, starting with a joint venture with EFL and Dr. Klein. European locations in Amsterdam and London followed in 2019 and 2020.
At RITTERWALD, diversity is a huge asset. Between them, our employees have many different nationalities, speak more than 10 languages, and enrich our team with their international education and training profiles, cultural candor, and the ability to see the bigger picture beyond national borders.
The real estate sector can make a decisive contribution to climate protection and other socially relevant issues now and in the future. What matters to me is that we support these issues on this important path while always keeping an eye on the economy.
Dr. Mathias Hain Managing Director at RITTERWALD
The challenges we face today are concentrated in the places where people live and work. That’s what makes consultancy in the real estate and energy management sectors so exciting.
Lutz Rittig Managing Director at RITTERWALD
Affordable housing, smart living, sustainable and efficient economy: these are the major entrepreneurial and social challenges that we deal with at RITTERWALD. To me, this is exciting and rewarding work.
Dr. Christina Welsch Associate Partner at RITTERWALD
RITTERWALD has a track record of successfully providing innovative value-added advisory services to leading housing and real estate companies across Europe. We are now bringing our experience to support UK housing clients in a way that reflects the particular national market dynamics.
Austen Reid Senior Advisor at RITTERWALD
Housing in an environment worth living in, sustainably and efficiently managed: It’s particularly important to me that we at RITTERWALD create tangible added value, because our work is about the homes people live in.
Alexandra Brennecke Project Manager at RITTERWALD
As an advocate for more sustainability in the real estate sector, I’m passionate about building bridges between social and affordable housing and the financial sector – to give housing companies access to the growing number of international ESG investors.
Drs. Ad Hereijgers Director Business Development & UK at RITTERWALD
I like to work independently and on my own responsibility – and that’s what I’ve been able to do at RITTERWALD right from the get-go. At the same time, I’m safe in the knowledge that I have the support of a great team behind me. I can always approach my colleagues, work closely together with them, and benefit greatly from their experience.
Denisa Lück Senior Consultant at RITTERWALD
First and foremost, we would like to thank our long-standing and newly acquired clients, who always come to us with new challenges and have faith in our expertise. Thank you to our business partners, who pool their competencies with ours so we are able to do more, together.
And last but not least, we would like to thank our fantastic team for the ability, energy, and vast amounts of time they have invested in our joint venture – thank you for your trust, your loyalty, and the inspiration you provide us.