Annington versus Deutsche Annington: Private Equity and Housing in the Anglo-Saxon and Rhenish Contexts

Abstract

Under the Rhenish model of capitalism the interests of other stakeholders than shareholders are essential to the interests of the firm. However, Rhenish institutions in Germany have been changing. In the housing sector, many organizations that promoted the provision of affordable housing are currently managed by private equity firms promoting shareholders’ interests. This paper presents a dual case study on two housing providers: Annington in the UK, and Deutsche Annington in Germany which were owned by the same private equity investor, Terra Firma. The paper–based on this analysis of a single approach to the management of two comparable firms in the Rhenish and Anglo-Saxon contexts–considers the question of whether the Rhenish model is being swept away by the shareholders revolution. The paper concludes that this is not the case and that certain differences between these cases reflect the continuing differences between the Anglo-Saxon and Rhenish models of capitalism.