Hypoport. Company. Institutional Equity Research Report. Innovative financial service provider. Hold (initial coverage) 07.

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1 07. November 2008 Company Institutional Equity Research Report Hypoport Rating Hold (initial coverage) Innovative financial service provider Business model offers growth potential High synergy potential thanks to scalability Financial crisis should create a growth setback Initial coverage of the share with Hold and target price of MAI JUN JUL AUG SEP OKT D Moving Average 200D Moving Average Source: Thomson Datastream 38D Moving Average 200D Moving Average Source: Thomson Datastream Please note the disclaimer and important disclosures in Appendix 1

2 Hold Hypoport Target price: Price: /06/08 17:30 h Last rating/target price: n.a. / n.a. Last analysis: n.a. S&P rating: n.a. n.a. Number of shares: 6.1 m Market capitalisation: 31.7 m Index: Prime All Share Index weight: n.a Beta: 1.15 Accounting: -IFRS Calendar: Q3 on 11/10/ dividend: div. yield:.0.00% Complementary business model offers growth potential The Hypoport Group is an internet-based one-stop financial service provider. Its business model is based on two mutually supporting pillars: the Financial Product Sales and B2B Financial Marketplaces divisions. The ongoing financial crisis will also impact Hypoport s business performance, but there is enough potential in its business model favouring future revenue and profit growth. We are giving the share a Hold recommendation. Share ratios Earnings per share New Previous EV/Sales EV/EBITDA PER n.a e 0.08 n.a e 0.81 n.a e 0.97 n.a Company ratios Revenues m EBITDA m EBIT m EBIT margin Net income m % e % e % e % HYPOPORT, MAV 200D ISIN: DE Bloomberg: HYQ GY Reuters: HYQGn.DE RELATIVE STRENGTH TO PRIME ALL SHARE Olaf Kayser MscBA, CEFA Investment Analyst Tel Olaf.Kayser@LBBW.de Equity Research Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Am Hauptbahnhof Stuttgart O N D J F M A M J J A S O Pros and cons at a glance + Scalable business model + Superior sales approach + Market leader in transaction platforms for financial prod. + High market entry barriers + Profitable growth Source: DATASTREAM - Low share liquidity - High margin products underrepresented thus far - Dependent on the capital market - Difficult environment for construction financing 60 40

3 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 3 Report Contact partners Equity Research Head of Equity Research Institutionals Dr. Stefan Steib, CFA Stefan.Steib@LBBW.de Head of Sector Analysis I Jürgen Graf Juergen.Graf@LBBW.de Head of Sector Analysis II Alexander Groschke, CBA Alexander.Groschke@LBBW.de Head of Strategy Michael Köhler, CEFA Michael.Koehler@LBBW.de Financials Alex Groschke, CBA Alexander.Groschke@LBBW.de Olaf Kayser, CEFA Olaf.Kayser@LBBW.de Robert Mazzuoli, CFA Robert.Mazzuoli@LBBW.de Martin Peter, CEFA Martin.Peter@LBBW.de Equity Sales Head of Equity Sales Uwe Müller-Kasporick Uwe.Mueller-Kasporick@LBBW.de Institutional Sales Manfred Kuntzsch Manfred.Kuntzsch@LBBW.de Institutional Client Management Felix von Lewinski Felix.vonLewinski@LBBW.de Verbund Sales Trading Ralf Schiller Ralf.Schiller@LBBW.de Institutional Sales Trading Andreas Schwarz Andreas.Schwarz@LBBW.de UK Equity Sales Quentin Paterson / Robert Winterton / Marcus Wüsten Derivatives Sales Head of Derivatives Sales Jan Krüger Jan.Krueger@LBBW.de Derivatives Sales Institutionals Florian Neuber Derivatives Marketing Oliver Gerst Oliver.Gerst@LBBW.de Derivatives Product Management Volker Honold 25008

4 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 4 Report Contents Executive summary 5 SWOT profile 6 Valuation 7 Recommendation 13 Company profile 14 Company strategy 18 Market and competition 25 The company in figures 31 Appendix 36

5 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 5 Report Executive summary The Hypoport Group is an internet-based one-stop financial service provider. Its business model is based on two mutually supporting pillars: the Financial Product Sales and B2B Financial Marketplaces divisions. The 100 % subsidiary Dr. Klein represents the first division, Financial Product Sales. Using the Internet, this division gives private clients access to a broad range of banking and financial products from current accounts to insurance services and mortgage financing. In addition, Dr. Klein also specialises in financing municipal and cooperative housing companies. The second company division - B2B Financial Marketplaces - consists of the transaction platform EUROPACE with the two business areas of Financial Service Providers and Institutional Clients. The former carries out mortgage financing, personal loans and other financial service products between sales organisations and product suppliers. This makes EUROPACE a virtual marketplace where sales organisations are able to conduct business with the suppliers of products. The two pillars complement each another ideally: Dr. Klein gains an efficient transaction platform and benefits from the purchasing power of the financial sales linked to EUROPACE. At the same time, EUROPACE benefits from Dr. Klein s customer expertise and uses the demand volume that the subsidiary has generated for the purpose of establishing its transaction platform on the market. The scalability of the platform results in improved margins. Financial crisis is a burden Hypoport generates the lion s share of its revenues from the placement of real estate financing. The number of construction permits in Germany has declined for years and the intensifying financial crisis is also leading to reluctance on the part of commercial corporate real estate clients. As such, the dynamic growth from the past is expected to weaken. We anticipate further revenue growth in future given the fact that the company is expanding its network of branches and focusing more on the sale of one-stop financial products. Margin slump in the short term The EBIT margin in H1/08 only came out to 6.8 % (2007: 9.5 %). This was due to the expansion of the market position, mainly in the young business unit of Institutional Clients. A loss should be posted from a one-off expense of around 3 m for the closure of the loss-making division of EUROPACE for Investors in H2/08, thus diluting the margin once again. Given the improved profitability, we anticipate margins in the area of 13 % in the next few years. Recommendation: Hold Target price 6.10 We have derived a fair value of 6.10 for the Hypoport share from our valueadded model. Based on a peer group comparison, this yields a higher target price, but we believe this to be distorted in Hypoport s case. With the high degree of forecast uncertainty at the moment when it comes to financial stocks, we only recommend a Hold for Hypoport despite its over-proportionate growth opportunities. The target price is 6.10.

6 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 6 Report SWOT profile Strengths The two company divisions Dr. Klein and EUROPACE interact to lift earnings synergies, thus creating value Dr. Klein has a superior sales approach thanks to its internet expertise including lead generation and multi-channel sales The market leadership in transaction platforms for financial products creates high market entry barriers thanks to the marketplace effect The high degree of acceptance for the platform technology by the market as well as the scalability of the business model give rise to expectations of revenue growth and rising margins Weaknesses Heavy-margin provisional products only play a minor role High level of dependence on the construction financing business Opportunities Financial product distributors and agents continue to gain market shares Internet becoming more and more important as an instrument in obtaining information The value chain in the financial services sector continues to break open and the real net output ratio of product suppliers is sinking. This leads to the emergence of new fields of activity for external service providers such as Hypoport. High level of IT expertise for the expansion of B2B Financial Marketplaces Scalable platform technology allows for profitable growth Entering the market in new countries lowers the dependence on the domestic market Threats Dependent on the capital market environment (especially the interest level) and general political conditions Falling demand for mortgage financing The scalability of the EUROPACE platform regarding new products could be delayed Competition for financial consultants could slow down the expansion of the business

7 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 7 Report Valuation In order to sufficiently account for Hypoport s long-term growth prospects, we have used a DCF procedure with our valuation. The results are subsequently validated by the comparison with similar companies based on the multiple analysis. Discounted cash flow valuation We have used a three-year detailed forecast as a basis for our calculation of the free cash flows. A second phase ( ) shows a normalised business trend, where the high growth rates are expected to weaken over time during the early stages of a young company. In our calculation of the terminal value (phase III) we have assumed average revenue growth of 1.5 % and an EBIT margin of 9.5 %. Higher risk premium increases the WACC DCF-model - assumptions risk-free interest 3,8% Market risk premium 6,7% Beta factor 1,15 Cost of equity 11,5% Cost of debt (after tax) 5,8% Equity ratio (market value) 85% WACC 10,6% Terminal growth rate 1,5% Source: LBBW Other central assumptions We have also come to the following central assumptions relating to the valuation: We assess a beta of We are assuming a target equity ratio of 85 % as well as a risk-free interest rate of 3.8 % and a market risk premium of 6.7 %. This yields a WACC of 10.6 %. The double-digit revenue growth in our detailed forecast will weaken in phase II (2011 to 2017) to a figure in the mid-single digits. The EBIT margin of 12.5 % for 2011e is sustainable in our view. We expect this to range between 12 and 14 % in phase II (2011 to 2017).

8 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 8 Report Free Cashflow ( '000) 2008e 2009e 2010e 2011e 2012e 2013e 2014e 2015e 2016e 2017e Sales Growth (yoy) 30,1% 15,9% 11,1% 8,1% 7,5% 7,0% 6,0% 5,0% 5,0% 5,0% EBIT EBIT-Margin 2,5% 11,7% 12,4% 12,8% 13,2% 13, 5% 13,3% 12,5% 12,0% 11,5% - EE taxes on EBIT Tax rate 15,3% 28,9% 29,3% 29,3% 29,3% 29, 3% 29,3% 29,3% 29,3% 29,3% + Depreciation and amortizati of sales 8, 6% 6,3% 6,0% 5,8% 5, 6% 5,5% 5,3% 5,1% 4,9% 4,7% Provisions of revenues 0, 3% 0,4% 0,4% 0,4% 0, 4% 0,4% 0,4% 0,4% 0,4% 0,4% + change in provisions = Operating Cashflow Capital expenditure of sales 10,8% 10,3% 10,0% 8,5% 8,2% 7,6% 7,3% 7,0% 6,8% 6,5% Net Working Capital of sales 17,8% 16,2% 17,1% 17,5% 17,3% 17, 1% 16,8% 16,5% 16,0% 15,5% - change in Net Working Capit = Free Cashflow Present Value source: LBBW DCF valuation determines a fair value of 37.5 m Using the assumptions listed above as a basis, we arrive at a fair value of equity of 37.5 m for Hypoport AG. DCF yields fair value of 6.10 per share Calculation of fair value ( m) Present value of Free Cashflow planning years Present value of Terminal Value = Enterprise Value Share of TV in Enterprise Value 50,3% - Net financial debt Peripheral assets 0 =Fair value /Number of shares ('000) =Fair value per share 6,10 source: LBBW The established figure varies between 35 and 41 m if we change the average costs of capital by 1 pp and/or long-term growth rate by 0.5 pp.

9 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 9 Report DCF-Valuation WACC Sensivity analysis 10,1% 10,6% 11,1% 1,0% Terminal growth rate 1,5% ,0% Source: LBBW Heterogeneous peer group Valuation according to multiples Peer group Creating a relevant peer group poses a challenge given the fact that Hypoport has a unique business model. In addition, some of the competitors are not listed and therefore cannot be used for valuation purposes or, in the case of AWD and Interhyp, were taken over, thus limiting the comparison of their valuations. The selection that we have put together includes all aspects at Hypoport that we believe are relevant. Moreover, we have selected a number of financial sales companies that compete directly with Dr. Klein. These include Interhyp, AWD, MLP and OVB. The second group consists of the online brokers Comdirect and DAB Bank, which like Dr. Klein mainly sell their financial services via the Internet. Interhyp Interhyp was founded in 1999 and, until now, was one of the leading independent providers of private construction financing in Germany. The company was taken over by ING-Direct in the spring of this year. ING-Direct now holds approx. 97 % of its shares. In addition to the direct business with end customers, Interhyp also offers its services to independent financial service providers and local construction financing brokers under the "Prohyp" brand. This brand makes up 30 % of the financing volume. This puts the company in direct competition with Dr. Klein, but in contrast it does not offer additional financial products. Similar to Dr. Klein, Interhyp is attempting to set up and expand a network of branches for personal consultation as a complement to its direct sales. Interhyp referred a financing volume of 5.7 bn in 2007, equalling a market share of a good 3 %, or 18 % based on financial sales. AWD AWD is one of Germany s leading financial sales companies with a European presence. This year the Hanover-based company was taken over by Swiss Life, which holds just under 97 % of AWD. The AWD Group advises some 2 m private clients in all aspects of private asset-building management and provision planning with its more than 6000 consultants. In 2007 AWD boosted its revenues by 5 % to 762 m and generated an operating profit of 84.5 m (+9 %). Contrary to Dr. Klein, AWD uses only sales agencies to sell its financial products. The product focus lies on pension provision products (investment funds and life insurance policies). Both Dr. Klein and AWD offer their clients a selection of products from different providers. AWD believes itself to be a multiagent against the background of the new broker directive.

10 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 10 Report MLP In addition to AWD, MLP is one of the largest financial sales companies in Germany and centres in on academics as its target clientele. The company offers banking and insurance services. After having acquired Feri, MLP is now able to offer its clients private wealth management as well. With more than 2,500 consultants, MLP supports more than 730,000 customers. Its total income last year came out to 639 m (+9 %) and its operating profit amounted to 112 m (+32 %). Like Dr. Klein, MLP provides financial consultation independent of the supplier, but its sales largely rely on financial consultants and one of the company s main focuses is on the sale of pension provision products and private health insurance. Another difference between MLP and Dr. Klein is the strict definition of its target group. The former defines itself as a broker against the backdrop of the broker directive. OVB We have used OVB as the third company in the peer group of financial consulting companies. OVB collaborates with a limited number of product suppliers and supports some 2.6 m clients in Germany, Western Europe and, above all, Eastern Europe. The product range is mainly focused on pension provision and capital investment products, but the company also offers all prevalent financial services. Last year it earned revenues of 246 m (+15 %) and operating profit of 29.0 m (+20 %). The company s strategic positioning differs from that of Dr. Klein when it comes to distribution channels, the multitude of suppliers and geographic presence. One thing the two companies do have in common is the target clientele: both primarily address the middle class. comdirect comdirect bank is one of Germany s leading online agents. Once a pure transaction-oriented online broker, comdirect has now expanded its business model and today operates in the three business fields of Brokerage, Banking and Consulting. The first branches have already been opened in order to expand its private banking. comdirect currently has just under 1.3 m customers. Last year the bank generated an operating profit of 90.5 m (+6 %) with total earnings of 280 m (+24 %). DAB Bank We have included DAB Bank in the peer group as the second leading online broker. This bank differs with comdirect in that it continues to focus on the securities business. In the last fiscal year, DAB Bank generated an operating profit of 45.5 m (+27 %) and total earnings amounted to 196 m (+14 %). Its customer count exceeds the 1.1 m mark. Valuation of Hypoport based on multiples The first chart shows the enterprise value and the value of equity (market capitalisation) of all companies in the peer group. It should be noted here that all peers of Hypoport have a net asset position, which explains why the enterprise value is below the market capitalisation. A sensible estimate of net debt cannot be made for the two online brokers as a result of their business

11 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 11 Report models. Price 11/05/08 Shares (m) Market cap.( m) Enterprise Value Company Net debt Interhyp AWD MLP OVB Comdirect DAB Bank Hypoport Source: LBBW, JCF, Company data The second table lists the revenue, operating profit and net income estimates for all comparable companies from 2008 to In turn, it is impossible to come up with sensible data for revenues for the online brokers given their business models. Company Sales EBIT EPS 08e 09e 10e 08e 09e 10e 08e 09e 10e Interhyp AWD MLP OVB Comdirect DAB Bank Hypoport Source: LBBW, JCF Valuation figures can be derived from both tables and, using these, we can determine potential fair values for the equity of Hypoport. Comdirect and DAB Bank are only included here in the analysis of the price-earnings ratio. Multiples of Interhyp and AWD are distorted Company EV/Sales EV/EBIT PER 08e 09e 10e 08e 09e 10e 08e 09e 10e Interhyp AWD MLP OVB Comdirect DAB Bank Median Hypoport Source: LBBW, JCF Next we have combined our relevant estimates of Hypoport s profit and loss account.

12 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 12 Report Hypoport: key figures m 2008e 2009e 2010e Sales EBIT Net profit Source: LBBW Using our estimates and the median of the valuation figures derived from the peer group, we have determined the following implicit market values of Hypoport s equity under inclusion of net debt: Valuation derived from peer group (incl. net debt) m 2008e 2009e 2010e EV/Umsatz EV/EBIT KGV Source: LBBW As the current year is almost over, we believe the future years of 2009 and 2010 to be relevant to the valuation. One factor that grabs our attention is the small valuation range in which the respective multiples are found. Hypoport: valuation m 2009e 2010e EV/Sales EV/EBIT PE Equity Value (average) Fair value per share ( ) Source LBBW Valuation summary Both valuation methods lead to a major discrepancy in the result. While the DCF method brought us to a fair value of 6.10 per Hypoport share (which is listed close to the current market price), the peer group comparison yields a valuation more than twice as high. Fair value per share DCF-model 6.1 Peer group comparison 13.1 Source LBBW

13 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 13 Report We are attaching only minor significance to the peer group comparison. On the one hand, the selection of suitable comparables is very limited. On the other hand, the valuations of Interhyp and AWD (which already reflect a third of our peer group) are distorted as a result of the existing squeeze-out potential. Hold rating, target price of 6.40 Recommendation We are initiating coverage of the Hypoport share with a Hold recommendation and a target price of The target price equals the fair value from our value-added model. A peer group comparison offers a higher target price, but given the problems described we believe a comparison like this makes less sense for Hypoport. Our target price of 6.10 appears to imply a low (2009e) PER of 7.5. This seems justified in the difficult market environment for financial stocks at the moment and with the low liquidity of the share.

14 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 14 Report Company profile Merger of Dr. Klein and Hypoport seen as a milestone Company history Today s Hypoport Group is a fusion of the two companies Dr. Klein and Hypoport AG, which merged in Dr. Klein was founded in 1954 and has its roots in the referral of financing for Corporate Real Estate Clients. In 1999 the company started telephone sales of mortgage financing for private clients and Hypoport AG was founded in the same year. The merger of the two companies was a critical milestone, as it has procured a traditional company like Dr. Klein excellent software and customer access for Hypoport. In the subsequent years, the business model has been systematically expanded. The company went public in October Key facts 1954 Founding of Dr. Klein 1999 Start of telephone sales of mortgage financing for the Private Clients business unit 1999 Founding of Hypoport AG 2001 Merger of Hypoport and Dr. Klein to form the Hypoport Group 2002 Start of B2B Financial Marketplaces EUROPACE for the Financial Service Providers business unit, start of branch-based sales of mortgage financing for the Private Clients business unit 2003 Start of agent sales of mortgage financing for the Private Clients business unit 2004 Expansion of lead sale of Private Clients business unit 2005 Expansion of other financial service products for the Private Clients business unit 2006 Expansion of B2B Financial Marketplaces ABS products for the Institutional Clients business unit 2006 Institutional Clients business unit started in the Netherlands 2007 Financial Service Providers business unit started in the Netherlands 2007 Product expansion of EUROPACE for the Financial Service Providers business unit 2007 IPO 2008 Expansion of the Financial Service Providers business unit to the cooperative housing sector in EUROPACE-variant GENOPACE Founders hold more than 50 % Shareholders and management The Hypoport Group is managed by the two company founders Prof. Thomas Kretschmar and Ronald Slabke. They are supported by four other experienced executives, who together with the founders make up the Group Executive Committee. Prof. Kretschmar, who founded Hypoport AG in 1999, controls 18.8 % of the company s share capital through Kretschmar Familienstiftung. He established his own corporate consulting business in 1986 and, starting in

15 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 15 Report 1995, managed the Real Estate Financing segment for the consulting firm Droege & Co. Prof. Kretschmar was also a professor of financial computing at the FHTW University of Applied Sciences from 1997 to Ronald Slabke holds 34.8 % of Hypoport s share capital through Revenia GmbH. In 1995 he worked in sales for real estate investors at Westdeutsche Immobilienbank and made a change in 1996 to become the executive assistant to Dr. Klein. In 1999 Mr. Slabke began establishing the private client sales. After one year, he carried out the management buyout of Dr. Klein & Co. AG and has been on the Management Board of Hypoport since Postbank holds 9.8 % The third strategic investor is Deutsche Postbank with a current share of 9.8 %. This allows the bank, which is one of Hypoport s most important customers, to underscore its business relationship with the company. The other shareholders include the members of the Group Executive Committee as well as other employees and other existing shareholders. Number of shares ( ) Others 36.5% Revenia GmbH 34.8% Deutsche Postbank AG 9.8% Kretschmar Foundation 18.8% Overview of the business model Internet-based one-stop financial service provider Complementary two-pillar model The Hypoport Group, located in Berlin, is an internet-based one-stop financial service provider. The business model consists of two business units: the sale of one-stop financial products through the subsidiary Dr. Klein & Co AG and the provision of the transaction platform EUROPACE for the distribution of financial products via the Internet. Each company division has two separate business units.

16 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 16 Report Business segments Hypoport AG Dr. Klein One-stop financial services Europace B2 B financial marketplaces Private clients Financial service providers Real estate companies Institutional clients Source: Hypoport, LBBW Distribution of financial products via the Internet Financing of Corporate Real Estate Clients Financial Product Sales Dr. Klein The 100 % subsidiary Dr. Klein is the first business unit of Financial Product Sales. This unit refers a wide range of banking and financial products to private clients, including but not limited to current accounts, insurance services and mortgage financing over the Internet. In doing so, Dr. Klein cooperates with more than 100 well-known banks and insurance companies. Customers have the advantage of not only the broad and independent selection of products, but also the cost advantages that simultaneously arise from the company s internetsupported processes. Dr. Klein passes these on to private clients, thus leading to much better conditions in most cases than local competitors are able to offer. Dr. Klein s second business unit after Private Clients is Corporate Real Estate Clients, which specialises in the financing of municipal and cooperative housing companies. Dr. Klein s more than 400 regular customers make it the German market leader in this segment. Platform for sales and product manufacturers Platform for ABS issuers B2B Financial Marketplaces The second business unit - B2B Financial Marketplaces - consists of the transaction platform EUROPACE with the two business units of Financial Service Providers and Institutional Clients. The former unit processes mortgage financing, personal loans and other financial service products between sales organisations and product suppliers. In this sense EUROPACE represents a virtual marketplace where sales organisations are able to work with product suppliers on the one hand and execute transactions on the other. EUROPACE s second and much smaller business unit Institutional Clients supports lenders (issuers of loans) in the reporting and securitisation/refinancing of mortgage financing portfolios.

17 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 17 Report Sales and EBIT per Segments 2007 ( m) Private Clients Corporate Real Estate Financial Service Providers Institutional Clients Sales EBIT Synergies between Dr. Klein and EUROPACE Symbiosis of both business units The merger of Dr. Klein and Hypoport AG has added value for both partners. Dr. Klein has gained an efficient development platform which helps agents gain access to new product suppliers. Moreover, Dr. Klein indirectly benefits from the purchasing power of all financial product distributors affiliated with EUROPACE in order to offer better conditions and thus increase the customer value. We also see greater advantages for Hypoport. With every product introduction on the transaction platform, Hypoport needs demand in order to win over product suppliers. Dr. Klein is able to deliver this demand, which is very helpful in providing an initial incentive. In addition, Dr. Klein is capable of offering valuable advice from the customer s point of view.

18 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 18 Report Company strategy Private client sales are the supporting pillar Private Clients Financial Product Sales at Dr. Klein are the supporting pillar at the Hypoport Group. In the past fiscal year the Private Clients business unit generated nearly 60 % of the entire Hypoport Group s revenues and 47 % of its operating profit. Half of the focus of the products sold is on mortgage financing, while the rest is split up amongst the sale of leads (30 %) and other financial service products such as personal loans, private health and property insurance and current and deposit accounts. Heavy-margin products such as life insurance and investment funds have only played a minor role thus far. Franchise system and leads are the success factors Dr. Klein primarily addresses internet-savvy private customers with its product range. Customers are able to process their financing transactions online or take advantage of Dr. Klein s other distribution channels such as over the phone, at the branches and through agents (multi-channel sales). The major difference between Dr. Klein and other financial service providers are the franchise system in branch-based sales and the generation of so-called leads (data of people interested in financial services). We believe both characteristics speak in favour of above-average growth potential in future. Franchise allows for rapid expansion of branches Franchise system in branch-based sales With the aim of establishing a network of branches for a franchise system, Dr. Klein has decided to expand rapidly. The company now has 114 branches (franchisees). In addition to the strong brand name Dr. Klein, franchisees also receive the technological infrastructure used to carry out business procedures. Another major advantage beyond this is that the branch managers themselves are not responsible for acquiring new customers, as is usually the case with financial product distributors. Instead, customers are automatically distributed amongst the branches after having announced their need for personal consulting via Dr. Klein s internet portal. In addition, the franchisees have the option of acquiring leads for a fee. This allows them to concentrate their capacities on target-oriented and efficient consulting of customers. This is a lowrisk and capital-sparing measure for Hypoport, which allows it to rapidly expand its branch network.

19 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 19 Report Number of branches (franchisee) H1/2008 Efficiently generating leads Generating leads Dr. Klein s ability to generate leads online is one of its critical success factors. This refers to data sets of people interested in a financial service, which are acquired using Dr. Klein s internet platforms. With targeted online marketing, Dr. Klein knows how to use different measures to generate internet traffic (e.g. keyword brokering, banner advertisement, etc.) and directs users to its own internet portals ( and After the customer has entered his/her information on one of Dr. Klein s portals and expressed interest in a certain financial product, the result from the traffic is a lead. Dr. Klein has used its years of experience to optimise the process for generating leads. It also flexibly controls the online marketing budget depending on the revenues generated through the traffic of the individual acquisition channels. Here it pursues the strategy of efficiently setting the marketing budgets earmarked for this based on successful measures for generating traffic (e.g. keyword brokering at Google) for the purpose of gaining market shares in traffic. This allows the company to guarantee the efficiency of generating leads. One important control quantity here is the conversion rate, which indicates the number of leads that can be converted into a signed contract. Process of lead optimisation by Dr. Klein Determining Market ing Budget Tr af fic Generation Converting Tr af fic Into Le ads Tr af fic Valuation Determining Profit per Le ad/ Tr Abschluss ansa ctio n Converting Leads into Tr ansa ctio ns Source: Hypoport, LBBW

20 Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Seite 20 Report Once the leads have been generated on Dr. Klein s internet portal, the next step is to process these further. Depending on the level of consultation needed for the individual financial products or the respective customer needs, the customer inquiries (leads) that have not been conducted directly online are led further through the appropriate distribution channels of phone, branches or agents. Cross-channeling Private Clients Leads Self-explanatory demand product Consultancy-intensive sales products Property, indemnity & accident insurance Current account Real estate financing Riester Retirement products Health insurance Call money & cash on deposit Deposit Personal loan Home purchase savings Funds Endowment insurance Online sales Dr. K lein Offline -Leads Telesales Dr. Klein Branch sales Dr. Klein Broker sales Source: Hypoport, LBBW Lead sale to third parties for lack of their own capacities Dr. Klein tries to process the highest number of leads possible through its multichannel sales. However, the number of leads generated is greater than it would be necessary for its own business given the capacities currently at hand. For this reason the company sells some of the leads it has generated to third parties, thus guaranteeing that all leads are efficiently addressed. However, Dr. Klein earns more profit by processing leads itself than by selling them. The amount of revenues that selling a lead brings in depends on the financial product associated with it and the respective success prospects for signing a contract (conversion rate). The highest price for leads is approx. 60 for insurance inquiries due to the particularly heavy margins. Higher in-house processing of leads targeted Dr. Klein s goal is to significantly boost its number of generated leads and thus to systematically increase the share of leads processed by the company itself. It aims to do so by expanding its own telephone and branch-based sales, and this should lead to greater earnings potential. Pricing model For every product referred, Dr. Klein receives a sales commission paid by the product supplier, but ultimately carried by the customer. Product suppliers also pay an extra commission to Dr. Klein when certain full-year targets for the business volume referred are reached. As for the referral of mortgage financing, the commission is geared towards the amount of the credit volume (average 0.77 % in 2007 incl. extra commissions). An absolute amount is paid for other financial services (average of 456 in 2007). In addition, Dr. Klein sells leads to external financial product distributors. Any trailer fees play a very small role.