REDEVCO Belgium is based in Brussels. The Managing Director is Marc van Heddeghem. A team of 50 real estate professionals co-ordinates the activities of the company. These activities focus on management, development and trade in Belgium and Luxembourg. In 2001, in a transaction worth over 1 billion euros, REDEVCO Belgium took over the GIB Immo property portfolio, putting us among the top 5 real estate investors in the country.
Because of the highly regulated nature of the Belgian retail market, opportunities to invest will be limited. The retail focus will therefore be on opportunistic investments and optimising the existing portfolio. Some properties will be sold, a number of developments and redevelopments will be initiated and opportunistic investments will be made in the logistics or office markets. On the Luxembourg property market, REDEVCO's focus will be on expanding its portfolio over time.
Real Estate Management
At REDEVCO, management of the retail properties, offices and logistics centres in the portfolio is in the hands of multidisciplinary teams. In continuous dialogue with the tenants, these teams aim to achieve optimum use and occupancy of the properties. This also includes negotiating contracts with new tenants, with an eye for the best spread across sectors. Properties and their surroundings are modernised and kept in excellent condition. Dedicated account managers look after the major national and international retail chains among our clients, actively helping them to find locations and stores that best fit the specific needs of the moment.
Development and redevelopment
Many of our properties are situated along the main access roads to cities and towns. In these locations, the use of space is often not ideal, and the tight supply in this market makes redevelopment of out-of-town stores an attractive option. In many cases this involves thorough renovations, improving the architectural quality of the building as well as the layout of the surroundings. Between 2005 and 2008 we completed 15 redevelopment projects, with a total leasable area of c. 150,000 sq. m. Twenty projects, comprising a total of around 200,000 sq. m. of leasable space, are scheduled for completion in 2009-2014.
In addition to redevelopment, project development has also become part of our activities. The focus here is on retail projects, enabling us to respond even better to the needs of international retail chains.
Our retail portfolio accounts for 88% of invested assets, offices for 4% and logistics centres for the remaining 8%.