history

Redevco over the years

1841

Our origins date back to 1841, when two brothers opened a textile warehouse in the Frisian town of Sneek, in the Netherlands. They opened their first shop 20 years later, selling traditional fabrics as well as a new product of historical significance: ready-to-wear clothing. These were the beginnings of a remarkable brand that went on to have an enormous impact on the fashion retail industry. Today, C&A can be found in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, and China.

1999

In 1860, Clemens and August purchased and opened their first store in Sneek. As C&A expanded in the decades that followed, it built up an impressive portfolio of retail properties across Europe. This portfolio was initially managed by a department within C&A. It formed the foundation of Redevco’s portfolio when it was set up in 1999.

2000

In 2000, Redevco re-let 109 UK C&A stores comprising 500,000 m2. The majority of the UK portfolio was re-let within six months to major brands: Next, H&M, GAP, Primark, New Look and Wilkinson. Rental levels of the big UK stores were the highest in the portfolio, and in less than two years C&A’s share of Redevco’s tenant roll dropped to below 50% from 97% in 1999.

2002

A game changer in the first formative years of Redevco was the acquisition of a Belgian retail real estate portfolio for €1.2 billion from GIB Immo. This portfolio, predominantly consisting of retail parks, is still one of the highlights in our holdings, and has been a constant outperformer.

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2011

After a period of significant growth and consolidation that moved beyond Europe’s borders, the failure of Lehman Brothers and the subsequent financial crisis brought global expansion to an end. In 2011, we refocused our strategy on European core markets and retail real estate, which became the dominant asset class in the portfolio.

2012

Since 2012, Redevco has been developing innovative research strategies to identify those cities most likely to remain or evolve into vibrant urban centres. Centres that will attract and retain the consumer of the future. This helps Redevco find the right location for its tenants – just one way Redevco has been supporting retailers in a fast-changing urban landscape.

2015

The signing of the first two joint ventures (one with Ares Management and the other with Federated Hermes) as well as opening up to third parties marked Redevco’s transformation from a property company into an investment management platform. In 2017, PGGM joined as a JV partner. This increased the third-party capital base to almost 40% of our total portfolio value.

2018

With our first acquisition in the residential segment, Redevco established a new residential real estate fund of €500 million. We currently target potential projects in the Netherlands and Germany, with Spain and the UK serving as second-tier markets. Our pan-European residential portfolio will comprise 2,500 high-quality, sustainable units aimed at the mid-rental segment. Redevco confirmed this strategy by acquiring a 38,000 m2. mixed-use property comprising a convenience retail floor and more than 280 residential units in Düsseldorf in the beginning of 2020.

2019

At the end of 2019, the year of the company’s 20th anniversary, Redevco committed to making its entire portfolio net zero carbon by 2040 as part of our ongoing efforts to act responsibly and reduce our impact on the environment. We call this programme ‘Mission 2040’. It is aligned with the World Green Building Council’s definition of Net Zero Carbon (NZC), which states that buildings should be highly energy efficient and fully powered from onsite and/or off-site renewable energy sources.

2020

Redevco evolved its diversification strategy to include additional real estate sectors and broaden its investor base, targeting €10 billion Assets under Management by 2025. Urban areas are transforming rapidly, and the demands on the use of real estate space are changing. This presents a great opportunity for future investments to be largely concentrated in mixed-use urban locations, as the blurring of boundaries between real estate asset classes accelerates.

2020

In our shared commitment to clean energy and climate change, Redevco joined forces with parent company COFRA to initiate a large-scale, on-site renewable energy generation project called Project Solar. Our goal is to ramp up the provision of on-site clean energy generation by installing solar panels on the roofs and carparks of the retail park assets that we manage in Belgium on behalf of COFRA.

2021

Redevco invested in Fifth Wall’s European PropTech Fund, targeting €100 million and aiming to invest in high-potential European PropTech start-ups. This collaboration with Fifth Wall will help accelerate our innovation capabilities as we advance our growth and diversification strategy.

2022

In April 2022, Redevco acquired a majority stake in redos. The Hamburg-based large-scale property investment specialist in retail warehouse parks (RWHP) and convenience retail sites was founded in 2004 and has a strong reputation in Germany. The acquisition puts Redevco in an excellent position to build a European RWHP platform. With RWHP potentially also one of the most sustainable retail real estate sectors, due to its relatively low carbon intensity and potential for mixed-use ‘densification’ developments, we are able to create even greater positive impact.

2023

Redevco acquires LIFE Europe, a Dutch residential real estate specialist that was named Redevco Living. In 2019 LIFE Europe was founded with the ambition to contribute to help the younger and senior generation to find appropriate living solutions. Therefore we focus on projects that will contribute to the long-term attractiveness of the areas we operate in.
By breathing new life into local communities and adding mixed-use elements to our new built projects, we create more lively areas. We offer opportunities to invest in durable rental housing to our capital partners.
In June 2023 LIFE Europe became a 100% owned Redevco company and continues its business under the name Redevco Living. With the acquisition of Redevco Living, Redevco gains capabilities to further expand its residential activities.

2024

Beginning 2024 Hamburg based retail parks specialist redos becomes Redevco. After its acquisition in 2022 Redevco created one of the largest retail warehouse park (RWHP) asset management platforms in Europe by combining redos’ German properties with its existing retail parks, mainly in Belgium. redos’ activities have been rooted in the restructuring, repositioning, and letting of large-scale retail properties and the resulting value creation. RWHP space is needed to supply urban areas with goods and services for short and long-term needs and to secure supply chains in the urban environment. With our RWHP platform, we offer our institutional and semi-institutional investors access to promising investments with a balanced risk/return profile in one of the most sustainable retail real estate sectors.