Pioneering positive impact
Building on a 180+ legacy
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Redevco diversifies into living in addition to high street retail and retail parks. Focus area is the Dutch market with an apartment building in Delft, The Netherlands, in operation, various urban regeneration projects in the (pre)planning phase and projects like The Baantower in Rotterdam and Hollandse Meesters in Amstelveen, both in The Netherlands, underway.
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.
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.
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.
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. With the acquisition of Redevco Living, Redevco gains capabilities to further expand its residential activities.
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. 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.
In April 2024, Redevco launches Redevco Capital Partners, targeting special situations real estate opportunities across Europe. Based in London and leveraging Redevco’s pan-European platform of seven offices and circa 250 real estate professionals, Redevco Capital Partners is investing across multiple asset classes in select European markets alongside strategic capital partners.
In December 2024 Redevco completes the acquisition of a portfolio of 16 retail parks across the UK for £518 million. The acquired portfolio encompasses approximately 2.1 million square feet of Net Internal Area and is anchored by a diversified mix of tenants, including well-established brands in the food, DIY, and discount sectors. The transaction marks a significant milestone for Redevco in building one of the largest retail park asset management platforms in Europe.
In the context of further diversifying its activities, Redevco establishes a real estate credit business. The strategy seeks to capitalise on increasing borrower demand for financing to support the acquisition and retrofit of assets, as well as the construction of high-performing new build properties across core European markets. The Real Estate Debt team oversees all Redevco’s credit activities across its platform, bringing deep capital markets expertise to help support the growth path of the company.
Redevco has launches its inaugural Redevco European Retail Parks (RERP) Fund, targeting high-quality, convenience-led retail parks across Europe and the UK. Backed by €500 million in equity commitments from CBRE Investment Management Indirect Real Estate Strategies, acting on behalf of global institutional clients, and a significant co-investment by Redevco, the fund focuses on multi-let assets in strong catchment areas to deliver resilient income and long-term value.
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