Redevco Sells €100m of Non-Strategic Dutch Assets to Focus on Urban Growth Centres for Retail, Mixed-Use and Residential
April 4, 2019
Amsterdam, April 4, 2019 – Redevco has sold approximately €100 million in non-strategic retail real estate assets in the Netherlands over the past 18 months in line with its strategy to focus on quality properties in the top 30 European cities of its City Attractiveness index. Following the disposals, the Dutch unit of the pan-European real estate asset manager will focus on acquiring high-quality properties in urban growth centres in the Netherlands in the retail, mixed-use and residential sectors.
Maurice Rijntjes, Portfolio Director Redevco Netherlands, said: “Redevco is constantly reviewing its portfolio in line with the strategies of the different portfolios that we manage for various investors. After successfully completing the sales of these non-strategic assets in the Netherlands we will concentrate on purchasing quality assets in the most attractive cities in the country according to our City Attractiveness Ranking. The strongest, future-proof investment locations are those where people can enjoy the right mix of functions of living, working, shopping and leisure activities. As part of our strategy to focus on urban growth centres, since the end of 2018, we have also targeted the residential markets in these locations.”
The retail and residential real estate investment markets share some fundamental trends, notably that they are both being shaped by rapidly evolving socio-economic forces, of which the most powerful is the growing dominance and gap between the larger and most successful European cities relative to the rest. Redevco has captured this ‘spatial revolution’ in its retail City Attractiveness research model, which guides the manager’s current investment strategy and is based not only on traditional real estate market drivers, including demographic and economic data, but also increasingly important ‘soft factors,’ such as the number of tourist attractions, or the presence of creative professionals.
Redevco was advised by CBRE during the sales process. Lodewijk Buijs from CBRE Netherlands, said: “We were happy to advise on the sale of these assets which has now been successfully completed and which were sold individually or in small groups. It is good to see that specialist retail investors see opportunities in the market and are embracing them. Our Debt & Structured Finance team played an important role by raising finance for a number of buyers, indicating that there is confidence in the retail market despite the challenges.”
Residential portfolio
At the end of 2018, Redevco announced plans to develop a pan-European residential portfolio comprising approximately 2,500 high-quality and sustainable homes targeting the mid-range rental segment. The announcement coincided with the purchase of land suitable for construction in the Amsterdam region which marked the first portfolio’s transaction. In the residential segment, Redevco is focusing primarily on the Netherlands and Germany, with Spain and the United Kingdom as its secondary focus.
