Kenmore has announced that it is to embark on an acquisitions drive in Belgium following the opening of a new office in Antwerp and the appointment of Alexandre Van Haver as Investment Director.
Kenmore previously had a partnership with Trading Places, a local management company, which it operated for the previous three years, providing the business with an established and extensive knowledge of the local market.
Kenmore currently has a portfolio of existing assets across Belgium worth over £50 million (€73.5 mln), which includes retail warehousing and light industrial property. The group's first purchase was a mixed use portfolio of 112,000 m², acquired in October 2004 for £27 million (€40 mln) in a joint venture with Revcap. This portfolio includes office, retail warehousing and light industrial accommodation located within the Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent triangle.
Kenmore has recently bought a number of Belgian industrial properties for KEIF, the European Industrial Fund that was launched in September 2006. These include Industrielaan 9, Olen; Interleuvenlaan, Aarschot; Glasstraat, Antwerp and Houthalen, Limburg.
Alexandre Van Haver has over 35 years experience in the industry, including 15 years in operational functions in international retail companies such as 3 Suisses, Albert Heyn and Bata Holding. In addition he has ten years of real estate experience, with asset management and development experience in positions including the shopping center manager for Devimo Brussels and at Banimmo Real Estate, Brussels. For the past 2.5 years Alexandre has been part of the asset management team for Trading Places.
Kenmore's new office in Antwerp will be located at Brusselstraat 51, B-2018 Antwerpen.
Rob Brook, Managing Director at Kenmore, commented, "We are delighted to welcome Alexandre to our European team and look forward to working with him to drive our expansion across Belgium. The Belgian market offers an exciting opportunity to grow our European operations further and with Alexandre's extensive knowledge and experience in the market, we see great potential to grow our retail and industrial portfolio across the country."
Commenting on his appointment, Alexandre Van Haver, said, "I am pleased to join Kenmore at this exciting time as the Company continues to expand its operations across Europe. The Belgian market offers a range of investment opportunities for the company and I am looking forward to implementing our strategy for growth."
Source: FD
