Pursuant to the memoranda of agreement that Klépierre entered into on November 16, 2001 and July 17, 2003 with the Wilhelm & Co group, the acquisition of L'esplanade in Louvain-la-Neuve has just been finalized. Klépierre's first investment in Belgium, this acquisition includes a shopping center, a new retail street and a cineplex. Klépierre's total investment is 157 million, of which 76 million will be paid in 2005. Full year, the center is expected to generate 11.5 million in net rents.
Located south of Brussels, in the heart of Brabant-Wallon, L'Esplanade is part of a vast urban enhancement project involving the Louvain-la-Neuve hypercenter that spans 130,000 m². Initiated 14 years ago by the Belgian developer Wilhelm & Co, the project includes 371 apartments, 30,000 m² of office space, 6,000 parking places, a 2,800-seat UGC Cineplex with 13 screening rooms, and a retail complex covering nearly 42,000 m² of gross leasable area, which includes:
- A two-level shopping center offering GLA of 34,500 m² and 7 mid-sized retail outlets - Delhaize, H&M, Go Sport, C&A, Esprit, La Grande Récré and Hema (a Dutch retailer owned by the Vendex group), Zara - and 90 shops, service spaces and restaurants.
- 35 shops and one mid-sized retail outlet located at street level on rue Charlemagne, with an additional 7,200 m² of GLA.
L'Esplanade is a high potential footfall zone in Belgium's fastest growing region in terms of demographics: 640 000 individuals earn income that exceeds the national average by 20%.
Ségécé, a 75%-owned subsidiary of Klépierre, was involved in putting together and monitoring this investment, while Devimo (in which Ségécé owns 35%) handled the lease-up phase, in partnership with Cushman & Wakefield - Healey & Baker. Devimo also manages the property, which has been opened for business earlier this month.
Source: Klépierre
