UP-site: Sale of office building to the Ethias group (BE)

ATENOR GROUP has announced the sale of the office building that it leased for 27 years to SMALS asbl, to the ETHIAS group.

UP 38, one of four office buildings of the project UP-site, has a total of approximately 7,000m² of aboveground offices and a 1,500m² IT room below ground. It is currently under construction and will be delivered by the end of June 2012.

As of the first half of 2011, this transaction will have a very positive impact on Atenor's results, which will be specified when the half-yearly results are published on August 31, 2011.

UP-site is situated along the Brussels canal at the end of Espace Nord in the sector delimited by Place des Armateurs, Quai des Péniches and Quai de Willebroek. It contains four office buildings with a total surface area of 29,690 m², commercial establishments along the Quai des Péniches and 48,435 m² of housing units; the UP‐site tower will be the highest residential tower in Belgium.

Work began as soon as the building permit was received in summer 2010 and will proceed in phases until 2014.

UP 38 is the second office building in the UP‐site complex to find a buyer, UP 37 is already the subject of a sales agreement with UNIZO. This commercial success in a dismal Brussels market can be explained by a number of factors:

• The strategic location both in terms of public transport (the complex is situated within a few minutes walking distance of the Gare du Nord and the metro stations) and the road network,
  
• The quality of life offered to occupants (thanks to the presence on site of local shops, a restaurant, crèche, spa and health club, public car park, etc.),
  
• The emphasis on sustainable development which ensures very substantial savings in terms of energy costs (75% primary consumption savings in gas and 60% saving in electricity compared with a standard Brussels building),
  
• The flexibility and maximum comfort (acoustic, thermal, visual) of the office areas.