Closed-end real-estate investment company Warehouses De Pauw has agreed to acquire the shares of GDP NV (Genk Distribution Platform), owner of an 18,000-m² property in the Hermes park, adjacent to the existing WDP site in Genk.
Pursuant to this acquisition, a unique site covering more than 50,000 m² will be created at a prime location in Limburg. WDP has signed a binding agreement for this transaction with The European Property Growth Fund managed by Standard Life Investments (subject to a number of customary closing conditions), and as a result hereof will obtain the site for a price calculated on the basis of a market value of 8.65 million (fair value).
The property is currently leased to Yusen Logistics (formerly NYK), until the end of 2011. After the closing of the transaction, WDP will look for a new tenant for the property. The initial gross return on this acquisition amounts to 8.6%.
Completion and final closing of the transaction is planned for end August 2011.
Through this transaction, WDP wants to underline its confidence in the future of Limburg as a logistics hotspot in Belgium. The Hermes park in Genk is already acknowledged as a logistics zone that, mainly due to its ideal location (close to the railways, motorways and the tri-border area of Belgium-Netherlands-Germany), can play a role not only of national but also of international importance. King Sturge/Jones Lang LaSalle assisted WDP in the takeover of the site in Genk.
Mickaël Van den Hauwe new WDP CFO
WDP also announces the appointment of Mickaël Van den Hauwe as the new CFO of WDP. This appointment is made as part of the company's continued growth and with a view to strengthening the management of the closed-end real-estate investment company.
Mickaël Van den Hauwe graduated as a commercial engineer from the Solvay Business School (Brussels). After gaining initial experience in the controlling department at Unilever Bestfoods Belgium, Van den Hauwe began his career as an analyst with Dexia. He subsequently became an analyst at KBC Securities where, among others, WDP was part of his portfolio. WDP is therefore not unfamiliar terrain for Van den Hauwe, where he will take over the task of CFO from the current CEO, Joost Uwents.
"We are convinced that with this appointment we are not only adding a new, young and dynamic member to our organization," explains Joost Uwents, CEO of WDP, "but we are also acquiring new knowledge and expertise that will make us stronger, not just financially but also in the field of deal-making power."
Source: Citigate
