Vastned Retail Belgium has completed divestment of 11 non-strategic properties for a net selling price of approximately €26m, continuing its strategic course of focusing on premium city high street shops. The transaction encompasses a total of approximately 20,000 m² of commercial space and annual rental income of about €1.9m.
Taco de Groot, Vastned CEO: “I am proud of the quality improvement our Belgian team has realised in the portfolio in the past year. We have been able to make acquisitions in the popular shopping streets of Antwerp for about €27m and have sold non-strategic assets in various smaller towns for approximately €31m.”
Through this transaction and earlier divestments at the end of 2014, financial resources were freed up for the growth of the property portfolio in the premium city high street segment. In this context, Vastned Retail Belgium has already performed various transactions in 2015, such as the renovation of the historic building in the Zonnestraat in Ghent and the expansion of the property portfolio in Antwerp’s city centre in the Schuttershofstraat (no. 22 and 25) and at Graanmarkt 13.
The divestment of 11 non-strategic properties concerns non-high street shops, including retail warehouses and city centre shops at secondary locations. The properties are located at Vilvoorde, Borgloon, Froyennes, Heusden-Zolder, La Louvière, Mortsel, Overpelt, Sint-Niklaas, Tienen, Grivegnée and Hasselt.
Vastned Retail Belgium was assisted in the transaction by Cushman & Wakefield.
