Rob Bresser and Ton H.M. Donders, directors and founders of Foram Management BV, responsible for the Southern European Investments of VastNed Retail NV, will end their activities for this company in the first half of 2003.
As per January 2003, Foram Management shares will be acquired by VastNed Group, as was agreed in 1998. As a result, the management structure of VastNed Group will be simplified and streamlined; it will also lead to reduction of costs at VastNed Retail NV. There will be no consequences for Foram Management staff, in its offices in Amsterdam, Paris and Madrid. The Amsterdam office will be integrated into the VastNed Management office in the course of the first quarter of 2003.
Foram International Holdings BV was founded in 1989 in order to invest in downtown retail properties and shopping centres in some southern European countries. The then shareholders were eight Dutch institutional investors. In mid 1998, Foram, with an invested capital of Euro 144 million, was acquired by VastNed Retail. The management company was continued independently by Rob Bresser and Ton Donders, with instructions to further expand the investments on behalf of VastNed Retail. Presently, the portfolio has a value of over Euro 500 million, with investments in retail properties in France, Spain and Italy. From the start, the investments have contributed very positively to VastNed RetailÂ'Â's results. Messrs. Donders and Bresser, ForamÂ'Â's founders, have concluded that they have now fulfilled their mission.
In the first half of 2003, Ton Donders and Rob Bresser will gradually transfer their management tasks to the board of management of VastNed Management, in which the managers of Foram offices in France and Spain, Benoit Dantec and Javier Hortelano de la Lastra, will also be closely involved.
The board of management and the supervisory board of VastNed Group would like to express their appreciation of what Messrs. Bresser and Donders have built up and have asked them to remain available for ad hoc advice and possible interim tasks.
(source: VastNed)
