Today, Forum Estates NL B.V., a 100% subsidiary of Forum Estates Holding BV, was established by notary David Meijeren from Amsterdam. The Board of Directors recently decided to expand the supermarket real estate portfolio to the Netherlands. The Dutch supermarket landscape is known as a highly consolidated but also very stable market. This market offers Forum Estates the necessary growth perspectives as well as a greater geographical and tenant risk spread.
In this context, Forum Estates Holding BV is organising another capital increase on 4 May 2021. The proceeds of this 13th capital increase will be used to further expand the portfolio of supermarket real estate. To this end, Forum Estates has identified a number of interesting supermarket prospects in the Netherlands that will be purchased in the course of May and June.
The Dutch supermarket market is characterized by long, non-cancellable leases of at least 5 to 10 years. Moreover, the planning permit policy is stringent, which creates a certain scarcity and stability on the market. Supermarkets in the Netherlands are often located in the centre of a neighbourhood or city centre, with a number of ‘convenience stores’ such as Kruidvat or a local bakery or butcher located next to it. Albert Heijn (35%) and Jumbo (21.5%) together have more than half of the market share in the Netherlands. Moreover, Dutch consumers do their shopping almost every day. This makes proximity and customer loyalty particularly important and generates great stability for supermarket operators.
As in Belgium, the average turnover of Dutch supermarkets increases annually, excluding the current ‘Corona effect’, by approximately 2% per year. This is due to the rise in average incomes, smaller households purchasing more ‘ready-to-eat’ meals, and the slight increase in the share of food in total household expenditure.
By expanding into the Netherlands, Forum Estates strengthens its position as the leading supermarket real estate fund in Belgium. CEO Stefan De Bock is ambitious: “We intend to make Forum Estates the first supermarket real estate fund in the BeNeLux. By the end of 2022, we aim to acquire at least 50 million euros of supermarket real estate in the Netherlands.”