This afternoon, two capital increases were completed at the offices of notaries Ghesquière, De Brabandere and Degryse in Ypres: a contribution of a retail park in exchange for shares and a capital increase of EUR 10 million.
The ninth capital increase since incorporation concerns the contribution in kind of the retail park ‘Mains et Sabots’ in Estaimpuis, Hainaut, in exchange for shares of Forum Estates. As a result, Forum Estates strengthens its equity capital by EUR 17.5 million.
This retail park is a 50/50% joint venture between developer ABLI and contractor Willy Naessens and dates from 2015. This contribution makes both groups important reference shareholders at Forum Estates. At the next General Meeting, it will be proposed by the Board of Directors to include Dirk Deroose (CEO Willy Naessens) on the Board of Directors and Philip Vanmarcke (managing director ABLI) on the Investment Committee.
The retail park has approximately 20,000 m2 of sales area spread over 17 stores and 800 parking spaces, including an Intermarché and Mr. Bricolage as major attractions. In addition, there are brands such as Trafic, Basic-Fit, Bon App and Kruidvat as reference tenants.
This purchase fits in perfectly with Forum Estates’ investment strategy, which seeks to invest in sustainable and E-commerce resistant real estate. Due to the improved mobility and the fragmented demographic environment, the shopping behaviour of consumers in Wallonia and Limburg is different than in the rest of Belgium. Usually, people take the car to shop in large retail parks. These are sites with one big attraction (a supermarket and/or do-it-yourself store), next to a fitness, non-food discounter and several smaller stores such as a sports store, restaurant, etc. Supermarkets are more successful in such an encapsulated retail landscape, which also has a reinforcing effect on adjacent stores. This acquisition, therefore, strengthens the E-commerce-resistant real estate portfolio of Forum Estates. Forum Estates already acquired such a site at the end of 2018: the strategically well-located Jumet retail park, near Charleroi airport.
The tenth capital increase concerns a capital contribution, mainly from existing shareholders, of EUR 10 million. With this additional capital, a retail park in Bilzen, including Lidl, Action and Kruidvat, will be purchased tomorrow. In addition, EUR 3.5 million of this raised capital will be used to repay a number of subordinated loans.
Through these two capital increases, Forum Estates is strengthening its portfolio of E-commerce resistant real estate, with a focus on supermarket real estate. Moreover, this strengthens the financial ratios and the clout of the investment fund. The capital now amounts to approximately EUR 78 million, and the total real estate value now includes approximately EUR 250 million in real estate, with EUR 15 million in recurring rental income.
For more information about Forum Estates, contact us here.