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Forum Estates acquires Vredenburg district shopping center including Albert Heijn in Arnhem

Forum Estates, the first Benelux supermarket real estate fund headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, today acquired the Vredenburg district shopping centre in Arnhem from NVI Arnhem I C.V. This fund was initiated in 2014 by Duprofa, who is also the fund manager.  The transaction was done off-market. The buyer is Forum Estates NL B.V., 100% subsidiary of Forum Estates Holding BV.

The centre is located in the Vredenburg/Kronenburg district on the Groningensingel and has a lettable floor area of approximately 1,890 m2. The “anchor tenant” is Albert Heijn, which occupies about three-quarters of the surface. The district shopping centre also has a bakery, flower shop, snack bar and hairdresser. Close neighbours are Basic-Fit and a restaurant. The shopping centre has ample public parking and is easily accessible by public transport and by bicycle. This purchase, therefore, fits very well with our strategy of real estate investments in food & convenience retail in places where people live, work and relax.

CEO Stefan De Bock says: “Forum Estates is delighted to welcome a fourth Dutch district shopping centre with a strong supermarket to our portfolio. After previous acquisitions in South Holland and the Utrecht region, we have now opted for an acquisition in Gelderland. As with our Belgian portfolio, we are adopting a nationwide strategy in acquiring supermarket real estate in order to spread the geographic risk. With almost 90% of the rental income coming from supermarket & food convenience, this investment fits very well into our portfolio.”

Mr. Alexander Gevaerts Msc, Director of Duprofa: “We are very pleased with the sale of the Vredenburg shopping centre. This is partly due to the fact that Forum Estates and Duprofa are entering into more intensive cooperation in which Duprofa will remain actively involved in the asset as a shareholder and manager. With this, we see added value for all parties in the future. We are satisfied that after seven years we can close this fund with a nice return for our shareholders. Working with Forum Estates also went very smoothly and I appreciate their pragmatic approach.”

Asset & Legal Manager Willem Demonie: “Dankzij de grondige vendor due diligence die door Duprofa goed werd voorbereid in samenwerking met Structure Group konden we ons huiswerk snel maken. We werden bijgestaan door Meindert Krans (Van der Stap Notarissen), David Meijeren (Quist Geuze Meijeren), Rob Van Gool (Fivago) en natuurlijk ook onze interne teams om deze aankoop efficiënt en grondig af te ronden.”

17 June 2021