PropertyNL has started compiling a list of plans for commercial real estate in the Netherlands, a market involving around 300 parties. The most important players are published in PropertyNL’s Top 101 Developers, a list of the parties that will shape the Netherlands’ future. PropertyNL Magazine 10 maart 2008 nr. 4
PropertyNL has started compiling a list of plans for commercial real estate in the Netherlands, a market
involving around 300 parties. The most important players are published in PropertyNL’s Top 101 Developers,
a list of the parties that will shape the Netherlands’ future.
PropertyNL Magazine 10 maart 2008 nr. 4
Value of volume of commercial real estate development plans in the
Netherlands in € on 1-1-2007
1 2 Rabo Bouwfonds
€ 3058 mln
Rabo Bouwfonds is the new market leader in the Netherlands,
albeit by the narrowest of margins. Its lead
initially seemd wider, but since the Experience Center
in Venlo – the largest retail project in the Netherlands
– has been removed from the list the gap with ING Real
Estate has closed again. Under Tjalling Halbertsma’s
leadership, Rabo Bouwfonds focuses heavily on the Netherlands,
while other major developers like ING Real
Estate and Multi Vastgoed look for sites abroad that are
easier to develop. Bouwfonds was already far and away
the largest developer of residential property in the Netherlands,
but with the acquisition of MAB it has also
acquired specialist knowledge of commercial and area
development. The MAB name has in fact disappeared as
part of Rabo’s branding policy.
2 1 ING Real Estate
3004 mln
The writing was already on the wall in last year’s list of
developers with the narrow gap between ING Real Estate
and then second-placed Rabo Bouwfonds. This year
it has actually transpired as ING has been pushed into
second place in this list based on research into plans for
commercial real estate development in the Netherlands.
With the emphasis on the Netherlands, since ING Real
Estate is far larger than Rabo Bouwfonds in Europe.
ING Real Estate Development will focus more on Europe
in the future but the additional resources will go to
countries other than the Netherlands.
Fortunately, ING’s country manager for the Netherlands,
Anneke de Vries, says ING does set much store by
market leadership. In fact, in an effort to create a better
balance in production and the spread of risk for the de-
velopment division as a whole ING will focus more on residential
development in the Netherlands, a segment in
which Rabo Bouwfonds is in fact also market leader. This
is designed to cushion fluctuations in production, which
occur mainly in the office market. ING wants to focus
more on area development in future, preferably using the
concession model in which the market actor may assume
more of the risk and the development may be more capital-
intensive but in which lead times are shorter. But ING
has the equity capital to needed for this.
3 5 BAM Vastgoed
2538 mln
Many people see Royal BAM predominantly as a builder.
However, BAM is doing what Heijmans said it wanted
to do several years ago, which is to make the transition
from building to development. This process has accelerated
under Joop van Oosten. BAM has acquuired the
projects of Van den Bruele Kaufman and is developing
them. When you realise that AM is also part of BAM
– although ING still owns shares in it no one doubts
that BAM will gain full control in time – a clash of the
titans is anticipated between Rabo and BAM for market
leadership in the Netherlands.
4 3 Multi Vastgoed
2322 mln
Multi is owned by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund.
Multi has prospered with this shareholder, which owns
the largest interests in developers in Europe. The Design
& Development formula has helped the company
to launch projects worth billions of euros, mainly in the
new markets of Turkey and Central and Eastern Europe.
In the Netherlands it is competing to develop the country’s
largest shopping centre.
5 4 Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling
1489 mln
With the acquisition of William Properties, Fortis has
become a force to be reckoned with in Dutch commercial
real estate. In the longer
term, the acquisition
of the Dutch acitvities of
ABN Amro will give Fortis
an excellent opportunity
to strengthen its position
even further. Fortis always
played a slightly modest
role in development, investment
and financing, partly because the departments
worked separately and could not expand abroad. With
the emphasis on area development, it may require a
new structure along the lines of ING and Rabo. Fortis
has the unique advantage of owning an extremely land
portfolio. ING, for example, has traditionally owned
very little land, while Rabo only recently started purchasing
land portfolios.
6 9 NS Poort
1431 mln
NS Poort is the new name of Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Vastgoed. It not only has a new director in Pamela Boumeester
but also a new organisational structure. The
management and development division and part of
the investment division have been split up, while the
exploitation of the stations has been added. Every division
is separately accountable. The name change also
highlights the importance of property development and
exploitation for Netherlands Railways. The question
remains whether the company as a whole will benefit
from the large fluctuations in the yields from development.
For the time being, the returns are good. NS Poort
has plans for a substantial volume of real estate but the
pace of implementation has been disappointing. This
is not surprising given the positions that NS Poort owns,
since inner-city developments demand a lot of patience
and perseverance. Ultimately, however, a lot is expected
of the hubs where train, bus, car, bicycle, pedestrian and
sometimes even metro and aircraft merge and where NS
Poort is now thinking of widening its scope to more than
just offices. The plans increasingly incorporate retail, residential
and leisure developments. Moreover, many local
authorities have discovered that such locations are not only
attractive to other businesses but that they can also attract
other tenants by moving there themselves. NS Poort is developing
the new municipal offices in Beverwijk, Utrecht,
Gouda, Zaandam and Vlaardingen, among others.
7 10 Heijmans Vastgoed
1323 mln
Developer and builder Heijmans has for years been one
of the top 15 commercial real estate developers in the
Netherlands. The listed company is strong in residential
development, supplementing it with the necessary
office and retail development. Heijmans owes its high
position on the list of planned developments in part due
to a number of land positions, often in association with
other developers, at large office locations. For example,
Heijmans is involved in the development of Podium in
Amersfoort, Amstelwijck in Dordrecht and Waalsprong
in Nijmegen. These are long-term projects. Heijmans’
position on this list is also attributable to the contribution
by Proper Stok, a wholly-owned subsidiary. This
area developer has its own plans to develop commercial
real estate for more than € 200 million. Whereas other
real estate companies are turning away from exclusive
relationships, Heijmans sees major advantages in close
collaboration between construction and real estate. As a
developer and builder, Heijman also feels there will be
demand in the future for total solutions, particularly in
public-private area developments.
8 15 AM
1221 mln
AM promotes itself as an area developer. BAM owns 51%
and ING owns 49% of the company. It is therefore the
only property developer in the top 10 affiliated to both a
financial institution and a building company. BAM has
the right to buy ING’s stake within two years and so
become sole shareholder. AM operates independently
of its majority shareholder BAM, although expansion
plans must be approved.
AM’s CEO Peter Noordanus has worked hard recently
to secure a leading position as a commercial real estate
developer in addition to being the second-largest residential
developer in the Netherlands. Consequently, the
company has made a number of recent acquisitions including
De Wilgen Vastgoed and IPMMC. These companies
continue to operate under their own names but
their pipeline of commercial real estate has been attributed
to AM for the purpose of this list.
9 11 TCN Property Projects
1167 mln
TCN is an expansive ‘growth fund’ operating both nationally
and internationally. International expansion is a
frequent priority. Former architect Rudy Stroink’s company
already has offices in six European countries and
recently opened a branch in South Africa. He is the first
developer in the Netherlands to come up with plans for
Moscow. Meanwhile, expansion is continuing in the Netherlands
with the purchase of the Hertzberger complex
in Apeldoorn, the renovation of The Hague Congress
Centre and, in the longer term, the development of RAI
Amsterdam. Sroink is a constant breath of fresh air in
the world of developers with his unorthodox views about
the Zuidas and politics. Disappointing was failure of the
attempt to refinance through 3i.
10 7 Schiphol Real Estate
1080 mln
Schiphol Real Estate, the real estate company of the Netherlands’
biggest airport, is trying to exploit its position
as one of the largest logistics hubs in the Netherlands.
It took the Schiphol Group some time to realise that
the surrounding land was worth its weight in gold, but
SRE now accounts for more than 40% of the airport’s
operating profit. Moreover, the real estate division has
also not confined itself to Schiphol. SRE is involved in
the development of RTM Airpark in Rotterdam and in
real estate developments at Eindhoven and Milan airports.
SRE is also broadening its horizon beyond office
development. It has plans for hotels, expansion of the
parking facilities and even for a golf course. All in all,
SRE wants to more than double its €1.2 billion portfolio
to €2.8 billion in the next five years.
