Cofinimmo announces sale of HQ and new location
OFFICES
Following its recent disposal of two office buildings in the centre of Brussels, Cofinimmo has now announced two more office sales. Of particular interest this time is the fact that one of the buildings is Cofinimmo’s own headquarters, which means it is set to move into a new HQ next year.
The building involved is Boulevard de la Woluwe 58, in the decentralised area of Brussels. The sale price of the building, reports Cofinimmo, amounts to approximately 12 million Euros. This amount is higher than the latest fair value (as at 31.03.2023), as determined by Cofinimmo Offices’ independent real estate valuer, a fact which reflects the potential redevelopment of the site in a sought-after neighbourhood. The building dates back to 1986 and has been the company's Belgian head office since 2001. It has a surface area of approximately 3,900 m² and, in another move which is in line with current trends, will be replaced by a residential building. This has all the necessary permits, enforceable and cleared of all appeals, obtained in February of this year. This sale and conversion marks a new stage in the transformation of Boulevard de la Woluwe, a major axis in Brussels, into a mixed-use zone.
As a result, Cofinimmo’s head office is scheduled to move in the second quarter of 2024 to The Gradient building (Avenue de Tervueren 270). This a building, formerly known as the Monsanto Building, is already part of Cofinimmo’s portfolio and underwent a major renovation in 2013.
Jean-Pierre Hanin, CEO of Cofinimmo: “This transaction is the culmination of a project that began a few years ago to relocate. It enables us to pursue our ESG strategy and the overall rebalancing of our portfolio and demonstrate our ability to perform asset arbitrages. We are pleased to have been able to complete a number of selective arbitrages in recent months in the particular context we are experiencing. We have already achieved approximately two-thirds of our divestment target for 2023 which amounts to 300 million Euros, in all three of our operating segments.”
The second building to have been sold, making four in total for the month of June, is the office building located boulevard Brand Whitlock 87-93 in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert in the decentralised area of Brussels. The sale price for this transaction amounts to approximately 12 million Euros, which is in line with the latest fair value (as at 31.03.2023), as determined by Cofinimmo Offices’ independent real estate valuer. The notary deed should be signed in the third quarter of 2023. The site dates from 1991 and offers approximately 6,200 m² of office space. It is let 96% let to several tenants.