Fortis Insurance Netherlands has signed, through its subsidiary Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling (FVO – Fortis Real Estate Development) an agreement to acquire in a cash transaction 100% of the shares of William Properties, a leading independent Dutch real estate developer.
Fortis Insurance Netherlands has a Euros 4.2 billion investment portfolio in rural, residential and commercial property in the Netherlands. Its investment policy is to extend the portfolios managed on behalf of third parties. The bank says the acquisition of William Properties will transform Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling into a full-scale developer able to operate efficiently in the rapidly consolidating Dutch real estate development market. Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling will continue to develop high-grade real estate projects for third parties as well as for the real estate portfolios managed by Fortis.
‘This acquisition is in line with our strategy to grow our presence on the Dutch real estate market and to further improve our competences and scale in these areas,’ says Jos Baeten, CEO of Fortis Insurance Netherlands stated. ‘We will benefit from the combination of complementary expertise: Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling specialises in private housing projects and long-term area development, while William Properties has developed unique expertise in offices, shopping centres and multi-functional inner-city development. By acquiring William Properties, we are gaining a developer with extensive experience in various real estate sectors. We expect growth from developing projects in city centres as well as area development.’
Gerard de Greef, Managing Director of William Properties, says the take-over opens up opportunities for the company in large, multifunctional city centre projects. ‘Partners like municipalities and institutional investors are looking for creative, experienced developers who have the stamina and the financial clout to take on such projects,’ he says. ‘In the past few years, William Properties has developed a fantastic retail pipeline, which the acquisition will enable us to realize more quickly.’
William Properties will be integrated into the Fortis Vastgoed Ontwikkeling business unit and will in the future operate from Utrecht. The FVO management team will consist of Tie Liebe, Gerard de Greef and Foppe Kooistra, the latter as General Manager of FVO. The present managers and key shareholders of William Properties, Ing. W. Persy and J.W. Klinkenberg, will leave the company and will focus on other activities. The transaction will be finalised subject to the customary closing conditions including the Workers Council of Fortis Insurance Netherlands. The transaction will have no material impact on Fortis’s solvency or net earnings per share.