June 29, 2018 Belgian investor snaps up €50m Kirchberg office
Alides' first deal in Luxembourg comes amid sluggish growth in Belgian office market
Belgian developer and investor Alides has bought the Espace Kennedy B office building in Kirchberg for more than €50 million.
Alides, owned by the Maes family, said in a press statement it was being forced to invest its capital abroad due to sluggish growth in the Belgian economy and office rental market.
Dutch bank ABN Amro was the vendor of the six-storey building.
The office sale comes after the bank agreed to sell its Luxembourg wealth management arm to BGL BNP Paribas in February.
The Luxembourg staff will be integrated into BGL's offices by the end of the year, vacating five floors of the building.
Rikkert Leeman, director at Alides, said the five floors would be refurbished and available to let to new tenants in the first quarter of 2019.
Royal Bank of Scotland and Dutch trust funds company TMF occupy the remaining office space in the building.
Alides said it fought off competition from international investors to seal the deal for the 5,838 square metre office building, adjacent to Avenue John F. Kennedy.
The Ghent-based real estate investor said the acquisition marked its second international foray in 18 months, following a deal in March last year for the old shipyards in Gdansk, Poland.
The company had previously solely invested in Belgium.
"The economic and financial climate in Brussels continues to lag behind countries like the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg," said Leeman.
"At this moment, it is not Brussels but Luxembourg that benefits most from Brexit, thanks to its agility."
