CONTACT US
Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn I recommend visiting cushmanwakefield.com to read:%0A%0A {0} %0A%0A {1}
Elite House Brussels Elite House Brussels

learn how we put our clients at the centre of what's next

Elite House

The new iconic and mixed-use asset on the Porte de Namur in Brussels

Key highlights

◆ ± 7,128 sq m
◆ Brand-new building delivered in 2020
◆ Iconic and vibrant location on the Porte de Namur with fully redeveloped public spaces
◆ Fully let to 3 anchor tenants: AXA Belgium, Uniqlo, Basic-Fit
◆ Acquired by Groupama Gan REIM in April 2021
◆ Investment above 50 MEUR

The Elite House, the brand-new asset developed by Vastint Belgium SA was delivered at the beginning of 2020. The different teams of Cushman & Wakefield are besides the owner since the very beginning of this project initiated in 2013. Thanks to a strong collaboration with Vastint, this iconic and mixed-use project located in a strategic and vibrant area, the Porte de Namur in the centre of Brussels, is now fully let to anchor tenants (AXA Belgium, Uniqlo and Basic-Fit). And the story does not stop here as Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed on an exclusive basis to organize and structure the constitution of a long term lease right on this gem. 

01 The opportunity

The Elite House, a challenging project initiated in 2013

Back in 2013, thanks to the impulsion of Cushman & Wakefield, Vastint Belgium SA External Link made the acquisition of the Sulmon House, a building located next to its iconic Elite House on the Porte de Namur. This was the start of a long story and a strong relationship between the owner and our different teams. 

Following a building permit delivered in 2014, the project aimed to demolish the existing obsolete buildings and reconstruct a state of the art and mixed-use asset, including 3,600 sq m of retail, 3,200 sq m of offices and some residential units. 

The construction works started in 2017 and the brand-new building was delivered early 2020 in a totally reshaped urban fabric thanks to the pedestrianisation of the Chaussée d’Ixelles and new cycle paths on the inner ring.

Benefiting from an excellent accessibility (2 metro lines on the Porte de Namur and two train stations in the immediate vicinity), the Elite House project has also to deal with important challenges:


 - The letting of 3,200 sq m of office spaces in a mixed-use building, with residential units on floors 2 and 3

- The letting of a unique 3,600 sq m of retail unit, spread over three different levels including the basement in an increasingly difficult retail market

- The commercialization of the long term lease right which is going to start in a post-covid context, which imply to reinvent our strategy and process
Elite House Brussels Elite House Brussels

02 The solutions

Innovative solutions and a seamless collaboration as key differentiators

Thanks to a strong and long-term relationship between Vastint Belgium SA and the different teams of Cushman & Wakefield, innovative solutions were implemented to make this project a true success story. 

Following the “off market” transaction of the Sulmon House in 2013, our teams were present at every stage of the project. Firstly, our office agency experts convinced AXA Belgium External Link to let all the office spaces of the Elite House as a perfect complement to their new headquarter located on the other side of the inner ring on the Place de Trône. AXA Belgium is now enjoying brand new and flexible office spaces in a vibrant environment and in the direct vicinity of their headquarter. In a competitive office market, our experts made the difference thanks to our unrivalled market knowledge. 

Secondly, following the impossibility to find a unique retailer for the huge retail space in the lower part of the building due to difficult market conditions, our retail agency team proposed to Vastint to create a second entrance for the retail spaces on the place du Bastion and to split the area into two separate units. And this was the right solution as our retail agency experts succeeded to attract anchor tenants for this high visible retail scheme in one of the most visited retail areas of Brussels. Uniqlo External Link opened the door of its +/- 2,300 sq m (on the ground floor and in the basement) flagship store in Brussels early September. The brand will benefit from an exceptional visibility and more than 20,000 pedestrians on a daily basis. With its own entrance on the place du Bastion, Basic-Fit External Link will have a direct and secured access to its 1,300 sq m of fitness spaces, contributing to the comfort of their members.

 

"The acquisition of this mixed-use real estate complex, strategically located in the heart of Brussels, at the junction of the three central office districts, in a dynamic shopping area, allows the SCPI Affinités Pierre to make its first investment abroad. It is an asset of exceptional quality that magnificently complements our established French portfolio. This new investment also illustrates Groupama Gan REIM’s origination ability both abroad and in France."

- Jean-François Houdeau, Managing director Groupama Gan REIM

03 The results

The sale of the long leasehold rights to a new entrant on the Belgian investment market is the culmination of this long-term success story.

The Elite House was delivered in early 2020 and is fully let to anchor tenants. Our letting teams assisted in the leasing success of the property, advising the developer in every step of this journey since the very beginning in 2013. 

Our Capital Markets Office team was exclusively appointed by Vastint for the last milestone in the success story of the Elite House. Our market leading team just closed the sale of the long leasehold rights to Groupama Gan Reim, a highly reputable investor making their first investment in Belgium.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way we live, work and shop. However, in this challenging investment context, the Elite House perfectly matches core investors’ criteria: brand new and fully let asset, secured and diversified cash flows, mixed-use building in a Triple-A location and much more.

Our Capital Markets Office team has converted this file into a success thanks to unrivalled business intelligence tools, predictive market analyses and powerful marketing materials.

Interested to know more about this transaction and other opportunities?

Reach out to our Capital Markets experts.  

 
Elite House Brussels Elite House Brussels

CONTACT THE TEAM

Michael Despiegelaere
Michael Despiegelaere

Partner, Head of Capital Markets
Brussels, Belgium


Download VCard

Marc-Antoine Buysschaert
Marc-Antoine Buysschaert

Head of Belgium & Luxembourg
Brussels, Belgium


Download VCard

RELATED SERVICES

Lease Advisory - Office

Thanks to in-depth market knowledge and unmatched access to local, national and global occupiers, our experts help maximize the value of your assets through innovative lease-up programmes. 

Learn More
Lease Advisory - Retail
In an ever-evolving retail landscape, our experts provide strategic advice and highly flexible solutions all along the lease process. 
Learn More
Capital Markets

Our Capital Markets team advises institutional and private owners, occupiers, investors and developers on their transactions, from the smaller to the most significant ones.

Learn More

CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR?

Get in touch with one of our professionals.
With your permission we and our partners would like to use cookies in order to access and record information and process personal data, such as unique identifiers and standard information sent by a device to ensure our website performs as expected, to develop and improve our products, and for advertising and insight purposes.

Alternatively click on More Options and select your preferences before providing or refusing consent. Some processing of your personal data may not require your consent, but you have a right to object to such processing.

You can change your preferences at any time by returning to this site or clicking on Cookies.
MORE OPTIONS
Agree and Close
These cookies ensure that our website performs as expected,for example website traffic load is balanced across our servers to prevent our website from crashing during particularly high usage.
These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced features. These cookies do not gather any information about you that could be used for advertising or remember where you have been on the internet.
These cookies allow us to work with our marketing partners to understand which ads or links you have clicked on before arriving on our website or to help us make our advertising more relevant to you.
Agree All
Reject All
SAVE SETTINGS