Belgian office REIT Befimmo has acquired a majority stake in its co-working venture partner Silversquare as part of plans to expand its presence in the niche segment.
Befimmo has bought 61% in the Belgian co-working specialist for just over €7 mln roughly a year after creating a joint venture with the firm.
Under the agreement, Befimmo also has an option to buy the rest of the shares in the company at a later stage. The current management team of Silversquare will remain in place.
The office specialist said that the acquisition is 'fully in line with the evolution of the real estate office market into a service-oriented sector'. 'Coworking is not just a trend,' Befimmo said, adding that the group has the ambition to develop the first Belux network of hybrid offices.
Silversquare is a pioneer in the sector, having set up its first coworking centre in 2008. It currently manages five centres, covering 15,200 m2, with over 1,000 members (companies) and generating a turnover of about €5.3 mln.
The co-working format allows users to benefit from flexibility in time (duration of their contract), workspace (easily occupy less or more space according to their needs) and meeting facility solutions. The coworking centres, when fully up and running, are expected to generate a contribution superior to that obtained from the classical letting of the same surfaces.
'This new model is an important strategic step for Befimmo and extends its offer in line with current market needs,' said Benoît De Blieck, CEO of Befimmo.
Befimmo's next big step in the sector will be the opening of the largest Silversquare coworking centre, taking 10,000 m2 of the 60,000 m2 Quatuor project in Brussels.
