Brussels fighting the clock in RE deal

The Belgian government is under pressure to sell EUR 600 mln of property assets in the next few weeks after an earlier attempt to set up a new closed-ended real estate investment company (Sicafi) stalled due to legal challenges.

Belgian newspaper De Tijd has noted that that Brussels has to the end of the month to sell the 80 government properties and raise the EUR 600 mln it has already included in its budget.

The Federal Participation- and Investment company (FPIM) will create a company to hold the assets, the newspaper said. This week a public tender for interested parties is due to start, but only after parliamentary approval has been granted. The measure also has to be published in the Belgian law gazette by December 28 at the latest.

Earlier in October the Belgian government suspended its decision to appoint Brussels-based real estate group Cofinimmo to the new closed-ended real estate investment company (Sicafi) after Befimmo and Axa Belgium mounted legal challenges. Befimmo said on 18 October it had taken legal action after it emerged that 'core principles such as equality of treatment of the various bidders and the rules of proper administration had not been complied with.'

The Council of State ruled in favour of one the eight points put forward by Befimmo and suspended the decision to appoint Cofinimmo. Befimmo said the court had logically not considered the validity of the complaints, meaning these points have not been dismissed.

The Belgian government's portfolio will consist of 79 office properties and the platform for the erection of the World Trade centre 4 tower in Belgium. The buildings are leased to the Belgian state building agency for the use of federal ministries or the European Union. The portfolio will be worth €1.2 bn and the joint venture was to be listed next year.