Redevco, Carrefour agree lease termination in Belgium

Retail property specialist Redevco said on Tuesday that it has signed a long-awaited agreement with French retail group Carrefour regarding the termination of the lease contracts on six hypermarkets as well as the downsizing of four others properties in Belgium.

'Carrefour is one of our biggest tenants and this agreement gives us a new basis on which to build a partnership going forwards,' said Eric van Dyck, managing director of Redevco Belgium. Van Dyck said the hypermarket and supermarket leases were put under the same umbrella agreement at the time of the portfolio acquisition back in 2001. 'Both parties have found, however, that more flexibility is required, both for Carrefour's commercial development and for the future development of our portfolio,' he explained.

The two companies have decided to close down the hypermarkets in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Ronse, Kuurne, Jumet, Eupen and Zwijnaarde, while those in Haine St. Pierre, Bruges St. Kruis, Mouscron and Waterloo Centre will be downsized.

Three of the closed sites (Jumet, Ronse and Eupen) are let to Match, which is taking over half the available space, and two (Sint-Pieters-Leeuw and Kuurne) to Delhaize. Negotiations on the hypermarket in Zwijnaarde are still ongoing, Redevco added. The hypermarket in Middelkerke was already sold to the Vabeld group, which will use it for its own retail formula (Euro Shop).

'We are very pleased that we can now start renovating and upgrading the properties,' Van Dyck added. The company expects to invest a total of EUR 50-60 mln in the renovation of the properties.

Redevco is an independent international real estate company owned by Cofra Holding AG, a Swiss-based holding company. The retail-dominated portfolio comprises over 750 properties in throughout 18 European countries valued at EUR 7.4 bn.