As Redevco strengthens its position in the European retail real estate market, RLI talks to Jaap Gillis, Chief Operating Officer and chairman, ICSC EUROPE, about the group’s portfolio expansion, its plans for Turkey and taking those first, careful steps into Asia
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I n 1861 Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer opened their first clothing store in the Friesian town of Sneek, in the Netherlands, marking the birth of a worldwide chain of C&A fashion stores. As the enterprise grew, a unique real estate portfolio grew with it. Until recently the real estate companies owned by the Brenninkmeijers operated as corporate real estate companies for C&A and its affiliated retail organisations. When Redevco was established in 1999 there was a fundamental shift in focus to
asset management.

Redevco is a distinct and completely independent core activity: a European real estate organisation with final responsibility for achieving the best investment result. It has retained a special relationship with C&A, its largest tenant, but this is now based purely on mutual business interests.
Redevco’s business philosophy is based on a commitment to high professional and ethical standards and social responsibility. Its guiding principles are openness, integrity and respect for the individual in all business relationships and daily contacts.

The activities of Redevco are co-ordinated at the European level by Redevco Europe and at local level by 15 regional offices. “We have a portfolio valued at approximately €7bn, which we intend to expand to €10bn by 2010,” says Redevco’s Chief Operating Officer, Jaap Gillis. “The group’s emphasis is now very much on the ‘new’ countries of Central Europe, such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, and Turkey.
“Since joining the group in 2006, I have been tasked with establishing the development group within these countries, integrating it with the asset management side; we now have projects that are coming to fruition in 2007/08 totalling some 380,000sq m, or approximately €1bn, of retail space.

We are also working on our portfolio of acquisitions, which stands at around 340,000sq m.” In 2006, Redevco completed projects such as Princes Street in Edinburgh and in Pau, France, of which, says Gillis, the company is extremely proud. “There are many high quality buildings in the portfolio, but we are now working on our first sustainable shopping centre, The Gordion, in the Cay Yolu suburb of Ankara, Turkey, which will become a building that I believe we will all be very proud of,” he says.

“For me, Turkey and Romania are the most promising European markets, alongside some of the more established markets such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We are already very active in Turkey, which is
extremely promising.” How does the Turkish markets compare in terms of opportunity to those of the more established European markets?

“Although Turkey still has a lot of growth in income to come, this is a very dynamic market — much like the Spanish and Portuguese economies of the early 1990s, if not more so,” explains Gillis. “Of course, there is also a young population coming through in key positions, adding further dynamics and a new sense of stability. In short, this is a fantastic strategic location, with its understanding of both Europe and the Middle East.”