International Investments
Bouwinvest invests globally in residential, retail, office, logistic, hotels and some other real estate sectors, such as self-storage and parking. All these investments are indirect investments via listed and unlisted real estate funds, joint ventures and club deals. As a manager of pension fund assets, the International Investment team aims to generate stable and regular annual returns of around 7% to hedge our client’s long-term liabilities. The main goal of the substantial increase of the allocation to international real estate in recent years was to increase the diversification of bpfBOUW’s real estate investments. For one, it has enabled our anchor investor to diversify geographically, steadily increasing the allocation to promising regions such as the Asia-Pacific and United States markets and away from its initial focus in Europe. It also adds another layer of diversification through its exposure to real estate sectors in different countries. For instance, the office sectors in Australia, the United States or Japan are quite different from the Dutch office sector.
The addition of listed funds three years ago added yet another level of diversification, enabling us to fill a number of gaps in our international portfolio by investing capital in sectors that offered interesting investment opportunities with higher returns than generally available from unlisted funds. The international investment portfolio also provides our client with a more diversified risk profile. Global real estate markets are dynamic, but market corrections and crises tend to affect the various sectors differently in different countries. A balanced exposure to the various sectors in different regions acts as a hedge on market volatility.
Bouwinvest’s investments in global mezzanine debt markets add another layer of diversification to its international portfolio. With the right expertise, exposure to mezzanine debt gives investors access to high-quality properties and borrowers, currently on very favourable terms. These investments generate attractive risk-adjusted returns and provide additional low-cost exposure to real estate sectors often difficult to access via either listed or unlisted funds.
BpfBOUW’s firm commitment to its international portfolio enabled Bouwinvest’s International Investment team to invest in the world’s real estate markets even during the various crises of recent years. This enabled us to take advantage of opportunities when other investors were withdrawing from the market. We are a long-term investor, but we have the flexibility to use short-term volatility to our advantage. We were encouraged to see that our best performing funds in 2015 included both funds we invested in recently and those we invested in a number of years ago, such as logistics real estate in Australia and office real estate in the United States.
Bouwinvest’s International Investment team has a very strong focus on developed economies, where the real estate markets are transparent and liquid. We will not invest in countries with poor records in terms of transparency or corruption. On a country level, the main focus is on major cities, as we believe that sustainable long-term returns will be driven by a number of trends that will favour large cities in the future. These include ongoing urbanisation, which will create mega cities in certain parts of the world, with a concomitant growth in employment (offices) and a surge in demand for residential and retail real estate. Another trend is the growth of online shopping, which is increasing demand for state-of-the-art logistics facilities, one of the focus areas of the international portfolio. Also, given the huge surge in tourism expected in the coming decades, demand is likely to far outstrip supply in the hotel sector, making this an excellent investment opportunity. The rapid ageing of the population in countries like Japan, combined with higher life expectancy, will also increase the need for healthcare-related real estate, and we see this as very promising sector for the future. The growing affluence in the Asia Pacific region will drive a number of real estate trends, especially in the residential sector. For one, it is likely to lead to a huge increase in demand for student accommodation, another sector we are monitoring very closely.
Another major priority for Bouwinvest’s International Investment team is the quality of the underlying real estate. We see a very strong correlation between the performance of indirect real estate investments and the quality of the underlying real estate itself. When making an investment decision, therefore, we assign a great deal of weight to analyse underlying rental income, occupancy and potential rental growth. This makes the sustainability of the underlying real estate extremely important and we apply strict ESG criteria in all our investments. We also work exclusively with top notch local fund managers in all of the countries in which we invest. The investment fund managers we work with understand the DNA of a pension fund and act as an extension of the Bouwinvest investment philosophy. They know their markets intimately, have solid track records, good governance and share our focus on quality and sustainability. In 2015, we were pleased to note that once again a higher proportion of the fund managers we work with signed up for the GRESB sustainability assessment and that our managers’ GRESB scores were higher than in 2014. We also like to be major participants in the funds in which we invest, as this enables us to exert influence on investment decisions and strategies. We have built up very strong relationships with a large number of fund managers and this has proven to be a major advantage over the years.
Of course, such a diverse portfolio comes with its own unique set of challenges. One of our biggest challenges is making truly sustainable investments. The built environment accounts for a very large proportion of harmful emissions and we are already seeing cities virtually shut down due to pollution. This is why we have made a firm commitment to make a contribution to a cleaner and healthier built environment, by only investing in real estate that complies with very strict sustainability criteria. Another challenge is that it is becoming harder to find the right investment product – the underlying real estate – as the huge surge in capital looking for real estate investments is making the global real estate market extremely competitive.
Real estate markets are volatile and virtually all markets – national, regional and sectors – experience corrections at some point. Our edge in this case is the sheer diversity of our portfolio, plus we have the expertise, market knowledge and resources to take advantage of short-term corrections.
The world’s markets – including real estate – are also affected by the geo-political issue's that abound today. We monitor all our markets very closely, with the help of our local partners. Interest rates are currently at historical lows, making real estate a remarkably attractive asset class, but rates will increase in the future. Property prices will continue to rise, but not at today’s rates. On the other hand, yields have come down in line with interest rates, but yields are likely to increase in the future, at least in primary unleveraged markets.
What this means in the long term is that we expect annual net returns to stabilise at 7-8%.
The performance on Bouwinvest's international investments continued its strong course in 2015, leading to a total return of 12.7% for 2015 before currency results and after management fees. When currency results are included, the total return amounts to 19.2% after management fees. Both the unlisted (14.0%) and the listed investments (10.0%) contributed to the total return. From the following section onwards, all figures are excluding currency results, unless otherwise stated. The best performing region in 2015 was Europe. The sale of a Berlin residential portfolio well above its book value, combined with strong listed real estate returns lead to a 16.1% return in Europe, driven by yield compression due to capital inflows. Both the unlisted (17.9%) and the listed investments (16.1%) contributed to the total return.
The 2015 performance of 6.8% for the Asia Pacific portfolio showed some recovery from the correction due to the global fear of economic slowdown of Chinese economic growth forecasts. Despite the turmoil in China the listed performance remained positive with a 2.8% return for 2015. The unlisted funds showed a strong 8.3% performance driven by the Australian and Japanese investments.
The Northern American portfolio finished the year with a total return of 13.0%. The United States real estate market is likely to remain in the mature phase of the cycle with property yields at record lows. The long-expected interest rate increase by the Fed in December 2015 has left the market virtually untouched.
At year-end 2015, the average leverage in the International portfolio had fallen to 30% from an average of 33.6% in 2014. The total value of the international investments portfolio stood at € 2.6 billion at year-end 2015, compared with € 2.4 billion a year earlier. Total new commitments came in at € 260 million in 2015, in line with the growth strategy outlined in bpfBOUW's mandate for international investments. The divestments gained speed in 2015, due to the increased market liquidity resulted in the realisation of exit plans for many assets in several closed-end funds in Europe and North America.
Exchange rates contributed € 143 million, while valuation movements also added € 182 million to the growth of the portfolio in 2015.
Europe
Bouwinvest is confident about the long-term real estate fundamentals for investing in Europe. Economies are recovering in many European countries and GDP growth is up. Low interest rates and the poor returns from fixed-rate bond investments, plus the volatility of stock markets, means there is an enormous amount of international capital looking for investments in real estate. This has added a lot of liquidity to the European real estate market. The continued economic recovery is also having a positive impact on rental values in most European countries. The massive surge in e-commerce and online shopping is driving demand for logistics real estate. Of course, this has affected the retail real estate market and made it even more important to invest in prime retail to guarantee rental income growth and solid returns. There is also healthy demand for both residential and prime office real estate. However, while Europe as a whole is recovering, a great deal of the economic recovery is concentrated in the larger cities of north-western Europe, in countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, France and the Nordics. These countries also tend to have the most well-developed and transparent real estate markets. Rapid urbanisation is driving population growth in larger European cities and leading to population shrinkage in parts of most countries. Bouwinvest’s European investments are therefore largely focused on cities and metropolitan areas with the best economic and demographic outlook.
Bouwinvest’s current European real estate investment portfolio is well-positioned for solid returns in the coming years. The portfolio is well-balanced both in terms of its country spread and in terms of sector focus, while a number of niche investments add another layer of diversification.
All these investment are structured as funds, club deals, joint ventures and listed real estate companies. We also have a pan-European portfolio of mezzanine debt. Many of the current investments in closed-end funds, entered pre-crisis, are due to expire in the period to 2017. The unlisted portfolio includes shopping centres, and mezzanine debt, long-lease investments and logistics in the United Kingdom, and retail investments in France and Sweden. In Germany, we have a large residential portfolio, while on a pan-European level we have a large exposure to the thriving logistics sector.
In 2015, we continued to look for investment opportunities in the United Kingdom residential market, especially in the greater London area, and are optimistic on European office funds with a main city focus, as economic and demographic growth is concentrated in Europe’s larger cities. Europe’s junior and mezzanine debt markets are also developing quite rapidly and we committed our exposure to this market, as it offers solid returns with relatively little risk. We believe the market will offer some excellent investment opportunities. The mid-rental residential segment across Europe is very promising, as the supply is still fairly limited and demand is high, again especially in the large cities. Most new complexes are therefore fully occupied on completion and there is a lot of potential rent value growth. Europe is still in the early stages of recovery, so the residential, office and retail markets also have a lot potential for good investments, if you have the right expertise and the ability and resources to take advantage of opportunities. Real estate markets are changing so rapidly, our strategy in Europe is to maintain a solid layer of long-term listed and unlisted investments, while remaining flexible enough to take advantage of shifts in the various markets and new investment opportunities.
Bouwinvest prefers to take major stakes and play an active role in the funds we invest in. This enables us to influence the funds’ investment decisions and strategies on several fronts, including sustainability. In this very dynamic environment, we firmly believe that solid partnerships with local fund managers and investment managers are the best way to guarantee stable long-term returns for our client. We devote a great deal of attention to finding the right partners and all our local partners have excellent track records. We have also worked with many of our partners since before the crisis, and working through crises is a very good way to get to know who the best fund managers are. We also prefer to work with investment managers who share Bouwinvest’s investment philosophy and understand the investment priorities of pension funds. One of these priorities is sustainability and a growing number of our partners now use GRESB assessments to measure and improve their sustainability performance, as this this will be increasingly important as we move forward.
North America
The North American real estate sector is a highly attractive investment market due to its long-term characteristics. The region boasts healthy population growth and the United States economy has now recovered and moved into growth mode. And economic growth has been gradual, so this is not a boom and bust scenario. This has resulted in rental growth in most sectors, which is very good for the real estate sector. The balance of supply and demand is also generally in good shape, especially in the major cities. For instance, the office sector is not suffering from the massive oversupply we see in Europe, while office buildings neglected during the crisis offer a lot of value-add potential. On top of this, investor appetite is strong, which adds a good deal of liquidity to the market.
The residential and logistics sectors are leading the pack, although there is healthy demand for class-A office in large cities areas. The majority of the investments are concentrated in the metropolitan areas with the best economic and demographic outlook. These offer the best prospects for job growth and tend to be the most desired places to live.
Bouwinvest has built up a well-balanced and diversified real estate investment portfolio in North America over the 15 years it has been investing in the region. The current portfolio consists of a number of – mainly core – sector-specific holdings, plus a number of diversified and niche investments. The portfolio consists of investments in unlisted funds, joint ventures, co-investments, club deals and listed real estate companies.
Over the years, Bouwinvest has shifted the focus of its portfolio away from a majority of closed-end funds, as this made it more difficult to execute strategies quickly enough. The shift towards a more diversified strategy, with a balance of core, value-add and opportunistic investments, has made the portfolio both more resilient and more flexible. Investing in more open-ended funds also gave the portfolio a more stable layer, as there was no longer any danger of a large part of the portfolio terminating simultaneously. The addition of listed funds to the portfolio three years ago was fully in line with this strategy, as it put control firmly in Bouwinvest’s hands, rather than the manager of the funds.
The North American portfolio has exposure to a diverse range of sectors, via both listed and unlisted funds, including residential, retail, office and logistics. The logistics sector is growing rapidly on the back of the growing popularity of online sales, while the return to GDP growth is driving demand for retail and office space. Residential is another key market for investment, as the re-urbanisation of the United States is driving up demand for rental homes in a number of the country’s larger cities. High-end multi-family residential (rental) homes (apartment buildings) are performing extremely well.
For instance, Bouwinvest’s decision to support its United States investment manager, Clarion, in its bid to acquire the Gables Apartment Fund at the end of 2014 turned out to be a very good move, as the Gables fund turned out to be one of last year’s best performers. At USD 180 million it is currently the largest single investment in the United States portfolio. Bouwinvest’s mezzanine debt investments, started in 2014 in the US, add another layer to the portfolio and promise to deliver good returns at fairly low risk.
Bouwinvest’s strategy is to be a major and active participant in the funds we invest in, so we can influence investment decisions and strategies. We are also firm believers in forging strong partnerships with local investment specialists and fund managers, as this has proven to be the key to providing our client with the optimal balance of risks and returns. We prefer to work with local partners who share our investment philosophy and our priorities on the sustainability front. The fact that more and more of our partners are now using GRESB to assess and improve their ESG credentials is very encouraging, as sustainability criteria will only become more important in the future.
Asia-Pacific
Bouwinvest is positive on the long-term fundamentals for the Asia-Pacific region. These include resilient economic growth and socio-economic trends such as the unprecedented rate of urbanisation and a rapidly growing middle class. This is creating opportunities for investments in infrastructure and the development of new real estate to meet the rapidly increasing demand for residential, retail, offices and commercial real estate. For instance, burgeoning online sales and increasing trade has led to heavy demand for modern logistics real estate. Increasing wealth is also increasing the demand for student accommodation, which we see as a promising niche market. The rapid ageing of the population and higher life expectancy in the region is expected to boost demand for real estate in the healthcare sector, especially in Japan, and we are considering investment opportunities in this sector. Asia is also seeing a huge surge in international travel, which will have a major impact in demand for hotel beds, both in Asia itself and across the globe, so the outlook for the hotel industry is very positive. In view of these very strong fundamentals, Bouwinvest has increased the allocation of investments in the Asia-Pacific region to 25% of the total international portfolio, from the current 20%.
We focus primarily on the developed countries in the region, such as Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and certain cities in China. These all have well-developed, transparent and liquid real estate markets, with high financial governance standards. The major growth in these countries will be in the larger urban centres, so our investments are concentrated on real estate in tier-one cities, such as Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Shanghai in China and the capitals of other Asia-Pacific countries.
Bouwinvest has built up a balanced real estate investment portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region. It consists primarily of country (city) and sector-specific holdings in all the developed economies of the region. Our portfolio is a mix of long-term core investments, with some short-term investments with a focus on adding value. We currently have investments in unlisted funds, joint ventures, co-investments, club deals, combined with listed real estate companies. Due to the huge amount of interest in the region in recent years, the prices of prime real estate are currently quite high. We have adopted a cautious approach to investment for the near term, and we are looking for defensive investments as a hedge against any market corrections. Quite recently, Bouwinvest invested in retail real estate in Singapore and logistics real estate in Australia and China. Although Bouwinvest generally invests for the long term, we also opt for liquidity when market pricing is favourable. One example is the liquidation after three years of a Tokyo office real estate investment in 2015. This generated an investment return of 26%.
Bouwinvest aims to be a major and active participant in the funds we invest in, as this enables us influence over investment decisions and strategies. We firmly believe the partnerships we forge with local investment specialists and fund managers are the key to providing our client with the optimal balance of risks and returns.
Global listed real estate
Bouwinvest’s listed real estate portfolio is an integral part of our international real estate investment portfolio. Bouwinvest started investing in listed real estate in late 2012, which now accounts for approximately 20% of the total international portfolio. The investments in listed real estate primarily serve as a complement to our unlisted portfolio. For the most part, we have a buy and hold strategy for our listed real estate investments, fully in line with Bouwinvest’s overall long-term investment strategy. Additionally, listed investments add liquidity and enable us to rebalance the portfolio in terms of allocations per region or sector in the future. They also enhance the risk-return profile of the overall portfolio, as the exposure can be brought in line with our risk-return objectives. Listed funds also provide an arbitrage opportunity between unlisted and listed real estate exposure. Of course, listed investments are very effective to diversify real estate investments across sectors and countries, at considerably lower capital requirements than investments in direct real estate.
Bouwinvest’s global listed portfolio currently consists of fourteen separate market-sector combinations with a carefully selected, limited number of holdings in listed real estate companies. The global portfolio is based on our expectations for various sectors in certain countries and very much based on forecasts for the real estate markets in those countries. Investing in listed real estate has also enabled Bouwinvest to invest in sectors difficult to gain access to via unlisted funds. For instance, we were able to enter the United States retail market in 2012 and invest in high-quality regional shopping malls. This type of retail assets are closely held by listed real estate companies, therefore it would not have been possible to achieve comparable diversified exposure to the underlying real estate assets through non-listed funds.
In 2015, an investment in a closed-end Tokyo office fund came to end, but we were able to regain access to the high-performance Tokyo office market via listed investments. We have also decided to increase our exposure to the US office market via listed funds, provided the pricing is right. Other recent investments include assets in main shopping streets in Japan and Chinese residential real estate.
The way Bouwinvest has set up and executes its investment strategy is recognised as unique and innovative. Because the portfolio was growing so rapidly, the listed funds team – which added an analyst this year – set itself the task of devising and developing a system to monitor not just its current portfolio, but all markets, sectors and funds that might be of interest. One of the unique elements of this system is that it is being set up in close cooperation with external partners, as most day-to-day activities are outsourced. It is conditional to a dynamic portfolio approach, that enables Bouwinvest to take advantage of the opportunities offered by short-term volatility and invest under attractive conditions compared to fairly illiquid unlisted real estate investments.
Dutch Investments
Residential Fund (open for institutional investors)
Pipeline secured by investments of more than € 690 million
The Residential Fund generated a total return of 12.5% (2014: 5.1%), with a direct return of 3.8% (2014: 3.9%), and an indirect return of 8.6% (2014: 1.2%). The Fund had a high and stable average occupancy rate of 97.6%. Like-for-like rental growth for 2015 amounted to 3.8% (2014: 3.2%), while rent arrears were low at 1.1% (2014: 1.2%). The dividend return for 2015 came in at 3.8% (2014: 3.9%).
The Residential Fund continued to reap the benefits of Bouwinvest’s growth strategy and saw the completion and delivery of eight excellent new-build projects, most of which were fully let before completion. We currently have a secured pipeline of 27 new residential projects following investments of around € 466 million in 2015. These investments will add 1,712 apartments and 395 family homes. We fully expect to benefit from the growing scarcity of high-quality residential units in the liberalised rental sector, especially in our core markets, giving us visibility for the Fund’s future and matching the Fund’s regular long-term growth objectives.
The recovery in the residential market and growing interest from domestic and international investors led once again to a steady rise in values, as house prices returned to pre-crisis levels in some areas due to high demand and a lack of supply. This helped us to book a positive indirect return in 2015, and we expect this to continue in the next few years.
The recovery in the residential sector and the very high quality of the residential portfolio enabled the Fund to attract three new investors in 2015.
At year-end 2015, the Fund’s property portfolio consisted of 216 properties with a total value of € 3.0 billion.
Retail Fund (open for institutional investors)
Two-pillar strategy is starting to pay off
The Retail Fund booked a return of 4.5% in 2015 (2014: 1.8%), the result of a direct return of 4.4% (2014: 4.5%) and an indirect return of 0.1% (2014: -2.7%). The average occupancy rate was 94.2% (2014: 94.4%). The dividend return for 2015 was 4.4% (2014: 4.5%).
The Retail Fund benefited from the continued economic recovery and a strong rise in consumer confidence, which was reflected in an increase in the values of its retail assets in Amsterdam and elsewhere. The Fund once again improved its portfolio through investments and upgrades of existing assets. This reflects the Fund’s commitment to investing in assets with solid growth prospects throughout the crisis years. While retail real estate will remain a challenging sector in the years ahead, we believe that our portfolio with a good balance of 'Experience' and 'Convenience' oriented retail real estate assets will continue to generate solid returns in the long term.
In 2015, the completed redevelopments were all in line with our strategic focus on the 'Experience' and 'Convenience' segments of the retail rector. The Retail Fund invested around € 64 million in 2015 and intends to upgrade and future-proof several existing assets, reflecting our continued commitment to this segment of the real estate market.
On a very positive note, the Retail Fund attracted its first three new investors, who joined the Fund as of 1 January 2016. This underlines investor faith in the retail sector and the trust Bouwinvest has garnered on the real estate investment market.
In 2015, the Retail Fund agreed new leases and renewed existing contracts for a total of 38,987 m² of space, representing a rental value of some € 10.2 million.
At the end of 2015, the Fund’s portfolio consisted of 42 properties with a total value of € 719 million.
Office Fund (open for institutional investors)
Package of 14 non-core office buildings sold following optimisation strategy
The Office Fund booked a return of 0.5% in 2015 (2014: 0.1%), the result of a direct return of 4.2% (2014: 5.7%) and a negative indirect return of -3.7% (2014: -5.6%). The average occupancy rate fell to 80.1% in 2015 from 89.9% in 2014. The dividend return came in at 4.2% (2014: 5.7%). The negative indirect return was partly due to a strong devaluation of the CentreCourt office complex in The Hague due to the potential vacation of this building by a government ministry.
After various year of outperformance, last year was a year of consolidation and portfolio optimisation for the Office Fund, as this included the disposal of 14 office buildings we no longer considered core assets. The Fund invested € 2.7 million in an upgrade of the WTC complex in The Hague and made preparations for the redevelopment of the Citroën buildings in Amsterdam.
The Dutch office market will continue to be an extremely challenging sector, but the high-quality acquisitions in prime locations the Fund has made in recent years clearly demonstrate that there are still excellent opportunities available. The disposal of non-core assets enabled us to consolidate and optimise our portfolio, taking the proportion of the properties located in our core regions to 100%. Our long-term commitment to this real estate sector means that we will continue to look for opportunities in the prime segment of the office market.
One of the highlights of 2015, was the fact that the Fund acquired its first third-party investor, a French insurer, advised by Amundi. This demonstrates renewed investor confidence in the office sector and trust that Bouwinvest’s Office Fund is building a portfolio of offices that will withstand the test of time.
Active asset management and continued investment in upgrading and updating its office assets ensured that the Fund renewed or signed new leases for a total of 33,965 m², representing an annual rental income of € 4.2 million in 2015.
At the end of 2015, the Fund’s portfolio consisted of 16 properties with a total value of € 478 million.
Healthcare Fund (on behalf of bpfBOUW)
Two new acquisitions taken into operation in a very promising market
In its second year, the Healthcare Fund reported a net result of € 1.9 million, while its total return amounted to 7.7%. In 2015, the Fund took two new assets into operation. These were both in the Premium Assisted Living segment, thereby creating a temporary imbalance with respect to the targeted distribution of segments. However, the Fund currently has several projects in the pipeline that will restore the balance, in line with the 2018 targets.
As healthcare moves from the state sector into the consumer market, we expect the demand for better quality services to increase substantially as people seek more value for money. We are on the threshold of a new era where ‘one size fits all’ will no longer be the norm, and consumers will require different levels of healthcare and accommodation according to their lifestyles and needs.
The ultimate potential for the entry of market forces into healthcare real estate in the Netherlands is immense, as the floor space in the sector is projected to grow to 30 million m2 by 2030 in or roughly midway between the size of the retail and office markets. Real estate brokers DTZ and CBRE estimate that annual investment transaction volumes in the sector could hit between € 650 million and € 800 million over the next five years. The bpfBOUW mandate to invest in healthcare real estate is € 300 million for the coming years.
Hotel Fund (on behalf of bpfBOUW)
A year of promise
The Hotel Fund lifted profits to € 11.5 million (2014: € 9.8 million). The Fund‘s total return rose to 8.4% from 6.5% in 2014. Highlights of the year include a turnkey purchase agreement for Amsteltower Hotel in Amsterdam. For this hotel we have also signed a long-term lease (25 years) with a fixed rent with tenant Meininger. Completion of the hotel is expected in the fourth quarter of 2017 and forward funding started in he fourth quarter of 2015.
In addition, the Fund looked at a number of other opportunities, two of which may turn into transactions.
Steady pressure in Amsterdam supports the Fund's growth strategy. Amsterdam city centre is seeing a clear increase in hotel rooms, driven in particular by the opening of new high-end hotels. A number of leading notable luxury hotel brands have opened recently, or are set to do so in the near future. Despite the growing supply, occupancy rates and average room rates are expected to remain stable due to the increasing demand from growing visitor numbers.
Bouwinvest Development (on behalf of bpfBOUW)
Landholdings represent opportunities
Bouwinvest Development booked a positive return of 2.7% in 2015, compared with a negative return of -16.7% in 2014. The direct result came in at 4.9% (2015: -2.5%) and the indirect result came in at -2.2% (2014: -14.2%), mainly the result of a significant depreciation of a landholding in Nieuw-Vennep.
The existing landholdings in the portfolio are once again increasing in importance. The landholdings represent a potential for 1,750 new homes.