A look at 2025: navigating uncertainty and opportunity

The real estate market remains challenging due to geopolitical tensions and inflation. How are we preparing for 2025? Our strategy revolves around three pillars: focus, expansion and exploration. In the coming years, we will focus on further optimizing the Dutch core portfolio.
Margarethe van der Vorm (CEO) says: "In the Netherlands we focus on residential, convenience retail and hotels. The tight housing market offers many opportunities. We are strengthening our residential portfolio by investing in sustainable properties in strong locations. We are also active abroad. In France and the United Kingdom, we are focusing on optimization and sales in the coming years. We will reinvest the released funds in our core markets: The Netherlands and Poland. We still see potential in the Polish market and want to further expand our activities there, particularly in the residential and hotel sectors. This includes increasing leverage on our Polish assets and entering into partnerships. Furthermore, we see that the hotel market is recovering from the corona crisis. We see plenty of growth opportunities and therefore intend to invest further in our hotel portfolio, focusing on strategic locations in key cities."
There will, of course, remain a strong focus on stability. Herman Jan Faber (CFO): "We will diversify our investments and are therefore also exploring alternative asset classes, such as equities, fixed income and private finance. We believe this will help us achieve stable returns. The equity market offers interesting opportunities in sectors that benefit from the energy transition and digitalization. We will therefore continue to expand our equity portfolio. We also see opportunities in private finance and will gradually expand our business in this segment."
Rene M. Voortmeijer (CCO) adds: "We look critically at our existing properties and where necessary we implement optimizations. Such as improving rental income and making properties more sustainable. Sustainability is an integral part of the strategy. We aim for a fully Paris Proof portfolio by 2040. When purchasing new real estate, we pay attention to energy performance. We will lease out less profitable complexes. Furthermore, we believe in the power of convenience centers and want to further expand our portfolio in this segment. The focus is on centers with a high proportion of supermarkets and other essential stores."
Margarethe concludes, "By following these strategies, we aim to create a future-proof portfolio that is both sustainable and profitable. With confidence and optimism, we look ahead to the opportunities the future holds."