Diversification led Ackermans & van Haaren into real estate. Although the company’s founders—sometimes each in their own name—invested in property, it was not until around 1994 that real estate became a permanent pillar of the group’s investment portfolio, with interests in Leasinvest, Extensa (later transformed into Nextensa), Financière Duval and Anima Care.
Entry through Leasinvest
Ackermans & van Haaren played an important role in the privatisation of the NIM (National Investment Company) in 1994 and, in the process, inherited the ‘small’ leasing company Leasinvest, which had equity of €5 million and three employees. When Leasinvest was established in 1983, the NIM held a 50% interest, which had already increased to 75% by the time of the takeover in 1994.
At the time of the takeover by Ackermans & van Haaren, Leasinvest was going through a difficult period. The leasing of aircraft and aircraft engines had left Leasinvest with a loss. Nevertheless, Luc Bertrand had already described Leasinvest as a ‘hidden gem’ in 1996. Ackermans & van Haaren decided to use the expertise available solely for real estate leasing. The former airport terminal at Zaventem was the most important asset in Leasinvest’s portfolio. In 1997, Ackermans & van Haaren acquired full control of Leasinvest.
The former airport terminal at Zaventem, Belgium
Together with Extensa
In 1998, a unique opportunity arose to turn Leasinvest into a fully fledged real estate company. Antwerp-based property company Extensa (founded in 1990 as Extensions et Entreprises Anversoises) had instructed investment bank Petercam to find a buyer, partly because the arrival of the fifth generation of shareholders had led to highly fragmented ownership, with some shareholders wishing to exit Extensa. Leasinvest successfully submitted a bid of €62.5 million, acquiring 220 hectares of land in residential areas, together with eleven buildings and a cash position of €15 million.
Leasinvest goes public
Ackermans & van Haaren was still absorbing the privatisation of the NIM in 1994 and had therefore had to finance the bid for Extensa—after deducting the available cash—with debt. True to its principles, Ackermans & van Haaren wanted to reduce this debt as quickly as possible and decided to list Leasinvest as a property investment company, an investment product that was then rapidly gaining popularity. To strengthen Leasinvest’s portfolio for this purpose, the company acquired the two Belgian subsidiaries of the British company Brixton Estate Plc. in April 1999, including the Riverside Business Park in Anderlecht and the Brixton Business Park in Zaventem. This immediately made Leasinvest the eighth-largest real estate company in Belgium. In July 1999, the property investment company Leasinvest Real Estate was listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange. As a result of this initial public offering, Ackermans & van Haaren’s interest fell to 45.7%, but the group was freed from its real estate debt.
Brixton retail park, Zaventem (Belgium)
Real estate as a core activity under the Extensa name
In 2000, Ackermans & van Haaren brought virtually all its real estate activities together under the Leasinvest holding company. One year later, Leasinvest and Robelco acquired the rights to develop most of the Tour & Taxis site in Brussels. To this day, Tour & Taxis remains an important and successful development project for the group and is gradually approaching completion. Through an interest in Grossfeld Immobilière, Leasinvest also participated in the 400,000 m² Cloche d’Or development project in Luxembourg.
In 2006, Leasinvest was renamed Extensa Group to avoid confusion with the property investment company Leasinvest Real Estate.
The Herman Teirlinck Building, Tour & Taxis, Brussels
Real estate in the care sector
The following year, in 2007, Ackermans & van Haaren also entered the French real estate market by acquiring an interest in Financière Duval, which was active in property development, holiday parks and nursing homes. In 2015, this interest was exchanged for a direct and indirect stake in Residalya, the operator and owner of the real estate of several residential care centres in France. This was later supplemented by an interest in HPA, Residalya’s parent company. In 2019, Ackermans & van Haaren exited this investment.
From 2009 onwards, Ackermans & van Haaren’s care real estate investment portfolio also included Anima Care. Established that same year as a one-person business in Ackermans & van Haaren’s offices on Begijnenvest, it developed over the years into a highly respected operator of high-quality residential care centres. By 2011, it operated more than 2,500 beds and nearly 260 assisted-living units across 24 care centres in Belgium.
As Anima Care owned most of the real estate associated with these assisted-living units and care centres, this was a capital-intensive investment from Ackermans & van Haaren’s perspective. For strategic reasons, Ackermans & van Haaren sought to reduce part of its exposure to real estate within its portfolio. It was also fairly logical to assume that the interest-rate environment at the time—with occasionally negative interest rates—could not last forever and that a reversal in this area would also affect real estate investments.
Despite Anima Care’s impressive development over all those years, both parties concluded that Ackermans & van Haaren’s role as shareholder might be better taken over by another party. In 2022, Ackermans & van Haaren and Anima’s management jointly reached an agreement with insurer AG to sell 100% of Anima’s shares. The transaction was completed in early July 2022.
Residential care centre of Residalya, France
Nextensa
Following the exits from Residalya and Anima Care, Ackermans & van Haaren’s real estate story continued with Leasinvest Real Estate and Extensa. These companies merged in 2021 under the name Nextensa, which positions itself as a diversified real estate investor and developer. As a developer, Nextensa focuses primarily on delivering large-scale urban projects. At Tour & Taxis in Brussels, with more than 350,000 m² of development projects, Nextensa has begun the final phase in the development of a mixed-use district combining the renovation of iconic buildings with new construction. In Luxembourg, at Cloche d’Or, the company is participating as a partner in a major urban expansion project of more than 400,000 m², comprising offices, retail space and homes. Bel Towers is Nextensa’s latest urban development project. The iconic Belgacom Towers in Brussels will be transformed into a vibrant, multifunctional and sustainable urban landmark, with minimal impact on the planet and maximum added value for the neighbourhood. Construction is expected to start at the end of 2026, with completion scheduled for 2029.
Cloche d'Or, Luxembourg