Regulatory Filings • Jun 2, 2020
Regulatory Filings
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Regulated insider information Embargo - 2 June 2020 at 6:00 pm
2 June 2020
Belfius takes 30% stake in Immovlan
With this participation Belfius – like Roularta Media Group (35%) and the Rossel group (35%) – becomes a reference shareholder of Immovlan, which until today had been a 50/50 joint venture between Roularta Media Group (RMG) and Rossel. This participation is part of a strategic cooperation agreement between Belfius and Immovlan, whereby they combine their digital expertise and further diversify their service offerings in residential real estate. Together, the three Belgian shareholders are joining forces to make Immovlan the digital reference real estate platform on the Belgian market, and to guide customers in a uniquely integrated way through all phases of their real estate projects.
The residential real estate market is without doubt the largest ecosystem in Belgium. It represents annual expenditures of 75 billion euros, and real estate is the first and foremost form of savings and investment for private individuals. Loans, insurance, energy and other real estate costs represent on average 30% of the expenditure of most Belgians.
The website hosts on average more than 4.5 million visitors per month and facilitates 300,000 contacts per month for the 140,000 properties offered for sale or for rent by among others 3,000 real estate agents. This makes Immovlan the 2nd largest national player on the Belgian market. Thanks to its widely recognised expertise and experience, its solid commercial dynamism and its culture of close collaboration with real estate agents, Immovlan is the fastest growing real estate platform in Belgium. With the support of its shareholders, Immovlan aims to accelerate this growth – in terms of the number of advertisements as well as the number of visits and transactions – by pursuing a 'mobile first' strategy that firmly opts for innovation.
As a leading lender, insurer, investment specialist and digital pioneer, Belfius also aims to further strengthen its position in this market. Belfius wishes to further expand the relationship of trust with its customers for their movable assets to include their real estate, while at the same time becoming a real "all round" partner in the realisation of projects around their home: the purchase of their first or second home, reconstruction and renovation work, the sale or rental of their home or apartment, or the decision to diversify their assets by, for example, investing in one of the real estate projects of subsidiary Belfius Immo.
When buying and selling real estate, the search is usually already digital, and Belfius will be integrating the Immovlan platform into the Belfius app in the coming months. Belfius aims to offer customers the best user experience and make life easier for them by also offering quick and easy access to a wide range of non-financial, practical and useful services. In addition to the countless possibilities that the Belfius app already offers, the more than 1,460 million active users will be able to consult the Immovlan sale and rental ads in one integrated digital environment, put property up for sale or rent, take out a loan or insurance, or use the Jaimy platform for reconstruction or renovation work related to energy savings.
This collaboration fits perfectly into RMG's local media digital strategy. RMG offers ideal marketing solutions to real estate agents in Flanders via De Zondag, De Streekkrant, De Krant van West-Vlaanderen and its digital channels including Immovlan.
" This joining of forces between Belfius Bank & Insurance on the one hand and the media companies Roularta and Rossel on the other is unique and unprecedented. It will allow Immovlan to accelerate its innovative mobile-first strategy and thus lead the way in the number of classified ads, visits and transactions. Roularta has the stated ambition, together with the two partners, to develop Immovlan into the leading digital real estate platform on the Belgian market. Classified ad sites such as Immovlan, gocar (cars) and regiotalent (jobs) are an important pillar of Roularta's digital strategy."
"Three strong Belgian partners stand behind the vision to jointly build the digital reference real estate platform for the Belgian market. Given the pronounced dynamism of our partners and Immovlan, I am convinced of the success of this collaboration in both the short and long term. Our participation in Immovlan fits perfectly with our ambitions as a digital pioneer to continue to update the Belfius app, to be a real all-round partner for our customers in realising their housing projects, and to further pursue our real estate strategy. This unique strategic partnership is an important step in realising our mission: "Meaningful & inspiring for Belgian society ... together."
"We are very pleased that a partner like Belfius has joined us. This is an important recognition of the work recently carried out by Immovlan's teams. This association is an opportunity for our professional and private clients who will benefit from the enrichment of our offers. The combination of our expertise in the field of digital communication and Belfius' range of services and offers in the field of real estate is unique on the market. It is the richness and performance of our respective digital platforms that enables this type of combination. Another of our common characteristics is the proximity and our decentralized coverage of the Belgian language.
" The participation of Belfius in Immovlan's capital will enable us to accelerate our
development, increase our traffic, strengthen our offerings, develop new services for users and customers, and deepen our relationships with real estate agents. The ambition of our shareholders is more than ever leadership in our sector, be it in terms of contacts or in terms of innovation."
RMG is a Belgian listed multimedia group and market leader in magazine brands (general, business and sports news, women, lifestyle and professional, in Dutch and French), local media in Flanders (door-to-door newspapers, Sunday newspapers, lifestyle magazines, online classifieds, and digital marketing solutions), provincial newspapers (Krant van West-Vlaanderen) and business newspapers (De Tijd, L'Echo). RMG is also media market leader for those over 50 in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. With Roularta Printing Services, RMG has at its disposal Belgium's largest offset printing company where top-quality newspapers, magazines and catalogues are made for Belgium and abroad.
Belfius Bank & Insurance is a bank-insurer with a strong local anchoring. Its commercial activities in Belgium comprise three core areas: retail & commercial banking, financial services to the public sector and companies, and insurance. Belfius Bank & Insurance has 150 years of experience in the public sector and 50 years of experience with customers in the private segment. The company is fully owned by the Belgian government through the Federal Holding and Investment Company (SFPI/FPIM).
More info at www.belfius.be
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