Redevco shows the art of management

Mercado San Miguel, Madrid, relaunched in 2018 with new tenants and Michelin-starred chefs

Four projects highlight how Redevco has repositioned and added value to retail assets, which it says is now more important than ever.

The retail sector is under pressure, and more so in the current crisis, which makes asset management even more important, according to Redevco.

Apart from solid stock picking in the first place, a process that should adhere to principles of location and acknowledge the dynamics of demand and competition, Redevco says maintaining good relationships with tenants and asset management are among the fundamental requirements for lifting asset values.

One recent acquisition that demonstrates these stock selection principles was in the UK, where Redevco acquired the predominantly food and beverage commercial units of the new mixed-use One Tower Bridge development from the Berkeley Group for €78 million. The property is topped by super-prime residential apartments and faces the London UNESCO landmark that spans the River Thames.

One Tower Bridge comprises 7,720 sq m of retail, restaurant and cultural space, with 11 F&B and two retail units, as well as the Bridge Theatre – the largest commercial theatre built in London in 80 years.

Market forces

Another example is Mercado San Miguel, a renowned covered gastronomic market in Madrid acquired for €70 million in 2017 by Redevco Iberian Ventures, a joint venture between Redevco and funds managed by Ares Management.

The food market at San Miguel Plaza in the heart of the historic centre of Madrid, is one of the city’s major attractions and is a designated heritage-protected building in Spain. The joint venture focused its asset management efforts on attracting new tenants, including Michelin-starred chefs and well-known brands, and refurbishment.   

Relaunched in October 2018 the 1,764 sq m market, divided into 30 high-end grocery and delicatessen stalls and 13 stalls containing restaurants, is one of Madrid’s top tourist destinations, attracting more than 8 million visitors a year.

Clockwise from top left: The restored facade at the former C&A store in Utrecht, now occupied by Decathlon (Image: Kees Hummel); A revamped department store in Eindhoven (Image: Eva Bloem); One Tower Bridge in London, which Redevco recently acquired for €78m (Image: Tayler Reid)


Asset management and maintaining and maximising returns from a property may also require more proactive and substantial redevelopment and reconfiguration to ensure that assets remain at the peak of retail fitness. An example is the former C&A department store in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, which was redeveloped and, in the process, the building’s elegant facade was restored to its original state. 

Redevco Netherlands transformed the 3,800 sq m, three-storey building on the corner of Vredenburg and Sint-Jacobsstraat in Utrecht. Managing director of Redevco Netherlands, Kristof Restiau, explains: “During the redevelopment, the facade was restored to its original state with a transparent, double-height, shop front and a remarkable canopy. In line with Redevco’s sustainability principles, various energy-saving solutions have also been installed in the building.”

The former department store had been developed specifically for C&A. The original building was completed in 1939 and was expanded in the 1960s. During this expansion, the facade on Vredenburg was modernised and adjusted. 

When C&A left the building in 2017 to move to the Hoog Catharijne shopping centre at Utrecht central station, Rijnboutt architects were asked to design a solution that was true to the original historical facade. Work began in January 2019 and on 16 October this year French retail chain Decathlon opened the doors on this, their second store in Utrecht.

In Eindhoven, also in the Netherlands, Redevco redeveloped a 9,000 sq m retail building into a modern shopping centre which houses multiple tenants.

Redevco used the renovation of the old department store as an opportunity to implement sustainability measures and is aiming for a BREEAM Excellent certification. Sustainability measures undertaken include the installation of solar panels, greenery on the roof and facade, and energy-efficient escalators and elevators.

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