Serviced apartment block changes hands in Antwerp

Alternative forms of living to simply buying or renting a house or apartment, are increasingly in the news. The serviced apartment segment is the latest to be the subject of a transaction by a major player. CBRE Investment Management has acquired a 6,214m² serviced apartment building in Antwerp from the Silex Group. The building is operated by YAYS Aparthotels and comprises 94 short-stay and furnished apartments along with12 parking spaces, spread across eight floors. It is very centrally located on Frankrijklei and is thus close to both the main shopping area around the Meir, and to Antwerp Central station.

This area is also undergoing a full regeneration, structured around the rehabilitation of the Operaplein, which has seen all vehicle traffic moved underground beneath the square. A new metro station, Opera, has also recently opened some 200m from the building, and a new underground car park adds further to mobility options.

David De Wolf, Asset Manager at CBRE Investment Management, comments: “The hotel and residential market in Belgium has historically been hard for institutional investors to access, as these assets are typically held in individual co-ownership structures. This transaction was therefore a rare opportunity to acquire a centrally located aparthotel, with excellent transport links and access to tourist hotspots in Antwerp, which is the second most visited city in Belgium, after Brussels.”