perspective
Developers
Developers are increasingly specialising in specific areas with a view to adding even more value for users (owner or tenant) or investors (real estate investor and financier). The opportunities that developers see are not always easy to turn into profitable ventures. Regulatory restraints and bottlenecks in the market make the financial outcome uncertain. That’s why developers look for partners they can trust to bring projects to fruition. Potential partners include real estate investors and housing associations. But everyone must think along the same lines in terms of target group and return expectations.
Barbette de Graaf is regularly involved in development and organisational issues – a role she is well-placed to fulfil thanks to her previous experience at a property developer and her initiative to introduce real estate risk management at PricewaterhouseCoopers and, later, Nieuwstad OrangeGlobal. Examples include her involvement in the development and implementation of risk management at Delta Lloyd Property (including the role of financier) and in new-build transactions, such as the sale of an apartment complex in Boxmeer of Hegeman Bouw en Ontwikkeling to an investment fund of Concito Vastgoed.
“There is still a shortage of housing, in terms of both quantity and quality, in almost the whole of the Netherlands and there are relatively few combinations of developers and investors who jointly address this problem, even though they do share the same vision and interests. Cooperation is essential to increase the pace and quality of construction. Something that’s badly needed in the Netherlands.”