Ascencio is a Belgian regulated real estate company (Société immobilière réglementée or “B-REIT”) listed on Euronext Brussels, specialising in retail premises located in outlying urban areas.
Ascencio is distinguished notably by its hybrid portfolio mainly composed of supermarkets and retail parks, these being particularly resilient sectors.
At 30 September 2024 its properties covered 442.454 m2, with a fair value of €748.6 million.
Investing
- In retail property
- On urban peripheries
- In Belgium, France and Spain, while remaining open to opportunities of extending its field of action to other countries in the euro zone
- In attractive catchment areas
- While keeping a close eye on the mix of products and services
Switching
- In order to recentre on retail properties
- In order to offer medium- and long-term development prospects
Managing
- Its contracts
- Administrative management of the lease contracts carried out by a dedicated department: Customer Services
- Its products
- Proactive management of existing property assets
- Investments in quality assets
All aimed at producing regular growth while taking account in particular of the principles of location, accessibility, quality of brands and “omnicanality” (the integration of all channels through which customers communicate with the company)
- Its clients
- Staying in touch with its clients and its markets in order to anticipate its tenants’ needs and expectations with a view to maintaining a high occupancy rate.
- Choosing quality tenants (national or international chains) whose financial health is known to be good, which reduces the risk of insolvency
Creating value
- Development
- Renovation
- Refurbishments
particularly with a view to optimising the customer experience, and all with close attention to cost control and integration of sustainable development goals
Financial strategy
Ascencio’s financial policy is based on the following objectives:
- Diversifying its banking partners and sources of financing
- Establishing lasting and solid relations with banking partners with good ratings
- Staggering maturities of borrowings
- Putting in place a policy of appropriate interest rate hedging aimed at locking in its cost of financing at a horizon of several years
And at the centre of all strategic considerations is the importance of evolving consumer behaviour in terms of the omnicanality of retail and the customer experience.