Our history
Wereldhave was established in 1930. The main activity of the Company originally consisted of the construction and exploitation of residential property in Rotterdam. In the early sixties of the previous century Wereldhave expanded its activities to other cities in the west of the Netherlands. Around 1971, the activities were mainly focused at investing in real estate and to a much lesser extent, the development and construction of property. For that reason, Wereldhave was converted from a property company to a property investment fund with the associated tax status.
The first foreign investment was made in 1975 in France, followed by Belgium in 1976, Germany in 1977 and the United Kingdom in 1978. In 1978 Wereldhave also acquired its first investment in the United States. The investments in these countries were rapidly expanded in the following years. During the second half of 1988, a strong expansion was achieved in the United Kingdom with the take-over of the British property company Peachey Property Corporation Plc. Also in that year, a first investment was made in Spain. The investments in Germany were sold in 1993 and 1998.
In 2002 Wereldhave acquired the Itäkeskus shopping centre in Finland. The Finnish management organisation of the shopping centre joined Wereldhave.
Since 2012, the Company underwent a drastic transformation. From a real estate investor in seven countries in five different sectors of real estate, Wereldhave has now become a specialised investor in convenience shopping centres in four countries in northwest Continental Europe. The investments in the United States and the United Kingdom were sold early in 2013. The entire portfolio in Spain was sold in 2014 and on July 31, 2015, Wereldhave announced that it would cease its investment and development activities in Paris offices. New shopping centres were acquired during 2014 and 2015 in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. In 2018, Wereldhave sells Itis and exits Finland.
After completion of the most recent acquisitions and disposals, retail comprises 97% of the total portfolio, spread over the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
75 YEARS WERELDHAVE 1930 - 2005