Belgian Sicafi funds will receive a boost by the end of the year, when their permitted ratio of debt to total assets is lifted from 33% to 50%. The announcement in October is confirmation of a change that was first proposed during the summer.
The regulation governing the specialist property vehicles, which are listed, tax-transparent entities, will be relaxed by the Belgian financial authorities in order to enable the funds to expand.
“We see this as a very important step for the big Sicafis like Cofinimmo that will enable them to finance acquisitions with more debt than previously,” commented Remco Vinck, real estate analyst at ABN Amro. “This brings them into line with other European property companies: 40% to 50% [of debt] is a sort of the European average for property companies.”
