LEGAL MORE AND MORE TOUGH PROPERTY CASES FOR TAYLOR WESSING

The recent sale of the ABN Amro headquarters to the Victory Group marked the largest-ever single asset deal in the Netherlands. Hendrik Jan Schimmel, who advised Victory Group on behalf of global law firm Taylor Wessing, calls it one of the most inspiring transactions of his career.

“Obviously, we always want the best result for our clients, without losing sight of other stakeholders and the long-term picture”, says Hendrik Jan. “ABN Amro will hold onto the office lease until their new headquarters in Zuidoost are completed, and even after their departure they will still occupy in a part of this amazing complex. Redevelopment will commence after that, from which all of Amsterdam will benefit.”

Hendrik Jan is enthusiastic about Victory Group’s plans for the property. “It will be more open and greener, with a range of public amenities from food to fitness, and with an ambition to go as far as including social attractions. They are also setting a very high bar for sustainability and reuse. Though it’s not quite clear yet what will happen with Circl, if the building does end up being moved, it will be done with a clear focus on circularity and reuse. The way they are thinking about sustainability and social issues down to the last detail is hugely inspiring.”

International network

Taylor Wessing’s real estate team advises property funds, developers and corporate end users on all legal aspects of property transactions and management, including sales, leases, new construction and redevelopment. Hendrik Jan underscores that combining a global network with extensive local expertise makes all the difference: “Our wide variety of services and clients gives us consistent and sound insight into the market situation.”

Tough cases

Recent economic and geopolitical instabilities and rising interest rates have been massive game changers for real estate sector dynamics. Hendrik Jan says he’s seeing an uptick in tough cases, including a large number of renegotiations. “Buyers can’t always pay the price they initially agreed, because the financing costs are too high. In turn, Sellers, including developers, can’t always deliver for the price they agreed either, because of the higher construction costs.”

And then there are the tenants, who find themselves facing rent hikes as high as fourteen per cent due to inflation-linked rent indexation. “They get hit twice”, Hendrik Jan explains. “By higher rental expenses plus higher energy costs. Owners often are willing to be accommodating, but it does mean renegotiating the lease contract by, for example, extending the fixed term of the lease.”

Logistical challenges

High land prices and building and financing costs, the nitrogen emissions situation and government regulation of local construction impact and programming are piling on the headaches for developers. More and more projects are getting bogged down in procedures. “If a developer has several parties interested in a new building, the procedures can easily take so long that they bow out.”

All this has made good legal experience and expertise only more valuable, Hendrik Jan observes, particularly in Zuidas. Being a high-density location creates extra challenges because there is a multitude of actors that may lodge objections against construction plans. The enormous Zuidasdok project is also throwing up logistical challenges for surrounding building projects. Developers have to know precisely what is going to be built where and when. With little room to accommodate construction traffic, materials and machines, projects in Zuidas need to be planned out thoroughly to stave off problems.

High ambitions

Which is not to say it can’t be done.

According to Hendrik Jan, real estate players are ambitious to realise great projects and are putting in their best efforts. “And not all of them are deterred by regulations. Many investors and tenants have high ambitions for sustainability and liveability, and they want to be at the front of the pack. Sustainability is also high on the agenda of Taylor Wessing, which makes us a good match.”

Every weekday, 50,000 Dutch workers sit down at pristine desks thanks to the cleaning crew at 1nergiek. In the buildings Atrium and NoMA House in Zuidas, for instance. But for 1nergiek it’s not only about clean buildings, it’s about happy people: clients, visitors, users and of course cleaning staff. Which is why you’ll never hear managing director Laetitia Simonis or account manager Eddy Tempelaars talk about ‘employees’, they speak about ‘cleaning colleagues’. “We’re all people, after all, not machines.”

1nergiek offers facility management, service hosts, window cleaning, specialized maintenance and cleaning services. Clients are mainly business services at high-end offices in Zuidas such as Allen & Overy, real estate companies, shopping centres, schools and cultural venues such as the Hermitage and Dutch National Opera & Ballet in Amsterdam, the Kunstmuseum in The Hague or the Markthal in Rotterdam.

Service with a genuine smile

“We serve clients that are a good match