In a press release, Ghelamco states that the large loss rate is in the first place due to “one -off, exceptional losses”. For example, the bankruptcy of the general contractor on the British project The Arc led to a loss of 119 million euros. The sale of the Polish skyscraper The Warsaw Unit (-52.3 million euros) and from The Wings in Diegem (-9.1 million euros) also brought accounting losses.
Ghelamco emphasizes that last year it was mainly focused on “targeted real estate sales and a considerable debt reduction”. In Belgium, Poland and France, real estate projects were sold for a total of 802 million euros. The group was therefore able to reduce the net financial debt by a third, or around 504 million euros.
Finally, the company points out that the bonds in Belgium and Poland were successfully reimbursed or refinanced for 180 million euros.