What Ghelamco does

Ghelamco Group is a privately held, family-owned Belgian real estate investor and developer, founded in 1985 by Paul Gheysens and 100% owned by the Gheysens family. The company operates across Belgium, Poland, the United Kingdom, France and Cyprus, developing office, residential, retail, logistics and leisure properties. Each project is developed end-to-end - from land acquisition and permitting through construction, leasing and disposition - and is designed to meet international sustainability standards such as BREEAM, DGNB and WELL certifications. The group operates a holding structure spanning Ghelamco Group Comm. VA (investment holding), International Real Estate Services Comm. VA (development holding), Deus Comm. VA and Ghelamco European Property Fund NV, and is led by founder-CEO Paul Gheysens with regional Managing Directors in Belgium, Poland and the UK plus a Group CFO, COO and Chief Technology & Project Design Officer.

The company's product portfolio consists of individual real estate developments rather than a software product. Signature Polish assets include The Bridge (a 40-storey, 55,300 sqm Warsaw office tower), Warsaw Spire (115,000+ sqm delivered 2017), Warsaw UNIT, VIBE (with its proprietary VIBE Audiosphere), The Warsaw HUB and Business Centre Bitwy Warszawskiej. Belgian assets include The Wings (Diegem), The Pulse (Brussels/Antwerp), Nova One (Antwerp), The Cube (Brussels Airport district) and the Nexus sustainable data center. UK assets include The Arc (Shoreditch, mixed-use, 22 storeys) and The HiLight (Battersea, 24-storey luxury residential). Specialty assets include the Ghelamco Arena football stadium in Ghent and the Avalanti office project in Limassol, Cyprus.

Ghelamco's business model combines one-time property development and sale to institutional investors with recurring rental income from leased office space. Major disclosed disposals include The Bridge to Eastnine (preliminary €260m after adjustments, €300m valuation, 2026), Senator to Union Investment Real Estate (€120m), Silver Tower to Deka Immobilien and the PwC Campus in Diegem (€131.3m, 2021). Capital is sourced through Polish public bond programs (via Ghelamco Invest sp. z o.o., with the 12th program in 2023 capped at PLN 250m) and bank lending, supported by a group balance sheet that reached €2.2bn in 2019. The customer base spans institutional investors (Eastnine, Union Investment, Deka Immobilien), corporate office tenants (Visa, T-Mobile, Heineken/Grupa Zywiec), and government tenants (Frontex at Warsaw Spire).

Name

Ghelamco

Legal name

Ghelamco Group Comm. VA

Website

https://ghelamco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ghelamco is a privately held, family-owned Belgian real estate investor and developer founded in 1985. It develops office, residential, retail, and logistics properties across Belgium, Poland, the UK, France, and Cyprus for sale to institutional investors or lease to corporate tenants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Development

NAICS

Lessors of Other Real Estate Property (53119), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121), Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (53)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540), General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs (1520), Operative Builders (1531), Lessors Of Real Property, Nec (6519)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial General Contracting (New Build) (IMAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Residential General Contracting (New Build) (IMAFAAAB)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate development
• Office property investment
• Residential property development
• Sustainable building certifications
• Mixed-use real estate projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Ypres

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Property Development and Sales: Ghelamco develops office, residential, retail, logistics and leisure properties and sells them to institutional investors. Major transactions include The Bridge sale to Eastnine (€260m), Warsaw HUB sale (Best Investment Transaction of the Year), Senator building sale to Union Investment (€120m), Silver Tower to Deka Immobilien.
2. Property Leasing: Ghelamco leases office space to corporate tenants including Visa at The Bridge, Frontex at Warsaw Spire, Heineken subsidiary Grupa Zywiec at Business Centre Bitwy Warszawskiej, and various tenants at T-Mobile Office Park.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ghelamco Group is a European real estate investor and developer that acquires land, plans, constructs, and either sells or leases office, residential, retail, logistics, and leisure properties across Belgium, Poland, the UK, France, and Cyprus. Projects combine prime strategic locations with sustainable design certified under BREEAM, DGNB, and WELL standards. Completed assets are sold to institutional investors (e.g., Eastnine, Union Investment, Deka Immobilien) or leased to corporate occupiers (e.g., Visa, T-Mobile, Frontex).

Product overview

Ghelamco Group is a leading European real estate investor and developer operating across Belgium, Poland, UK, and Cyprus markets. The company operates in office, residential, retail, logistics, and leisure sectors. Its product portfolio consists of individual real estate development projects including office towers (The Bridge, Warsaw Spire, Warsaw UNIT, VIBE, The Warsaw HUB), residential developments (Hilight London, The Arc London, Rezydencja Tumska), mixed-use complexes (The Pulse Brussels, The Cube), data centers (Nexus Datacenter), and leisure venues (Ghelamco Arena). Each project is developed with sustainability certifications (BREEAM, WELL, DGNB) and ESG standards. The company does not offer a software product but rather develops and sells/leases physical real estate properties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Bridge 40-storey, 55,300 sqm office tower in Warsaw delivered for corporate occupiers and sold to Eastnine for approximately €260m (preliminary price after adjustments, property valued at €300m).
• VIBE Office development in Poland with 15,000 sqm of lease space in its first stage, distinguished by a custom audio design (VIBE Audiosphere).
• Warsaw UNIT Office development in Warsaw with BREEAM Outstanding and WELL v2 Core & Shell certifications, recognized as Office Project winner at CEE Investment Awards 2021.
• Warsaw Spire Major office complex in Warsaw delivered in 2017, spanning over 115,000 sqm, BREEAM Excellent certified, hosting tenants such as Frontex (14,600 sqm).
• The Warsaw HUB Mixed-use office development in Warsaw recognized as 'Best Investment Transaction of the Year' at CIJ Awards 2023.
• The Arc - London Mixed-use development in Shoreditch, central London, with 100 residences and 150,000 sq ft of office and retail space across a 22-storey tower.
• Hilight - London 24-storey residential tower on Battersea waterfront offering 113 luxury residences with floor-to-ceiling glass, expansive terraces, fitness centre, cinema, and wellness rooftop.
• The Pulse (Brussels) Major office development in Brussels recognized with multiple European Property Awards.
• The Cube State-of-the-art office project located in the Brussels Airport district.
• Nova One (Antwerp) Office development in Antwerp, Belgium, achieving BREEAM certification at the 'excellent' rate.
• The Wings (Diegem) Office development in Diegem, Brussels, awarded WELL Gold, DGNB certifications, and four 5-star European Property Awards for Best Office Development and Best Mixed Use Development 2022.
• Nexus Datacenter (Brussels) Sustainable-by-design data center in Brussels achieving BREEAM 'Excellent' rating, sold in 2024.
• Ghelamco Arena Football stadium in Ghent, Belgium, home to KAA Gent; recognized with Stadium of the Year 2013 and Annual Interior Award.
• Avalanti (Cyprus) Office development project in Limassol, Cyprus.

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and major.

• KAA GentflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerKAA Gent football club is the home tenant of Ghelamco Arena. The stadium development was managed by Ghelamco, and the partnership has been highly successful - season tickets increased from 8,600 to 13,700 and average spectators increased 60%.
• FrontexmajorOthersEuropean Agency for Management of Operational Cooperation at External Borders leased 14,600 sqm of office space at Warsaw Spire complex.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UBM Development AG: Austrian-listed real estate developer with offices, hotels, and residential in Germany, Austria, and CEE. Comparable project scale, sustainability focus (DGNB), and institutional exit model.
• HB Reavis: Slovak-founded pan-European commercial real estate developer with deep CEE office focus (Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, London). Closest peer to Ghelamco in geography, product (prime office towers), and BREEAM-led sustainability positioning.
• Immobel: Belgian-listed real estate developer operating in Belgium, France, and Poland. Competes head-to-head with Ghelamco in Brussels office and residential markets and shares the prime-office, sustainability-led positioning.
• Atenor: Belgian-listed developer of large office and mixed-use projects across Belgium, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, France, and Poland. Directly comparable to Ghelamco in CEE office pipeline and institutional investor exits.
• WDP (Warehouses De Pauw): Belgian REIT focused on logistics and semi-industrial real estate in Belgium, Netherlands, France, and Romania. Comparable to Ghelamco's logistics vertical and Belgian real estate footprint.
• CA Immobilien Anlagen: Austrian-listed office real estate company with portfolio across Germany, Austria, and CEE. Comparable to Ghelamco in office-focused, sustainability-certified prime product targeting institutional investors.
• Echo Investment: Major Polish office and retail developer, now majority-owned by Wing (a Hungarian group). Competes with Ghelamco in Warsaw office market with comparable institutional buyer relationships and project scale.
• Capital Park Group: Polish real estate developer focused on office and mixed-use projects in Warsaw. Direct competitor in Warsaw office market where Ghelamco is market leader.

Broad incumbents

• Skanska Commercial Property Development: Swedish-based global construction and real estate developer with substantial commercial property operations in CEE (Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest). Broader and larger than Ghelamco but competes directly in CEE office development.
• Strabag Real Estate: Austrian/German construction group with real estate development arm operating across CEE. Larger and more diversified than Ghelamco but competes in same prime office and residential submarkets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ghelamco
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• Xtwitter.com/ghelamco

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ghelamco