What Upgrade Estate does

Upgrade Estate NV/SA is a Belgian sustainable real estate developer and operator founded in 1999 by Nele Van Damme and Koenraad Belsack, headquartered in Ghent with operations across seven Belgian cities (Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Kortrijk, Mons, and others). The company develops, owns, and manages in-house a portfolio of 30+ completed projects delivered under three sub-brands: Upkot for student housing, Upliving for young professional apartments, and Upoffiz for SME and high-growth company offices. Integrated value chain activities span site development, sustainable construction (heat pumps, solar panels, Type D ventilation, rainwater harvesting, and timber integration), rental, facility management, and community programming through the Upgrade Academy platform and on-site Upkot Coach community managers.

The company's business model combines recurring rental income across all three brands with one-off investor sales of individual student rooms (priced from €110,000) and structured project participations (such as Flow Upkot in Ghent with 181 rooms scheduled for 2028 completion). Revenue is diversified across eight streams — Upkot and Upliving rents, Upoffiz office rents, individual room sales, project participations, professional property management for investors, on-site hospitality (Bar Amelia, a Gault&Millau Sustainability Award winner), and renewable energy generation from a 5.5 MW solar farm that covers 80% of the Loop5 campus energy needs, with five wind turbines in development. The customer base includes 3,000+ investors (40% repeat investment rate) and a tenant mix of students, young professionals, and SMEs, served through brand websites, a Sales Ambassador team, and 11 academic institution partnerships.

Technically and operationally, Upgrade Estate combines a proprietary energy management system that tracks building-level consumption at 15-minute intervals and enables energy sharing across the portfolio with a Scope 1/2/3 CO2 tracking system and a self-managed Finnish forest portfolio approaching 1,000 hectares aimed at securing sustainable timber supply. The organisation holds BIV 505 267 real estate agent certification, is a four-time Great Place to Work-certified employer with a 95% trust index (ranked 6th Best Workplace Belgium 2026 in the medium-sized companies category), and targets full CO2-neutrality by 2035, fifteen years ahead of the EU Green Deal deadline. The team numbers 120+ employees across facility, sales, IT, engineering, hospitality, and community management functions.

Name

Upgrade Estate

Legal name

Upgrade Estate NV/SA

Website

https://upgrade-estate.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Upgrade Estate is a Belgian sustainable real estate developer and operator founded in 1999, owning and managing 30+ projects across seven cities under the Upkot (student housing), Upliving (young professionals), and Upoffiz (SME offices) brands, serving 3,000+ investors and tenants with in-house rental, management, and renewable energy generation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Real Estate Development

NAICS

Residential Property Managers (531311), Real Estate Property Managers (53131), Nonresidential Property Managers (531312)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Housing Property Management (BPAJAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Housing Marketing & Student Acquisition (BPAJAJAK), Multifamily & Student Housing Asset Management (BPAJAMAD), Multifamily Apartment Property Management (BPAJAFAA), Housing Facilities Management (Repairs, Custodial & Grounds Liaison) (EDALACAE)

Keywords

• Student housing
• Sustainable real estate
• Property management
• Serviced apartments
• SME office space

Headquarters

HQ city

Gent

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Student Housing Rental (Upkot): Monthly rental income from student rooms across Belgium. Rooms are professionally managed in-house. Properties in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Kortrijk, and Mons.
2. Young Professional Housing Rental (Upliving): Monthly rental income from apartments for young professionals, with shared facilities and unrivalled comfort. Properties include Upoffiz | Upliving Ghent - Loop5 campus.
3. SME Office and Workspace Rental (Upoffiz): Rental income from offices and workspaces for high-growth SMEs. Features meeting rooms with wooden interior walls, greenery as a connecting element, and community spaces.
4. Investor Sales — Individual Rooms: Direct sale of individual student rooms to investors (starting from €110,000). The company sells rooms that are already rented out, providing investors immediate income. Company handles rental and management on behalf of investors.
5. Investor Project Participations: Investors purchase shares in entire projects (e.g., Flow Upkot, Sixtie6). Returns structured with initial commercial discounts followed by targeted annual net distributions (e.g., 2.3%). Minimum investment terms apply (e.g., 3 years for Flow Upkot).
6. Professional Property Management Services: Full rental, management, and maintenance services provided to property owners. Covers administration, tenant communication, repairs (wifi, heating, furniture), and facility management. Offered as a bundled service to investors.
7. Renewable Energy Generation and Sharing: Self-generated solar and wind energy is shared through an energy community, supplying buildings across Flanders. The company generates 5.5 MW from a solar park (8,078 panels) at The Loop in Ghent, covering 80% of the Loop5 campus energy needs.
8. Bar Amelia Hospitality: On-site hospitality at Upoffiz Ghent Loop5 campus. Food bar open to campus tenants and visitors, winner of the Gault&Millau Sustainability Award.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Upgrade Estate develops, owns, and manages sustainable real estate in Belgium through three consumer-facing brands—Upkot (student housing), Upliving (young professional apartments), and Upoffiz (SME offices). The company also operates as an investment platform, selling individual student rooms (from €110,000) and project participations to investors while providing full in-house rental, management, and maintenance services for both tenants and property owners.

Product overview

Upgrade Estate operates as a sustainable housing and workplace platform comprising three distinct sub-brands — Upkot (student housing), Upliving (apartments for young professionals), and Upoffiz (offices and workspaces for SMEs) — all built with a shared focus on sustainability, community connection, and integrated in-house management and rental services. The company also offers an investment platform enabling participation in individual rooms or full project shares, and runs Upgrade Academy as a community and development platform for all stakeholders. Upgrade Estate handles rental, management, and maintenance in-house, covering the full tenant and investor lifecycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Upkot: Student housing brand offering rooms with community facilities and Upkot coaches for student tenants.
• Upliving
• Upoffiz
• Bar Amelia
• Upgrade Academy
• The Plectrum

Products and services

• Upkot
• Upliving
• Upoffiz
• Upgrade Academy
• Flow Upkot (Ghent Investment Project)
• Individual Student Room Investment
• Bar Amelia

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ investors served, with 40% returning for another investment
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Educational Institutions (11 academic partnerships)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUpgrade Estate maintains 11 partnerships with academic institutions across Belgium. These partnerships support student housing supply near campuses and facilitate collaborative initiatives. The relationships enable direct student referral channels and co-development of housing solutions tailored to institutional needs.
• Contractors and ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUpgrade Estate collaborates with contractors and architects for project development and construction. The company acts as developer, contractor, and study team (eigenaar-bouwer-ontwerper) as one of its four core pillars, enabling integrated project delivery.
• Land and Building OwnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership programme targeting landowners and building owners who wish to develop their properties into student housing, young professional apartments, or SME offices under Upgrade Estate's brands and management.
• Local AuthoritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with municipal and local government bodies for permits, urban planning, and community integration of housing projects. Supports the company's rapid expansion across Belgian cities.
• Tenants and NeighboursminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership programme engaging existing tenants and neighbouring residents. Includes 'Grandma's Soup' intergenerational events, community feedback mechanisms, and neighbour relations management at project sites.
• Luk Dewulf / MyTalentBuilderminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLuk Dewulf, a talent coach and author, partnered with Upgrade Estate to deploy the MyTalentBuilder tool. The tool helps employees discover their top 15 talents from 39 defined talents and develop skills accordingly. Upgrade Estate uses it as part of its talent development strategy.
• Finnish Sustainable Forestry PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with sustainable forestry operators in Finland for timber processing and forest management. Wood from Upgrade Estate's Finnish forests is processed locally in Finland. These partnerships support the company's timber construction strategy, which can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 80% per project.
• Google (DoubleClick) and Group MminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital advertising partners used for behavioural targeting and remarketing campaigns. DoubleClick (part of Google) and Group M are used to serve targeted advertisements based on browsing behaviour across third-party websites.
• Facebook (Meta) / Social media platformsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media marketing partnerships for content distribution, audience engagement, and advertising. Facebook Pixel is used for tracking user behaviour from social media ads to the Upgrade Estate website, enabling retargeting.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Xior Student Housing: Belgian listed REIT specialising in student housing across Belgium and expanding into the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. Directly competes with Upgrade Estate's Upkot brand for student tenants and Belgian sites, with materially larger capital base and portfolio scale.
• The Student Hotel: Operator of hybrid student/young-professional housing and co-working hubs across European cities. Closely comparable to Upgrade Estate's combined Upkot/Upliving/Upoffiz model and emphasis on community programming and design-led experiences.
• International Campus (IC): European operator of student housing and co-living spaces in Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria. Closely comparable to Upgrade Estate's vertically integrated student housing and young professional offering, with similar European city focus.

Emerging players

• Ollie: US-based coliving operator for young professionals with growing European footprint. Comparable to Upgrade Estate's Upliving segment (young professional shared housing with managed services and community programming).
• Coliving company like Common or Habyt: European/US coliving platforms targeting young professionals with flexible, community-oriented housing. Overlaps with Upgrade Estate's Upliving brand on customer segment and managed-community model, though typically asset-light rather than developer-led.

Broad incumbents

• Greystar Real Estate Partners: Global leader in multifamily and student housing management and investment. While much larger and more diversified, Greystar overlaps with Upgrade Estate on operational management of student and multifamily assets at scale.
• Unite Group: UK-listed student accommodation provider with a large institutional portfolio. Comparable in core product (purpose-built student housing) and target segment, though focused on the UK rather than continental Europe.
• Immobel: Belgian-listed real estate developer active in residential, office, and mixed-use projects across Belgium and select European cities. Comparable on Belgian project development and mixed-use expertise, though broader in scope than Upgrade Estate's student/young professional focus.
• Accor / Adagio: Major serviced-apartment operator under Accor. Comparable on professionally managed, amenity-rich residential offerings for transient and mid-term stays, though at much larger scale and broader hospitality positioning.

Regional players

• Résidences & Co (Exploitation des Résidences): French operator of student residences and serviced apartments. Comparable business model (managed student housing, community focus) but operating primarily in France rather than Belgium, making it a regional rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCyvSsxnYmGCBKcVUXG6u2mA
• Facebookfacebook.com/upgradeestate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upgrade-estate
• Instagraminstagram.com/upgradeestate
• TikToktiktok.com/@upgradeestate

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Upgrade Estate