Municipality of Eindhoven has announced the amount paid for the acquisition of Brainport Industries Campus (BIC-1). The purchase price was kept secret for a long time, but on Tuesday afternoon it became clear that Eindhoven paid €227,000,000 to British investment company Capreon.
A considerable sum of money, which according to Aldermen Stijn Steenbakkers (Brainport) and Maes van Lanschot (finance) is perfectly justifiable. City Council had previously pointed out the importance of such locations in the region, citing all kinds of strategic reasons, but on Tuesday afternoon, Van Lanschot and Steenbakkers added a ‘socio-economic reason’ to the list.
The municipality purchased the campus for less than its appraised value. The two Aldermen did not disclose the exact appraised value. Initially, the amount was €231,000,000, but the additional €14,000,000 only has to be paid if the municipality decides to resell the campus.
No need
When the plan was presented and Eindhoven City Council made its final decision on the purchase in February of this year, the council suggested looking for additional shareholders, for example in the national government or the province of Noord Brabant. “There are talks with parties in the semi-public sector, but there is no further need or pressure for this before 2026”, Steenbakkers says.
Eindhoven is borrowing €200,000,000 for the purchase. But according to Van Lanschot, the profit distribution is higher than the interest charges the municipality pays on the loan. “We can cover the interest charges from the dividend. It pays for itself”.
BIC
Around two thousand people and five hundred students work at BIC. Technology companies such as KMWE, VDL, and Anteryon collaborate here with educational institutions such as Fontys University of Applied Sciences and Summa College on new products and innovations. The space in the BIC is currently fully leased to around forty tenants.
Source: Studio040/Merijn van Merrienboer
Translated by: Bob
