We are immensely proud to present to you in this new Investors Directory the 30th edition of the Expertise Top 100. This anniversary edition marks a significant evolution: for the first time in three decades, the combined volume of the hundred largest real estate portfolios in the Belgian market has actually decreased.
Three years after the establishment of Expertise in 1991, co-founder and at the time editor-in-chief Kurt Reviers already began compiling the list of the 100 largest investors in the Belgian real estate investment market. Thirty years ago, it was not easy to list 100 investors, but the real estate market has since become highly professionalised, with a large number of Belgian and international investors active in our market, ranging from small family holdings to giants with billion-euro portfolios, whether listed on the stock exchange or not. Each time, we witness the addition of several more companies.
The current decline reflects the weak investment market in 2023, which recorded its lowest volume since the banking crisis. Moreover, many asset classes have undergone significant value corrections, which are also reflected in the portfolios of major investors. However, there are also companies that have shown remarkable growth, and several newcomers have emerged. It is reassuring to know that in the absence of international institutional investors, our market can rely on leading domestic real estate companies, which continued to drive the market in 2023. These private Belgian real estate companies are likely to continue setting the tone in the months ahead.
