Codic was founded in Belgium in 1970, before expanding to Luxembourg in 1989, then to France (1990), Hungary (2006) and Spain (2007). “This anniversary is an opportunity for us to put Codic under the microscope and we have commissioned an audit of our image,” says Thierry Behiels, CEO of Codic International.
The result is a new visual identity, with a new logo and a new baseline ("Initiatives of the future"), but also and above all a more assertive positioning in an increasingly competitive market. “We have decided to focus on four areas of expertise that will support our development in the years to come,” says Behiels. “These are office property, for which we are already well known in Luxembourg, but also commercial property, residential property and investment.”
This last pillar is a completely new element for Codic, which until now has not been involved in this area. “We want to continue our growth by offering investment opportunities to targeted partners, mainly family offices, but also institutional investors, so that they can benefit from our expertise and our commitment to promising and ambitious projects in which we will also be investors and which we will develop ourselves,” explains Behiels.
La Cloche d'Or, new ambitions
But this anniversary is also an opportunity to reveal a little bit about Codic's future, especially in Luxembourg. “Recently, we have delivered two major projects, namely Altitude in Leudelange in 2020 and Royal-Hamilius in 2021,” says Vincent Beck, Managing Director of Codic Luxembourg. These two projects complete a cycle of three decades of development in Luxembourg, where Codic started with the L'Étoile project in 1997, followed by developments in Kirchberg (Espace Kennedy in 2000, The Square in 2004, K2 from 2005 to 2008) and in the city centre with the Espace Monterey building (2004), which still houses, among other things, Codic's offices.
From now on, Codic's future in Luxembourg will be through the Cloche d'Or. “We can reveal that we have just acquired two large plots of land at the Cloche d'Or, which will be the subject of ambitious developments”, announced Beck.
The first is the 3.3 hectare site currently occupied by the Comptoir des fers et métaux on the route d'Esch. This site, located not far from a future tram stop and the P+R, will be redeveloped in phases to accommodate a mixed programme combining offices, hotels and shops. The first delivery is expected by 2025. “We put 10 international architectural offices out to tender, working with Luxembourg offices to design this new project of more than 55,000m2”, explains Behiels. “There are still three to be decided upon,” he adds. This project has also been chosen to become the first project to benefit from the new investment flow carried by Codic Invest.
On the site of the current Comptoir des fers et métaux, Codic will develop an ambitious mixed-use project of more than 55,000m2. (Photo: Simon Schmitt)
Just next to this vast site, a more modest plot of land has also been purchased by Codic, on Rue Guillaume Kroll. “On this plot we plan to develop a 4,500m2 office building designed by Tetra Kayser Associés. The application for authorisation will be submitted during the course of this year and we plan to deliver it in 2024,” said Beck.
Prospects also in Europe
Codic is also continuing its expansion in other countries where the group is already present. In Belgium, after having taken a break in 2018 and 2019, Codic has relaunched a more aggressive acquisition policy with new opportunities linked to the covid crisis. Codic Office will develop the Chancellor building in Brussels (14,000m2, scheduled for 2023), launch the new construction project Cortenbergh, also in Brussels, as well as Allianz (14,000m2, scheduled for 2025) or the business park in Wavre, which will be a wooden construction of 17,000m2 scheduled for 2025 and 2027. For Codic Home, three projects have been launched: Jade (2,300m2 in Brussels), Malt (3,710m2 in Mechelen) and Schilde (4,000m2).
In France, Codic Office is anchored in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, with the Anneau Rouge (25,000m2, 2024-2025) and Newton (33,000m2) projects. When it comes to retail, two projects have already been launched: B'Est (55,000m2), which is a shopping centre centred around food, a shopping mall and a leisure area of 6,000m2, and Carré d'Or in Perpignan, which is a street mall of 20,000m2.
In Hungary, there are two office projects in Budapest, both of which are complemented by a residential programme (Green Court Office and Homework).
In Spain, Codic has chosen to develop two office buildings in Barcelona, a city that attracts a lot of young talent: StepUp (already fully let) and Binar, where construction will start this year.
In total, Codic already represents 1.4 million square metres built, 61,000 under construction and 230,000 still under development, with a cumulative turnover of €2bn over the last 15 years.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.