We met with CEO Kris Vanhoyland to discuss the project Lyceum, its vision, the choice of location and the crowdlending campaign on BeeBonds.
BeeBonds: Could you briefly introduce Star Group and UNIQ Wonen?
Kris Vanhoyland: Star Group is the parent holding company, founded in 2000. It comprises several subsidiaries, as is often the case in the property development sector.
For this specific project in Houthalen, we are working with two entities: UNIQ Wonen as the construction company – and our commercial brand in Flanders – and Belgian Investment Projects (BIP) as the property company. BIP grants a building lease to UNIQ Wonen, which is responsible for the construction. Traditional bank financing then links the two entities.
BeeBonds: What is your track record as a developer?
Kris Vanhoyland : We have been active in the property development sector at 100% since 2018. Since then, we have successfully completed 125 units – mainly flats.
We also have a new development comprising around 280 units currently under construction, for which we are either the sole developer or are working with other developers to share the risk.
BeeBonds: What exactly does the Lyceum project involve?
Kris Vanhoyland : This involves the conversion of the former Lyceum Filip Neri, a secondary school in Houthalen.
The existing main building – a magnificent Brutalist structure designed by the architect Hoppenbrouwers, featuring a concrete framework and large picture windows – will be partially demolished, fully waterproofed, refurbished and rebuilt as a new building. This is Building A, which will house 17 large apartments.
We are also building two new blocks, each comprising 10 flats, with an underground car park. In total, we are constructing 37 flats, ranging in size from 72 to 205 square metres (gross).
The development will be marketed as a large park-like estate, completely surrounded by greenery. The existing trees – around sixty in number – will be preserved.
BeeBonds: What is the planned timetable?
Kris Vanhoyland : The project has received full planning permission and is ready to go ahead. All the necessary studies – energy performance, structural stability – have been completed. The tender process for demolition and site clearance will be launched this month.
Before the summer, we’ll be holding a pre-launch event to lay the groundwork. In September, we’ll be organising an official launch weekend, when the school will open its doors to the public.
This is important to us: it is a school where entire generations from the local area attended secondary school for thirty to forty years. We are working on this in partnership with the local council, offering those interested the chance to visit the building as it stands today and as it will be in the future.
Construction will begin as soon as we have reached the pre-sale threshold required by the bank.
BeeBonds: Why did you choose Houthalen in particular?
Kris Vanhoyland : Houthalen is remarkably undeveloped, and with good reason: for the past forty years, a major infrastructure project has been underway – the North-South link. It is one of the largest construction projects to take place in Limburg since the digging of the Albert Canal.
The entire stretch from the centre of Houthalen to Helchteren will be tunnelled, creating a vast open space and a new quality of environment. We anticipate that Houthalen will undergo a significant regeneration in terms of its living environment within the next five years, thanks to its central location, its fast connections to the motorways and all these infrastructure developments.
This project, situated 150 metres from the town centre and surrounded by greenery, is a flagship project for us. It has that certain something that allows us to build to a very high standard. We can also incorporate the concept of «living for life» – the school building’s wide corridors and spacious staircases lend themselves perfectly to this.
BeeBonds: Why use crowdlending via BeeBonds, in addition to traditional bank financing?
Kris Vanhoyland : Crowdlending is often misunderstood. It is not a substitute for bank financing, but a complement to equity capital.
When we’re talking about 250 to 280 homes under development, it’s impossible to finance the whole project with equity. The bank currently finances between 65% and 70% of the total cost. The remainder must be provided by the developer.
Crowdlending enables us to organise this additional funding in an accessible way, whilst offering investors a higher return than traditional products. Our experience with it has been positive, and we see it as a modern and flexible tool for driving projects forward more effectively.
I also expect the share of private investors in property financing to increase in the coming years, as banks withdraw from certain segments.
BeeBonds: What guarantees do you offer to bondholders?
Kris Vanhoyland : The bond is issued by Star Group, the holding company to which all the companies are linked via 100%. This in itself represents considerable equity capital, both at the level of the holding company and the underlying companies. Furthermore, the holding company also owns commercial properties, which provides additional security.
Finally, we have agreed that the current account currently held by the holding company – for the same amount as the crowdlending – will be subordinated to the bondholders. Should we decide in future to make a partial early repayment, this current account will only be reduced in proportion to our repayments to BeeBonds and the bondholders.
BeeBonds: What message would you like to convey to investors?
Kris Vanhoyland: I would advise investors not to limit themselves to the campaign page, but to examine the underlying documentation and the holding company itself. Take a look at uniqwonen.be to get a complete overview of what we do.
The bond has a maturity of 48 months and offers a gross annual yield of 9.51% (19T). I don’t think there are many products out there capable of offering this level of return for this level of risk.
If I were an investor myself, I would invest.