Julian Assange
618 weeks of deprivation of liberty for telling the truth
618 weeks of deprivation of liberty for telling the truth
ForumInvest Group » Groupe d’Investissement et de Promotion de Centres Commerciaux et de Centres Villes « , was created in the Netherlands in 1987 and has been present in Belgium since 1999. Its slogan: « the winning city ». The group also has its own television channel, ForumTV, launched in 2007, which broadcasts its advertising programs produced in its Belgian studios at Sovifo, particularly in the group’s shopping centers. ForumInvest is managed by Michel Riaskoff.
In Belgium, ForumInvest realized the shopping centers « Les Grands Prés » in Mons (inaugurated in 2003) and « K in Kortrijk » in Kortrijk (inaugurated in 2010), based on a commercial agreement between Mr. Riaskoff and P. Huon and maybe even others
In August 2010, Patric Huon, then director of ForumInvest in Belgium, created City Mall Development, a Belgian group with an international vocation specialized in commercial real estate, which acquired the Belgian and Luxembourg activities of ForumInvest. City Mall’s mission is to « revitalize cities through commerce ».
City Mall Development is managed by Patric HUON and is 75% owned by Immobilière HUON (created in 1992) and 25% by Banimmo, a listed real estate company (the link is made publicly through the person of Amaury de Crombrugghe, director of City Mall Development and also a member of the Management Committee of Banimmo)
« As a reminder, Banimmo, a repositioning and redevelopment real estate company, acquires buildings with high redevelopment potential to resell them after transformation », says www.cerclefinance.com
ForumInvest invests in urban renewal at the same time as it develops its shopping centers in city centers (Namur, Verviers) or their surroundings (Mons). He then sells them to real estate funds.
« Les Grands Prés » was sold to the German fund Deutsche Immobilien Fonds AG (DIFA, which has since become « Union Investment Real Estate ») in September 2003, four months after its inauguration, with a capital gain for ForumInvest estimated at 10 million euros on a sale price of about 100 million. ForumInvest, which continues to manage the center, has contracted with the same group to finance the expansion and development of the « big meadows » to the tune of 69.7 million euros.
ForumInvest concluded a purchase agreement for the K in Kortrijk shopping center with the same German real estate fund « Union Investment Real Estate » on December 10, 2009, i.e. even before its opening…
Michel Riaskoff remains close, he is a minority shareholder in City Mall Development and an advisor for the development of the « Les Grands Prés » center, which will soon be joined by an Ikea store. He is about to sell all the shares of Forum Invest to David Ermia (CEO of Forum TV) as the company is about to invest in the development of a mega mall in São Paolo, Brazil.
CityMall’s projects include « Au fil de l’eau » in Verviers, « Côté verre » in Namur and the « Palais des Expositions » in Charleroi. The latter is the least advanced project, but it is expected to be the largest (58,000 m², 4,400 parking spaces). Patrick Huon declares that he wants to impose « the reference shopping of Wallonia, as Wijnegem is for Flanders » (La Libre, 04/09/2010). City Mall states on its website that » [Le projet] is currently evolving according to the strategic urban planning choices of the municipal authorities. « Since the Carolo affairs, the situation seemed to be blocked. This is remarkably timely: the municipal elections are approaching and a certain Paul Magnette is expected to take up the post of mayor. To be continued, then.
