Telenet and the Willemen Groep construction group are joining forces via a new joint venture in order to develop a housing concept that will bring a maximum amount of unburdening to the Belgian rental market. The new concept will offer tenants a comprehensive housing solution for a fixed amount per month. In addition to the included basic items and utilities, such as gas, electricity, water and Internet, tenants can also subscribe to additional services such as cleaning and ironing assistance, laundromat, car and bicycle sharing, a flower or photo subscription, etc.

Maximum amount of unburdening

No hassle with meter readings and final bills, or different subscriptions that you have to manage yourself. Through a joint venture, Telenet and Willemen Groep want to offer tenants a housing concept with maximum unburdening. In concrete terms, you not only receive the keys to your rental apartment, but the basic items and utilities, such as water, electricity and telecom, are also arranged. In addition, you can choose which additional services you want, such as assistance with cleaning and ironing, a flower or food box subscription, subscription for shared cars, scooters or bicycles. etc. Instead of managing dozens of different services yourself, all the administration is handled centrally via the joint venture. This total concept is initially aimed at target groups that are specifically looking for convenient living, fast notice periods and unburdening, such as expats or young professionals.

Tom Willemen, CEO of Willemen Groep: “The housing market is changing at a rapid pace. There is a high level of professionalization in the rental market in particular, whereby rent is increasingly combined with a package of different services. We want to respond to this trend with this joint venture. In doing so, we are not only focusing on our own real estate developments, but also taking an explicit look at collaborations with other real estate providers. Telenet is the ideal partner to help us shape this innovative housing concept. This collaboration also fits in with our own ambition to be a provider of comprehensive housing solutions in addition to being a construction partner.”

John Porter, CEO Telenet: “For some time now, it has been part of Telenet's strategy to focus on partnerships, whereby we are looking for collaborations in order to offer innovative services that do not necessarily belong to our core business, but through which we also want to enter other markets. The Park, for example, is a success story regarding entertainment. We are increasingly focusing on developing such partnerships. Closer collaboration with other market players and actors in our field of interest allows us to grow in a sustainable way, to continue to develop future-oriented technology and to create social impact. Through connectivity and television, Telenet has experience in offering services at the customer's home. We see that comprehensive solutions can be interesting for certain target groups, and we want to further investigate and expand the potential of this trend, working together with Willemen Groep.”

In the coming months, the joint venture will test its business model against the existing rental market. The intention is to make the rental formula as flexible as possible with, for example, short notice periods and a choice of different packages for basic and additional services. In this way, the joint venture aims to develop a broad ecosystem with various partners, each with their own expertise in offering specific services, subscriptions or real estate.

The joint venture will be an independent company with an independent board of directors, a name and CEO will be sought in the coming months. The launch is still subject to approval from the European Competition Authorities.