Yally anticipates the growing demand for quality rental properties with a second capital injection of 30 million euros
A year ago, listed investor TINC and TDP, the infrastructure joint venture between Belfius and listed investment company Gimv, launched a joint initiative under the name Yally, which stands for “Your Ally” or your ally. By purchasing and energetically renovating existing homes, Yally wants to give more people the opportunity to live comfortably and at the same time save on their energy bills. In the meantime, 100 residential units have already been acquired. An entire team has been built up, which means we can now move to a higher gear. To make this possible, today, one year after its founding, the capital has doubled to 60 million euros. “The market is begging for quality rental properties”, says CEO Anneleen Desmyter. “It is clear that Yally offers an answer to an ever-increasing demand for rental properties.” Yally now also works with AI technology to make the services for its tenants even more user-friendly.
The year-old Yally has now purchased properties in Antwerp, Mechelen, Roeselare, Herentals, Beveren, Ostend, Oudenaarde and others. About a hundred residential units are already in the portfolio.
“Over the past year we have invested in expanding our team and organization. Yally now has the capacity to quickly acquire properties and renovate them energetically. We have also committed to providing high-quality services to our tenants, with respect for all regulations,” says CEO Anneleen Desmyter. “Yally is therefore the ideal partner for those who currently own one or more family homes or apartment blocks that are in need of an energetic renovation and who, for whatever reason, do not want to make the necessary investments. Yally acquires these properties, where the former owner may or may not continue to live in the home. Yally looks at real estate companies and private individuals, but local authorities can also be a partner in this story.”
Capital injection
Yally is convinced that the residential rental market is at the beginning of a major qualitative and energetic catch-up operation. With an additional capital injection of € 30 million by its shareholders TINC and TDP, Yally wants to be ready to acquire and renovate further rental properties and thus realize its stated ambition: acting as a catalyst to provide a profitable qualitative and energetic injection to the residential rental market. In this way, Yally anticipates an ever-increasing demand for high-quality and sustainable rental properties.
In a next step, Yally's shareholders are open to welcome one or more new shareholders who share the ambition to contribute to the quality injection of the residential rental market in a relevant and profitable way.< /p>
Renovations
In addition to user convenience for the tenant, Yally also aims for energy savings for the same tenant. Yally strives to make its homes more energy efficient. Homes that currently have an energy label D, E or F will be upgraded to A, B or C, through responsible investments.
The outer shell, including the roof, is being tackled so that energy is no longer lost. The heating techniques are optimized to make the home more energy efficient. The first renovations of the acquired buildings have now started. Yally carries out this in collaboration with innovative partners who have relevant experience in the field of making real estate more sustainable.
Worry-free rental experience thanks to AI technology
“There is a need for a quality injection in the rental market and that is not just about the building itself”, adds CEO Desmyter. “In the past, living was about bricks. Now it's also about technology, energy and services.”
Yally therefore focuses not only on the real estate itself, but also on the services provided to tenants. Yally wants to be the sustainable landlord of the future. This translates, among other things, into an online portal, where tenants can go for an all-in service in the field of administrative follow-up, rental payments and/or follow-up of repairs of all kinds.
To make this even more efficient and targeted, Yally now works with Google technology. With a pilot project, tenants are given even more peace of mind through AI and they receive instant answers to approximately 80% of their questions. Thanks to the AI platform, maintenance technicians and professionals can also work with a lot of information about, for example, the systems in the buildings, the location of the electricity box or access options, without a language barrier.
“We are extremely excited about our AI project. Thanks to the new tool, we can offer tenants a worry-free rental experience, even as we grow and the number of residential units increases," Desmyter completes. "The tool is a textbook example of how AI can be used to make people's daily lives easier and more enjoyable. "
About Yally
Yally is an initiative of the listed investor TINC and TDP, the infrastructure joint venture between Belfius and the listed investment company Gimv. Yally buys homes in Belgium, makes them more energy efficient and future-proof. As the landlord of the future, Yally focuses maximally on comfort and the reduction of the tenant's total housing costs by integrating smart technologies in the homes, reducing the energy bill and an all-in service via the online portal MijnYally.be (www.yally.be).
TINC is a listed investment company that aims to create sustainable value by investing in the infrastructure for the world of tomorrow. TINC participates in companies that are active in the realization and operation of infrastructure and maintains a diversified portfolio of participations in focus areas such as public infrastructure, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure and selective real estate in Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland (www.tincinvest.com).
TDP - founded in 2007 as a joint venture of Belfius and Gimv - is a developer of and investor in a wide range of infrastructure and related assets such as selective real estate. TDP's investment policy is embedded in a number of far-reaching social developments. These include the ambition to achieve better public infrastructure ("Building Back Better"), the transition to a low-carbon society, the digitalization of society and the growing attention to healthcare and welfare. These developments provide TDP with the framework for investments in public infrastructure, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure and selective real estate. Belfius Bank & Insurance is an integrated bank-insurer owned by the Belgian federal government that is anchored in all segments of the Belgian economy and society: partner of 3.7 million private individuals, self-employed people and SMEs, an important player in the corporate market and lead bank in the public and non-profit sector (www.belfius.be). Gimv is a European investment company, listed on Euronext Brussels. As a recognized market leader, Gimv works with enterprising and innovative companies in 5 future-oriented investment areas. Gimv manages a portfolio of approximately 60 companies with a combined turnover of EUR 3.7 billion and employing 20,000 professionals (www.gimv.com ).