Did you have any experience with Sale & Lease Back in the past?
Frederik Middernacht: No, it was the first time that SipWell committed to something like this. That’s why we had a specialized real estate mediator advise us along the way. He drafted a memorandum and reached out to several interested parties, of which WDP proved to be the best choice.
Of course, price informed our decision-making process, but so did reliability and experience. WDP really stood out on those fronts. WDP’s stock-market capitalization allowed us to leverage contribution in kind, after which we sold a part of the acquired stock. To this day, we remain a shareholder of WDP, to underscore our faith in the company and our long-standing relationship.
4 golden tips for Sale & Lease Back
by Matthias Maselis, real-estate partner at Stibbe, advisor to SipWell.
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Consider opting for a Sale & Lease Back: warehouse yields have never been as high as they are now.
- Thanks to European case law, it’s possible to carry out a Sale & Lease Back operation without it automatically leading to a negative VAT review (for the ongoing review period), provided that (i) a building’s VAT has already been deducted in the past, (ii) the building can no longer be regarded as “new” for VAT purposes and (iii) the 15-year VAT review period has not yet passed. It’s important to ensure the Sale & Lease Back operation has as many financial lease characteristics as possible, so that the tax authorities consider it to constitute a single financing operation.
- A Sale & Lease Back operation is a smart move, as it immediately results in added value appraisal under company tax. From an accountancy point of view, the established added value is generally not immediately declared as a cost, but recorded in an accrued account. Thereafter, it is taken into yield at the rate of the property’s depreciation.
- Be assisted by an advisor who knows their stuff. That way, you’ll get the most out of the transaction, you won’t leave any added value behind, and you won’t take any unnecessary risks.