Belgian REITs Compared: Cofinimmo, WDP, Aedifica

📅 Last updated: 8 May 2026
 ·  🏷 Topic: GVV/SIR, real estate, dividend, Cofinimmo, WDP, Aedifica
 ·  🇧🇪 For: Belgian investors in real estate

Cofinimmo, WDP, and Aedifica are the three largest Belgian GVV’s (Gereglementeerde Vastgoedvennootschappen — known in French as SIR, equivalent to REITs in other countries). All listed on Euronext Brussels, all with strong dividends — but each specialised in a different real-estate sector.

The three GVV’s compared

Cofinimmo

Specialisation: healthcare real estate (~77%) + offices (~15%) + distribution networks (~8%) — FY2025 reported figures.

• Invested in hospitals, clinics, residential care centres, polyclinics — leased to healthcare institutions.
• Long lease contracts (15+ years on average) → predictable cash flow.
• Sector trend: ageing in Europe drives stable healthcare demand.
• Risk: government healthcare budgets under pressure.

Known for consistently high dividend (~6-7% yield). The office component has weakened post-COVID (remote-work trend).

WDP (Warehouses De Pauw)

Specialisation: logistics real estate — warehouses, distribution centres, fulfilment locations.

• Customers: Amazon, DHL, Decathlon, Carrefour, retailers with growing online business.
• Sector trend: e-commerce growth drives demand for logistics.
• Geographical: focus on the Belgian-Dutch-French-German cluster + Romania.
• Risk: dependent on sustained e-commerce growth, automation, location-specific factors.

Lower dividend yield (~4-5%) but historically higher price growth.

Aedifica

Specialisation: residential care centres in Western Europe.

• Portfolio: 618 properties across 7 countries (Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Finland, Ireland, Spain) — Sweden was fully divested in Q1 2025.
• Customers: care operators such as Clariane (formerly Korian), Emeis (formerly Orpea), Vivalto.
• Sector trend: ageing structurally positive.
• Risk: dependence on a few large operators (a Korian bankruptcy would hurt).

Strong geographical spread, which makes it less sensitive to any one local market.

Belgian taxation on GVV dividends

GVV’s distribute at least 80% of the distributable result as a dividend (legally required).

Standard rate: 30% withholding tax (roerende voorheffing) on the dividend.

Reduced rate of 15% for dividends from GVV’s that invest at least 80% of their portfolio in care real estate or healthcare real estate located in the EEA (art. 269 §1 3° WIB92, as amended by the Law of 21 January 2022). General residential housing does not qualify. As of 2026, the only Belgian public GVV that qualifies for the 15% rate is Care Property Invest (100% care real estate). Aedifica lost the 15% rate on 1 January 2026 — UK properties no longer count toward the EEA 80% threshold following expiry of the post-Brexit transition, so the standard 30% rate now applies. Cofinimmo does not qualify under this provision (effective healthcare portion below the 80% threshold under strict tax definitions) and is taxed at 30%.

💡 The reduced rate of 15% (instead of 30%) only applies to qualifying care REITs. Always verify the applicable rate via each GVV’s own dividend notice — the qualification can change year to year (as Aedifica’s 2026 reversion shows).

Interest-rate risk

An important limitation of GVV’s: they are interest-rate-sensitive.

• Rising rates = financing costs up + value of real estate falls + competition from bonds that now offer more yield = GVV prices fall.
• Falling rates = the opposite: GVV prices rise.

In 2022-2023 Belgian GVV’s structurally fell 30-40% due to rapidly rising rates. In 2024-2025 they partially recovered.

Capital gains tax (2026) on GVV shares

Since 1 January 2026, Belgium applies a 10% capital gains tax on gains realised on financial instruments by individuals — GVV shares are in scope (they are equity instruments listed on a regulated market). An annual exemption of €10,000 per taxpayer applies (with a carry-forward of up to €1,000/year for a maximum of 5 years). The exemption that applies to direct real-estate transactions does not extend to GVV shares (sources: EY Belgium, PwC Belgium).

How to invest in GVV’s?

Option 1 — Individual shares. E.g. 5 Cofinimmo shares + 3 WDP + 4 Aedifica. Gives you control over which specialisation you want.

Option 2 — Real-estate ETF. An international real-estate ETF (such as iShares Developed Markets Property Yield UCITS — ticker IWDP, e.g. IWDP.AS on Euronext Amsterdam in EUR) gives you hundreds of real-estate funds worldwide, including Belgian GVV’s, with a TER of 0.59% p.a. (ISIN IE00B1FZS350; source: JustETF / iShares).

Option 3 — Mix. A world real-estate ETF as the base + 1-2 specific Belgian GVV’s for local exposure.

Don’t forget: this remains equity risk

GVV’s feel “safe” because of the high dividend and the tangible underlying real estate. But:

• GVV prices fluctuate just like other shares — often with bigger swings than the broad market.
• Concentration risk: one GVV is one company. Cofinimmo or Aedifica can perform badly while the broader real-estate market does well.
• Diversification via a world real-estate ETF is statistically more advantageous than 3-5 individual Belgian GVV’s.

🔗 For the broader context of real estate in a portfolio: see Real estate as an investment and Portfolio construction.

Sources

1. Euronext Brussels — Cofinimmo, WDP, Aedifica official pages
2. FSMA — GVV regulation
3. Company sites — Cofinimmo.be, wdp.eu, aedifica.com for annual reports

Read also: the Aedifica–Cofinimmo merger

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