Acceptance criteria for companies for establishment

The mission of the BRDA is to attract high value-added industrial, semi-industrial, trade and service companies and to retain them in the Region by providing real estate infrastructure (land and buildings) at attractive prices. The BRDA acquires and develops sites and manages their occupation potential. Thanks to this mission, the BRDA promotes economic development and employment in the Brussels region.
To benefit from the infrastructure offered by the BRDA, companies must meet certain activity and employment related criteria. All companies producing tangible goods and services or intangible assets are eligible to occupy a BRDA site as long as they adhere to urban development guidelines and, in particular, to the PRAS (Regional Land Development Plan).
Requests from speciality retailers and malls are not included in the above criteria but will be reviewed on a case by case basis based on their contribution to employment, requests from other companies, their impact on the zone’s appeal, their urban development potential and the sites available.

Which industries are excluded?
In addition to assembly companies, those involved in automotive bodywork and recycling and demolition will not be considered for a BRDA site. This is also the case for polluting industries and those in the warehousing, logistics and import-export industries and those that are involved in purely administrative or financial activities.

Derogation, however, may be granted if the company will be providing a substantial number of jobs many of which will be available to people living in the Region or to people with low skill levels.

Activities which do not adhere to the urban development guidelines of the PRAS will not be permitted to set up and will not be granted derogation.

Density of employment criteria

Density of employment criteria will take precedence over activity criteria in the selection of companies which will be offered BRDA sites. These criteria are calculated in terms of Full Time Equivalents (FTE) per hectare.
Independents are not normally taken into account in the density of employment calculation. However, the BRDA Board of Directors can decide otherwise based on company type and activity. Sub-contractor employment is given for information purposes only and is not used for the density of employment calculation.
- Tangible asset production: minimum 50 people per hectare;
- Intangible asset production: minimum 75 people per hectare;
- For sectors requiring an exemption: minimum 75 people per hectare.
These ratios must be met at the time of certification or must be covered by a definite, time-limited, agreement. They are subject to annual control. Post-agreement review will be carried out on a regular basis and whenever are made to a company’s activity, employment or legal structure. If the ratios are not adhered to, ground rent will be increased contractually.
In addition, the agreement will include provisions stating that the company must first go to Actiris for all recruitment needs.

Pricing

Sites are provided on an emphyteutic lease for 30 years, renewable through a land rent referred to as “ground rent”.
In some instances, the BRDA may grant discounts on the ground rent, for example, when a company:
- Develops a research-based relationship with a Brussels university or school for higher learning;
- At the request of the BRDA, develops facilities which are open to all of the employees of the other companies set up in the zone. For example, this could be a day care centre which helps to improve the site appeal;
- Especially promotes the employment of low skill workers or of professional training leading to the employment of low skill workers.

Certification and Set-up Process

Companies require certification to be accepted for one of our sites. Certification is granted by the Board of Directors based on presentation of an application document demonstrating the company’s adherence to the selection criteria and its financial soundness.
As soon as the Board of Directors has certified a company and validated its implementation on one of the BRDA sites, a “reservation agreement” will be signed and a bank guarantee set up.
The emphyteusis has several advantages, including those related to registration rights. Ground rent is calculated on the basis of the land’s monetary value and is re-indexed every year in January. If the emphyteusis is renewed, the land is re-assessed and the ground rent adjusted based on its new monetary value.
The BRDA, in collaboration with the Brussels Enterprise Agency (BEA), the Société Régionale d’Investissement Bruxelloise (SRIB) and other regional authorities, will assist companies in obtaining subsidies, financing, permits, etc.

For more information and for answers to specific questions you can contact our commercial office at 02/422.51.11 or by email at commercial@brda.be

You can also go to www.inventimmo.be, a free BRDA service, for all your business real estate needs in the Brussels-Capital Region.