Rebo on its own feet
Ten years ago, there were no offshore wind activities in Ostend and it was highly uncertain how this sector would develop.
Toon Van Ingelghem, Senior Investment Manager at PMV
Thanks in part to PMV funding, the REBO terminal in Ostend’s outer port was able to grow into a wind energy hub where global players such as Siemens Gamesa and MHI Vestas have established themselves. After a successful run, at the end of 2019 the time was ripe to redistribute the shareholding.
In 2010, the port of Ostend attracted external capital to develop its heavy-lift quay into the North Sea’s leading offshore wind energy logistics hub. For this purpose, together with PMV, DEME and Artes-Group NV, the Renewable Energy Base Ostend ‘REBO NV’ was founded. REBO has since acted as a logistics developer investing in infrastructure (heavy load quay, quay walls, office buildings…) on port sites and leasing them. Together, the four partners wrote a success story during that risky start-up phase of REBO. The site is profitable and has created around 500 indirect jobs in Ostend at various companies linked to the offshore wind industry. After the great need for capital in the start-up phase, the port wanted to take matters back into its own hands. It therefore initiated talks on shareholder redistribution – taking over the shares of all other shareholders at the end of 2019.
PMV’s role
According to Toon Van Ingelghem, Senior Investment Manager at PMV, REBO is a good example of a project where PMV has been able to fully play its role as a do-and-dare company: “Ten years ago, there were no offshore wind activities in Ostend and it was highly uncertain how this sector would develop. REBO has become a profitable terminal and hub around which world players like Siemens Gamesa and MHI Vestas as well as suppliers to the offshore wind industry have established themselves.”
