11
Other Activities
Treasury
As a subsidiary of Gemeenschappelijk Eigendom, Kok Groep B. V. passed
into the ownership of AEGON with its parent company in 1987. At the
beginning of 1988, Kok Groep became independent following a buy-out.
Aannemingsmaatschappij Gebam B. V. achieved a turnover of NLG 65.8
million; this was virtually the same as the 1986 turnover. There was a shift
in emphasis from industrial projects to general construction, however, and
the share of housing in the overall turnover figure was slightly higher than in
1986 as well. Pretax earnings for Gebam amounted to NLG 0.7 million
compared with NLG 2.3 million in 1986. The decline in the results was
partly due to the effect of the bad weather on the construction industry.
Our American real estate appraisal company FGH Appraisal Services Inc.
established in New York, had a good year in 1987. This company undertakes
work on behalf of our own finance company as well as for third parties,
mainly banks.
The various projects of our American real estate interests achieved a high
level of occupancy in the year under review, leading to a satisfactory result.
The portfolio consists of three office buildings (in Washington, D.C., Fairfax
County, Col. and Lakewood, Col.), two apartment complexes (in Houston,
Tex.and Littleton, Col.and one condominium project (Lakewood, Col.
The London-based Household Mortgage Corporation, in which FGH has an
interest which was expanded in December 1987 from 6.75% to approxi
mately 8.5%, developed successfully. A portfolio of mortgage loans to home
owners was built up totaling GBP 615 million. This lending activity was
partly financed by the issue of mortgage-backed notes.
The discontinuance of our activities in the United Kingdom was continued
with a profitable result, mainly due to the sale of our property interest in
New England Properties Pic. on attractive terms.
In August, the first phase of the impressive development project Marina
Benalmädena in Spain, in which FGH has a minority interest, was
delivered. Work has already started on the second phase, in which there is
considerable international interest.
Since becoming part of the AEGON Group, we have been able to make use
of the financial strength of our parent company in our attempts to raise
financing. FGH now has the facility to borrow directly and indirectly via
AEGON, which enables us to obtain funds at attractive rates on the capital
market. Compared with the old situation, this yields an important interest
advantage taken over the year as a whole.
Considering the level of production and refinancing, we needed to attract
an amount of NLG 700 million in the year under review. Partly in view of the
restoration of market confidence in the company, however, this presented
little problem. By far the larger part of the funds borrowed consisted of
private loans.
