Nele Van Damme and Koenraad Belsack: Founders of Upgrade Estate with a fortune of 100 million Euros

Nele Van Damme and Koenraad Belsack

Koenraad Belsack and Nele Van Damme founded Upgrade Estate in 1999. Their first business was based on a foodtruck at the Ghent Festival. They used these funds to buy and convert a house into student accommodation. With initial success, they sold the property but continued to manage the rentals at the buyer's request. Nele Van Damme and Koenraad Belsack have a fortune of over €106,267,270.

Upgrade Estate has quickly conquered the student rental in Ghent, with over 1,200 rooms. Other cities such as Kortrijk, Bruges, Mons, Antwerp and Brussels followed suit, adding around 1,000 more rooms under their management. In addition to student accommodation, they also manage around 400 apartments. Their most recent expansion is in Hasselt.

Upgrade Estate's business model is based on an original concept involving private investment. More than a thousand private investors own shares in the company's projects, each receiving the same return. This model prevents the purchase of individual rooms or studios, simplifying overall management.

In 2021, UPscale InvestUpgrade Estate's holding company, represented investments of 202 million euros. The entire Upgrade group manages a invested assets of 505 million euros. Koenraad Belsack and Nele Van Damme have diversified their initiatives to include office real estate.

Nele Van Damme adds to their real estate portfolio by investing in hotels on the Belgian coast, acquiring three hotels in Blankenberge. The coastal region represents a new dimension to their real estate investment strategy.

In short, Upgrade Estate, headed by Belsack and Van Dammehas left an indelible mark on the student real estate market and other real estate sectors in Belgium. Nele Van Damme and Koenraad Belsack have succeeded in creating a handsome estate worth over 100 million euros.