Initiator Roel Maas has extensive experience in purchasing, operating and managing fuel stations. He has been active as an entrepreneur in this industry since 1999.
The return forecast assumes an investment period of ten years with a starting date of November 1, 2024. The expected gross annual average total return is 12-15%.
Blue River Infrastructure Fund is a growth fund. It purchases a mix of existing fuel stations and land for future energy hubs. This allows the fund to build the optimal portfolio with excellent return expectations. The total fund size will be €50 million.
The Netherlands has a stable number of approximately 4,100 fuel stations. Blue River Infrastructure Fund focuses mainly on residential areas and along urban thoroughfares.
Blue River Infrastructure specializes in the purchase, development and operation of fuel stations and energy hubs. The necessary infrastructure to keep the Netherlands mobile. These locations are particularly well positioned to play a role and have a route to stay the main go to provider. The industry is not only investing in charging capability but in the whole customer experience. That is why strategic partnerships are being concluded in the market with Starbucks, Albert Heijn, Burger King, KFC, SPAR, and many other large retail parties.
On the way to a sustainable future, filling stations offer a fuel mix with increasingly greener fuels, ultra rapid charging facilities and also hydrogen at more and more locations. New energy are the magic words.
Investing in infrastructure is characterized by largely predictable cash flows, rental income that correlates with inflation and limited sensitivity to economic cycles compared to other investment categories.
We would be happy to contact you to present our investment proposition!
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With our specialist knowledge of the market, we achieve optimal and stable returns for our partners and investors.
Roel Maas
Initiator and General Partner of Blue River Infrastructure Fund
‘I am not someone who just maintains the shop; I’m someone who wants to open another one’ “Three years ago, I founded the Blue River Station Fund, an investment fund fully focused on energy station real estate in the Benelux. We are the first and only company in the Netherlands to do so. Yes, back […]
‘I am not someone who just maintains the shop; I’m someone who wants to open another one’
“Three years ago, I founded the Blue River Station Fund, an investment fund fully focused on energy station real estate in the Benelux. We are the first and only company in the Netherlands to do so. Yes, back to energy stations—this is where my expertise and passion truly lie.
The name Blue River is derived from my last name, ‘Maas.’ The ‘blue’ refers not only to blue river water but also to hydrogen, one of the sustainable fuels in the mix that will be offered at the energy stations we invest in over the coming years.” With a smile, he adds: “With my reputation as a ‘petrolhead,’ I thought ‘Green River’ wouldn’t come across as very credible. ‘Blue’ is a nice alternative.”
Building Something
With his latest initiative, Roel is set to broaden the activities of the Blue River Station Fund. “It will become a growth fund that invests in a mix of existing gas stations and land for future energy hubs—the essential infrastructure to keep the Netherlands mobile. Therefore, the fund will also get a new name: Blue River Infrastructure Fund. Anyone who wants more information can visit blueriver.nl.
[With another smile:] Yes, I can’t resist entrepreneurship. Starting something new, building it together with others, expanding, and making it successful—that’s something I love. I’m not someone who just maintains the shop; I’m someone who wants to open another one, and then another, and make all those shops a success. That’s what continually drives me along the entrepreneurial path. That’s what gives me energy. That’s my drive!”
In this report Blue River provides a comprehensive analysis of the trends and forecasts for passenger and commercial vehicles up to 2035. This report offers a projection of the fleet composition in 2035.
In this report Blue River provides a comprehensive analysis of the trends and forecasts for passenger and commercial vehicles up to 2035. This report sheds light on the growth in the number of vehicles, the rise of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and offers a projection of the fleet composition in 2035.
The analysis focuses on both passenger and commercial vehicles and what this could mean for the future of mobility in the Netherlands.
In summary
While the data indicates a significant shift towards the electrification of the fleet, it is expected that in 2035, 73% of passenger cars will have a combustion engine. In the commercial vehicle segment, this will be more than 80%.
The fleet will continue to grow but will still largely consist of vehicles with combustion engines: The absolute number will be only 14% less than in 2024.
“The need for mobility, the vehicle fleet, and the number of kilometers driven; it’s all increasing. Energy is needed in one form or another for this. Hence, the energy transition is not a threat, but rather an opportunity. Those who can adapt flexibly will own the future.”
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Roel Maas, through the Blue River Stations Fund, does what he has been doing in his industry for over 25 years: embracing change, pursuing innovation, and shaping the market. In recent years, sustainability has also caught his attention. “The need for mobility, the vehicle fleet, and the number of kilometers driven; it’s all increasing. Energy is needed in one form or another for this. Hence, the energy transition is not a threat, but rather an opportunity. Those who can adapt flexibly will own the future.”
Roel has built a unique career in the service station world. It started shortly after his business economics studies. His father owned two service stations with a shop, where Roel worked with great pleasure during his student years. When he saw an opportunity to add a third, he invited Roel to join him in business. They made a five-year plan to build an exploitation company that operated independently of oil companies. It was a stroke of genius. “After those five years, I was able to buy out my father. I was 27, had several branches, about 30 employees, and the drive to continue building. A few years later, I had a nice national network of 24 service stations.”
At that point, a new player entered the Dutch fuel market: Lukoil. Internationally one of the biggest, but until then unknown in the Netherlands. “I wanted to talk to them about fuel supply; perhaps I could add a brand to my chain. It turned out differently. They showed great interest in my exploitation company and made an acquisition proposal. This also affected my position as a founding board member in the retail cooperative for the 260 shops I had built alongside colleagues in the industry. It was not an easy decision, as I was certainly not done with entrepreneurship, but I went for it.”
Uniqar and Blue River Stations Fund
This brings us to this beautiful location in Heeze: a splendid office, surrounded by gleaming sports cars. “Here, I established a high-end car dealership. Uniqar, where boyhood dreams come true. I ran it myself for the first three years, after which I started renting it out. As a landlord, I enjoy all the beauty without the drawbacks of daily concerns that took up all my private time seven days a week.”
“Parallel to this, I started buying service stations again, but now in a rented state. So now, as the first and only in the Netherlands, I have an investment fund with a 100 percent focus on service station real estate. Blue River Stations Fund exists because entrepreneurship ultimately keeps itching, and I am a true petrolhead. I know the exploitation side of service stations; I come from that world; I speak the language. My specialty is optimizing rental streams. That’s also really about people. I dare say the relationship between me and my tenants is optimal.”
“Service stations are perfect places to stop for energy, in whatever form.”
A fascinating Energy Landscape
What has also changed over his more than 25 years in this industry, a clear constant is there for sure. “Energy is delivered. Whether it’s gasoline, diesel, LPG, CNG, LNG, hydrogen, or electricity. For the latter, infrastructure is now being laid out at a rapid pace. The investments involved are enormous. The existing pit stop locations are ideally suited for placing fast chargers. That’s a growth market, an opportunity, and – due to fluctuating electricity prices – an interesting new dynamic.”
“The electricity we all consume is becoming greener, including that for mobility. At the same time, we in the Netherlands have never consumed so much lignite and natural gas to generate electricity,” says Roel. So there are plenty of challenges left. “For the climate, we still need to take big sustainability steps. A significant challenge that I fully embrace from my expertise. This is just a fascinating sector, and I find it all incredibly interesting.”
“I move forward with lot’s of positive energy.”
This article appeared in the magazine ‘creating the future together,’ winter 2023/2024 edition, printed in November 2023. To receive the magazine, let us know: Tel. +31 40 844 70 00 or via info@joanknecht.nl.
