Real estate icon Pajota celebrates its 50th anniversary and drops its name following a merger with Living Stone
Together, the two networks employ around 40 people and have been working together for years. They share a closely aligned DNA and corporate culture, as well as a common vision for the future. Furthermore, their regions and locations complement one another. The merger will make them the market leader in the central province of Flemish Brabant (including Brussels) and the regions extending to Mechelen and Ninove.
The new structure aims to open two additional local or regional branches within the year and offer new services. Through this merger, the network is responding to the digital transformation of the sector and seeks to further strengthen its services and expertise by expanding its scale.
The network has decided to continue under the name Living Stone. The name Pajota will eventually be phased out. Thomas Valkeniers of Pajota will become the network’s CEO. Koen Hoste, the current CEO of Living Stone, will become strategic director. The network handles an average of 700 sales transactions and an equal number of rental transactions annually.
Living Stone’s headquarters are located in Leuven, where the company was founded 28 years ago. It also has five branches in eastern Flemish Brabant and Mechelen. Living Stone is the market leader in residential real estate in Leuven, but also has a strong presence in the central cities of Mechelen and Tienen. With offices in Haacht and Zaventem, it extends into the Flemish Periphery around Brussels and the capital itself.
Pajota has four real estate offices in Brussels, Dilbeek, Halle, and Ninove. The firm has been in business for half a century. It is an icon in the area and has always had strong ties to the region. Indeed, it was founded in 1971 as a nonprofit organization to counter the Frenchification of the Brussels periphery. “Pajota is a well-known name and has become a strong brand over the past 50 years,” says Thomas Valkeniers. “It was a wonderful name, but in recent years, the name has begun to limit our ambition to grow further. The slogan ‘Pajota knows the region very well’ could no longer be used since the opening of our office in Brussels. Now that we’ve turned 50, the time has come to let go of the name itself. In the first phase, we’ll still use the name, but eventually it will disappear. The substance of our story is strong enough and does not stand or fall with the name. Continuing under the name Living Stone was the obvious choice and opens up many more possibilities for us,” said CEO Thomas Valkeniers. In 2014, Pajota was named “Real Estate Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Confederation of Belgian Real Estate Professions.