A look back at Gecina's office acquisitions, excluding the Eurosic big deal

Gecina has hit the Paris CBD hard this year. The listed real estate company headed by Beñat Ortega has acquired Solstys, a 32,200 m² office complex previously owned by Deka Immobilien, for a total of €435 million including transfer taxes, i.e. €13,300/m².

This substantial transaction, revealed by Business Immo on March 19, marks Gecina's return to acquisition in this asset class. Indeed, the real estate company's last investment in offices dates back to 2019, when the group was still headed by Méka Brunel. At that time, it carried out an atypical acquisition: an exchange of assets and the payment of a balance.

In detail, the listed real estate company acquired the Carreau de Neuilly office building, located at 106-116 avenue du Général-de-Gaulle in Neuilly-sur-Seine, from the Caisse de retraite du personnel navigant (CRPN), for €306 million excluding transfer duties. In exchange for this 34,000 m² building, since renamed Les Arches du Carreau and undergoing restructuring, Gecina sold two office buildings for a total of €238 million excluding transfer duties: 12-16 boulevard du Général-Leclerc in Neuilly-sur-Seine (17,500 m²), and 22 rue du Général-Foy in Paris ^8e (3,200 m²). A balancing payment was made for the price differential.

A year earlier, in 2018, the Group had again invested in office space in Neuilly-sur-Seine. It signed a contract with an institutional investor for 8 rue des Graviers, a building of almost 5,000 m², for a deed-in-hand price of €30.5 million. This was a strategic acquisition for the property company, as it enabled it to reconstitute a Neuilly-Graviers complex of around 20,000 m², with the adjacent buildings it already owned.

Of course, when you look at the details of Gecina's office acquisitions over the last ten years, it's impossible not to mention the Eurosic big deal. This was a major turning point for the listed property company, which was then managed by Méka Brunel.

This "Méka Deal", as it was dubbed by some at the time, was completed in 2017 and enabled the property company to increase its assets from around €15.3 billion to €19.3 billion. At the same time, it became a European leader in the office sector. But also a leader in prime office space in the Paris region, as shown by the above plan communicated by Gecina following this friendly merger. Remember that a year earlier, in 2016, Gecina and Eurosic had fought it out, including before the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), to acquire Foncière de Paris.

But back to Gecina's office acquisitions outside the Eurosic big deal. Also in 2017, the listed property company made an investment similar to that of 8 rue des Graviers, with the approximately 5,000 m² building at 145 rue de Courcelles, in the ^17th arrondissement, for €63 million excluding transfer duties. This asset complemented the adjacent Le Banville building already owned by the Group. Now called Mondo, this complex comprises over 30,000 m² and is occupied by Publicis Groupe, as revealed by Business Immo.

Also in Paris, Gecina made two acquisitions in the ^8th and ^17th arrondissements in 2016. One of these was 7 rue de Madrid, a 10,000 m² building that has housed a WeWork space since 2020. It was acquired for €63 million. The second was 34 rue Guersant, a 5,700 m² building signed for €50.2 million. It is now the headquarters of Perial, which acquired it in 2018 for €63 million.

Finally, between 2015 and 2016, when Philippe Depoux, the current Chairman of La Française REM, was still CEO of Gecina, and Bernard Michel Chairman of the real estate company, the group carried out two major office transactions. In 2015, it signed the 19,000 m² Van Gogh tower at 5/9 rue Van Gogh, in the ^12th arrondissement of Paris. Now called Ibox, the tower was acquired for €150m.

The following year, in 2016, the real estate company acquired the Be Issy building at 16 boulevard Garibaldi, Issy-les-Moulineaux. This 25,000 m² asset was signed for €157.8 million, representing the Group's third-largest office investment over the last ten years, excluding the Eurosic big deal. What's next?