(AOF) – Mercialys has signed a firm agreement for the acquisition of the portfolio management company (SGP) Imocom Partners. The operation is structured in two stages. From 2023, the shareholders of Imocom Partners will sell 30% of the capital to Mercialys for a price of 7 million euros. The property company specifies that the remaining 70% will be acquired by Mercialys in the first half of 2025 at the end of an intermediate period during which the current managers will support the development of the company.
Imocom Partners manages the OPPCI ImocomPark, the shares of which are reserved mainly for institutional investors and family offices. This fund, which matures in 2032, holds a portfolio of 33 retail parks in France with a total rental area of more than 385,000 m2, rented to nearly 400 tenants.
The fund’s assets represent a value of 670 million euros including taxes and generate 40 million euros in annual rents. The continued development of Imocom Partners’ activity since its creation in 2011 today positions this management company as a leading player in the retail park segment.
The sites managed by Mercialys and Imocom Partners share many points in common, allowing the capitalization of their respective real estate know-how: anchoring within the outskirts of cities in the main consumption areas of urban areas, accessibility of the commercial offer and rents for brands, local merchant mix aimed at meeting essential daily needs.
The creation of value for the two companies will focus in particular on increased visibility vis-à-vis tenant brands, expanded expertise in digital and environmental areas, as well as an increased capacity to intervene on development projects in commercial real estate or mixed in a context of increased importance of artificialized land control.
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Key points
– “Pure player” of shopping malls in France, created in 2005;
– Assets of 51 assets, mainly outside Ile-de-France, worth €3 billion;
– Rental income of €173 million drawn 68% from national or international brands, 14% from local brands and 18% from Casino group brands; – Business model based on 3 historical know-how: a portfolio leading assets in their area and present in city centers, an attractive precision commercial strategy, via the Casual Leasing financial concept, and an environmental dynamic anchored in its territory;
– Open capital, CACIB holding 10% of the shares, Eric Le Gentil chairing the board of directors of 7 members, Vincent Ravat being general manager;
– Balance sheet still tight with €945 million in equity compared to debt of €1.2 billion, resulting in a leverage effect of 7.6 but LTV ratio reduced to 35.3%.
Challenges
– Relaunch of the growth strategy through 4 levers: development of services (notably digital), exploitation of customer knowledge, implementation of the development pipeline and targeted and accretive acquisitions;
– Innovation strategy based on:
– a proprietary digital ecosystem with a centralized “G La Galerie” platform with data from 1.3 million consumers accessible to client brands, and Prim’Prim’ loyalty,
– the Le Shop / Ocitô ecosystem broken down into a first-mile logistics platform, another of last-mile solutions and then a marketplace for consumers;
– “Fair impact” environmental strategy aimed at carbon neutrality in 2030:
– 100% recovered waste vs. 65% in 2022,
– no use of phytosanitary products,
– 100% of purchases over €10 million accompanied by CSR clauses,
– issues of credit lines with environmental clauses;
– Deployment of coworking spaces on sites with the aim of €1.5 billion in additional revenue in 2025:
– €407 million in land resources and project portfolio of €470 million until 2027;
– Control of the debt, refinanced at 96% at a fixed rate for 2023 and with no maturity before 2026.
Challenges
– Monitoring of the 2 criteria specific to the land sector: the revalued net assets or NAV (€20.9), to be compared to the stock market price, and the vacancy rate of buildings (4.4%);
– Gradual reduction in dependence on Casino: 25 directly owned stores under the Géant and Monoprix brands and 26 with diversified partners: 19 Casino, 3 Carrefour, 3 Système U, 1 Intermarché;
– Resumption of investments, in service platforms and the maximization of spaces as well as in targeted acquisitions and in the resumption of projects;
– After an increase of 4.1 in rents, 2023 objective of an increase of at least 2% in current income and a distribution rate between 85 and 95%,
– 2022 dividend up 4.3% to €0.96, i.e. a distribution rate of 85%.
Learn more about the Real Estate sector
A demand crisis
According to data from the Federation of Real Estate Developers (FPI), the figures for the third quarter of 2022 continue to be alarming. Sales of new collective housing fell by 12.4% over one year, to 19,006 units. Over the first nine months of 2022, the drop reached 10.2%, to 72,670 units.
Reservations are also plummeting due to the collapse of block sales to social landlords and institutional investors. With interest rates rising, institutional investors are renegotiating or halting operations. First-time buyers are penalized by the rise in rates and the tightening of the Pinel system puts off certain private investors.
Due to the sharp rise in construction costs, the FPI estimates that one in six authorized operations is ultimately not carried out for economic reasons.
Faced with this, prices are still rising: the sales prices of new collective housing increased by 5.9% across France in the third quarter of 2022. Ile-de-France is an exception, with a decrease of 0. 9%.