(AOF) – Generali Vie, represented by Sébastien Pezet, announced on Friday July 1 that he resigned as a director of Mercialys, with immediate effect. Following this change, the company’s board of directors is made up of 8 members, 63% of whom are independent directors.
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Key points
– “Pure player” for shopping malls in France, created in 2005;
– Portfolio of 50 assets, mainly outside Ile-de-France, worth €3.14 billion;
– Rental income of €170m;
– Business model based on 3 historical know-how: a portfolio of assets leaders in their area and present in the city center, a commercial strategy of precision attracting, via the Casual Leasing financial concept, national and international brands and a environmental dynamic rooted in its territory;
– Capital opened after the total exit of the historical shareholder, Generali holding 7.85% of the shares, Eric Le Gentil chairing the board of directors of 8 members, Vincent Ravat being general manager;
– LTV ratio reduced to 36.7%, resulting in a stable BBB rating for the €1.35 billion debt giving a leverage effect of 7.6.
Challenges
– Relaunch of the growth strategy by 4 levers: development of services (in particular digital), exploitation of customer knowledge and of all spaces, 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 made available to client brands, a Prim’Prim’ loyalty program / the Ocitô ecosystem declined between a logistics platform of the 1st kilometer, another of last mile solutions and then a market place for consumers;
– “Fair impact for 2030” environmental strategy aimed at carbon neutrality: 100% waste recovered, no use of phytosanitary products, 100% of purchases over €10 million with CSR clauses, launch of 4 credit lines with environmental clauses;
– Deployment of coworking spaces on the sites with the aim of €1.5 billion in additional revenue in 2025: €407 million in land resources and project portfolio of €494 million until 2027;
– After the sale of 2 Géant Casino, strengthening expected in areas on the outskirts of the province, which are experiencing strong momentum.
Challenges
– Monitoring of the 2 criteria specific to the real estate sector: revalued net assets or ANR (€17.6), to be compared to the stock market price, and the vacancy rate of buildings (3.2%);
– Continued portfolio rotation, with €82 million in expected disposals;
– After a satisfactory 1st quarter, confirmed 2022 objective of an increase of at least 2% in operating profit and a payout ratio between 85 and 95%;
– 2021 dividend of €0.92, i.e. a payout rate of 75%.
Chinese real estate still in turmoil
Real estate is essential for the growth of the world’s second largest economy. However, after the setbacks of the giants Evergrande and Fantasia, other smaller promoters are having difficulty repaying their debts. The giant Evergrande is strangled by an abyssal debt of around 260 billion euros. He is fighting to pay his bond interest on time and deliver his apartments, so as to avoid a bankruptcy that would shake the entire Chinese real estate sector. The OECD believes that the risks of a sharp slowdown in China have increased with the setbacks of Evergrande. A drop of 2 points per year in Chinese domestic demand over two years would reduce global growth by 0.4 points of GDP.