Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield: Jacques Richier (Allianz) proposed for the presidency – 03/09/2023 at 18:26


(AOF) – The Board of Directors of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (URW) will propose Jacques Richier as the next Chairman of the Board of Directors at the General Meeting scheduled for May 2023, for a term of 3 years. A graduate of Insa Lyon, Jacques Richier, 68, is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Allianz France (formerly AGF), a subsidiary of Allianz SE, one of the largest asset managers in the world and the one of the world’s leading insurers.

The proposal follows an extensive selection process led by Roderick Munsters, Chairman of the Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee, and Cécile Cabanis, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, to propose a successor to Léon Bressler, who reached the statutory age limit under article 13.4 of the Allianz France statutes, and who is no longer a member of the board of directors.

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Key points

– European leader in commercial real estate born from the mergers of Unibail, Rodamco and Westfield;

– Portfolio of €53 billion in assets and rents of €2.3 billion, 95% generated by the 78 shopping centers then by offices and congresses and exhibitions;

– Economic model of refocusing on Europe based on 3 pillars -concentration, differentiation and innovation;

– Open capital with a minority position of 23.4% held by Xavier Niel, Léon Bressler chairing the 10-member supervisory board and Jean-Marie Tritant the executive board;

– Balance sheet still stretched with a leverage effect reduced to 9.6%, but available assets of €13 billion securing the financial maturities until the beginning of 2026 and LTV ratio lowered to 41.5%.

Challenges

– 2024 strategy aiming to once again become a pure European player with operating income back to 2019 levels and a solid balance sheet (LTV below 40%) via:

– new sources of revenue: commercial partnerships, exploitation of data and maximization of the value of assets via mixed developments,

– total exit from the United States in 2023;

– Innovation orchestrated by the new director of customer strategy, strengthening of preference, impact (omnical platform) and agility (internet of things and cloud technologies);

– “Better places 2030” environmental strategy based on 3 pillars, the quality of buildings, connectivity and integration into the urban environment:

– halving of the carbon footprint vs 2015 and recovery of waste in connection with local communities,

– energy sobriety plan in Europe by reducing lighting, air conditioning, etc.,

– launch of loans including ESG criteria;

– Benefits of diversification:

– in residential by exploiting the potential of $2.4 billion m2 identified in the portfolio,

– in commercial partnerships via Westfield Rise, with high profitability;

– After completion of more than 75% of the asset disposal program in Europe, towards a total withdrawal from the United States, ie 20% of the portfolio;

– Delivery of €3.3 billion of pipeline projects.

Challenges

– Confirmation of the recovery in footfall in shopping centers, rising above 2019 levels, and the increase in rents;

– Change in revalued net assets or ANR (€155.70), key data for the property sector to be compared to the stock market price, and the vacancy rate of shopping centers (6.5%);

– Debt control, of $20.7 billion, hedged against rising rates for the next few years;

– 2023 target of net earnings per share between €9.10 and €9.50 vs €9.31 in 2022;

– Suspension of the payment of dividends until the 2023 financial year.

Find out more about the real estate sector

A demand crisis

According to data from the Federation of Property 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 decline reached 10.2%, to 72,670 units.

Reservations are also plummeting due to the collapse of bulk sales to social landlords and institutional investors. As interest rates rise, institutional investors renegotiate or halt operations. First-time buyers are penalized by the rise in rates and the tightening of the Pinel system puts off some private investors.

Due to the sharp rise in construction costs, the REIT estimates that one out of six authorized operations is ultimately not carried out for economic reasons.

Faced with this, prices are still rising: the sale prices of new collective housing increased by 5.9% throughout France in the third quarter of 2022. Ile-de-France is an exception, with a drop of 0, 9%.



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