France s Icade signs green RCF for 300m

French REIT/SIIC Icade signed on 21 April a new seven-year green RCF for 300m, replacing lines maturing in 2020 for a total of 290m. Despite the ongoing health crisis, Icade s teams have worked hard to f inalise the attractive and innovative f inancial terms of this f irst green RCF, which are contingent upon achieving one of Icade s priority CSR objectives, namely reducing CO2 intensity, the company said in a release. These financial terms require a 45% reduction in the carbon intensity of the Office Property Investment Division between 2015 and 2025, measured annual- ly. The signing of this new credit facility extends Icade s portfolio of fully available credit lines, which currently stands at 1,750bn, covering nearly four years of debt interest and principal repayments.  France s construction sector shows

signs of life, but permits and sales remain at a standstill FPI

While the French government has focused on the conditions for the resumption of construction sites, for the developers associa- ton FPI (Fédération des promoteurs immobiliers), key factors are still hindering the revival of new real estate: upstream of construction sites, containment paralyses the issuance of building permits, and downstream, it blocks deliveries and transactions. Although it can be estimated that about 30% of operations have resu- med, and the FPI expects this share should grow rapidly, its president Alexandra François-Cuxac believes the resumption of construction sites, clearly felt on the ground, only solves part of the problems of new real estate and that the system remains largely paralysed.

Since 12 March, the submission and processing of building permit appli- cations has been virtually halted, stresses the FPI, either because mayors are extremely mobilised by health issues, local executives are paralysed by the incompletion of the electoral process for municipal coun- cils or through an inability of many planning services to work remo- tely. The Covid-19 epidemic reveals two major weaknesses in new real estate in France: over-administration and under-digitalisation, concludes Alexandra François-Cuxac. Their treatment will be at the heart of the Marshall Plan that our sector needs to contribute to our country s econo- mic rebound. This supply compo- nent is as important as the revival of demand.  

Generali buys 3,350 sqm mixed-use 40 Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Paris 2nd

Generali Real Estate, on behalf of the GF Pierre fund, has acquired number 40 rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, a 3,350 sqm mixed-use asset located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. The seller is the Norwegian group Aspelin Ramm. According to sources gathered by Business Immo, Generali Real Estate, the real estate arm of Trieste-based insurance giant Generali, paid just over 50m, reflec- ting an initial yield of less than 3%, to acquire this Parisian building located near the Paris stock market. The final sale of the 99% leased asset, which houses the Galopin brewery at the foot of the building and the offices of a BNP Paribas branch on the upper floors, was completed in the first quarter of 2020. 

Accor s consolidated revenue down 17% for 1Q20

Paris-based hospitality giant Accor s consolidated revenue totaled 768m for 1Q20, down 17% as reported and 15.8% like-for-like. As of 22 April, 62 % of the group s hotels are closed (3,100 units). Its RevPAR fell by 25.4%, reflecting the sharp deterioration in the environment due to the worldwide spread of the Covid-19 epidemic. The world is facing an unprece- dented health crisis that is having massive and unique impacts on the tourism industry, said Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Accor. Nearly two-thirds of our hotels are currently closed, and most of the others are being used to support healthcare workers and all those on the front lines of the f ight against Covid-19. Today, our challenge is twofold: manage the emergency and prepare for the rebound.

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83 | Magazine Business Immo #165 Mai 2020

BUSINESS IMMO / EUROPE NEWS