2023-07-25 05:00:00
Three months and three days following his arrival as CEO of Icade, Nicolas Joly can breathe. At the end of the first half of 2023, the new head of the real estate subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts has just posted very good results. In addition to a turnover up 1% compared to the end of December 2022, its net debt halved, standing at 2.9 billion euros once morest 6.6 billion at the end of last year. Despite inflation and the rise in interest rates, the rental income of its tertiary real estate property increased by 2.2%, peaking at 181 million euros. Another surprise: despite the housing crisis, development activity increased by 1.7% to 583 million euros, with a cash-flow up 4.8%.
Real estate: Nicolas Joly, the new boss of Icade who must invent the office of tomorrow
Also relieved of 63% of its stake in Icade Santé, which was sold in mid-March for nearly 3 billion euros to asset manager Primonial Reim, the leader in offices in Greater Paris and regional cities can therefore focus on its new mission. : “reinventing the office of tomorrow”. This is at least the objective that was assigned to Nicolas Joly during the general meeting of April 21. Whether it is Guillaume Poitrinal, Chairman of Icamap, who has just resigned from the Board of Directors, or Olivier Sichel, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Caisse des Dépôts (39.2% of Icade shares), both have asked the new CEO to “find ways to make people happy to come to the office”.
The era of easy money is over
No sooner said than done. Barely arrived, assuming that the era of easy money is over, the boss of the real estate subsidiary of the “Caisse” initiated a review of all the activities and assets in progress and, in particular the offices which constitute 85% of the tertiary property.
“The change in the relationship to work and the revolution in uses requires us to review the portfolio”, justifies to La Tribune Nicolas Joly.
His clients have given him four keys, he confides: offices must be accessible by public transport, flexible, low-energy in accordance with the climate strategies of institutional investors and offer services. “This ranges from the auditorium to the bike room, including the animation of spaces, which our subsidiary Imagin’office can manage”, illustrates the new CEO of Icade.
27% of assets are subject to further reflection or analysis
From this first lap, it emerges that 73% of assets are “well positioned for the long term”, because of quality and adapted to future demand. As for the remaining 27%, they are either the subject of consideration with a view to a sale or conversion (13% of them), or a more in-depth analysis to better categorize them (the remaining 14%).
“These assets need to be repositioned because they do not meet the conditions to be offices. It can very well become housing, managed residence, hotel… conversion or sale, or even sale before conversion”, explains the boss of Icade.
The property company has two large office parks in the Île-de-France region: a first in Rungis, where a set of offices has already been transformed into a Hilton hotel, as well as a second in the north of Paris towards Aubervilliers and Saint-Denis, historically designed to accommodate tertiary activities. So much so that these areas are now over-supplied with offices. Even if a 21,000 m² lease was signed there in the first half of the year with Système U, the question of use will now systematically arise.
“We’re doing more fine-tuned work to define places and sliders and decide whether it’s desktop or conversion,” continues Nicolas Joly, who will announce a roadmap at the end of 2023-beginning of 2024.
“A specific know-how capable of addressing the city of tomorrow”
There is therefore no question of stopping the office and housing production activity, Icade promotion being number 6 among property developers. “We have long-term partnerships with local elected officials and are able to offer mixed products that meet their expectations,” says the neo-DG. In the Lafayette district in Lyon, its teams have, for example, transferred the former headquarters of Framatome into offices – still owned by the property company – and into new housing.
“We want to capitalize on our strengths. In this respect, this complementarity of the two professions constitutes a specific know-how capable of addressing the city of tomorrow, whether on the scale of a building or a district”. illustrates Nicolas Joly.
Especially since in addition to these 85% of offices, it still has 9% of various and varied activities, 4% of shops and hotels and 2% of land reserves. A playground of 70 hectares between the Porte de la Chapelle and the Porte d’Aubervilliers. “It is probably the European property company with the greatest potential”, considers a connoisseur of real estate in Greater Paris. Nothing less…
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