Altarea SCA

Creation and development of the group

The company was founded in 1994 by Alain Taravella and Jacques Nicolet, with the name being a shortened version of "Alain Taravella Real Estate." The company was initially engaged in the shopping malls development. During the following years, it absorbed several smaller firms in the French property sector : in 1995, Altarea acquired Le Gerec, a company created in 1973 specializing in shopping center construction. Its subsequent rapid growth included winning a competition organized by the town of Le Havre for the construction of Espace Coty.

In 1997, Altarea began construction on the Bercy Village shopping center in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, which opened in 2000. The project aimed to revive a historic neighborhood of Paris. In 2001 was established the Italian subsidiary. The Group opened several shopping centers in 2002: Espace Jaurès in Brest, Espace Grand’Rue in Roubaix, Côté Seine in Argenteuil and the Gare du Nord boutiques in Paris. At the same time, Altarea launched its open air retail park activity by creating Compagnie Retail Park, a subsidiary in charge of this sector. The Group gradually developed its business activity in different countries of the European Union. It thus extended its activity to Italy in 2001 by creating Altarea Italia. In 2004, Altarea España was created in Spain. Today, it features a major shopping center located in Sant-Cugat, near Barcelona. In 2011, Altarea Cogedim supplemented its various business activities by creating AltaFund, an investment fund dedicated to office property.

Acquisition of Cogedim

In 2007, Altarea purchased Cogedim from various investors, principally the Italian insurer Vittoria Assicurazioni SpA, at a cost of €650 million. Cogedim had been founded in 1963 and whose main activities are the development of housing, offices and hotels. In addition to its housing activity in the major French metropolitan areas, the Group also developed its activity in upmarket commercial real estate and luxury hotels, with the renovation of the Salle Wagram in 2009, the opening of the Marriott Renaissance Arc de Triomphe and the Radisson Blu in Nantes in 2012, and the Intercontinental Hôtel Dieu in Marseille in 2013.

Stake in the Rungis International Market

In 2007, the Group acquired 34% of SEMMARIS – a semi-public company that manages the Rungis International Market – by becoming the majority shareholder alongside the state. The Rungis International Market is the world’s largest wholesale food market in terms of volume.

Development of retail and e-commerce activity

Since 2011, Altarea Cogedim has developed its commercial activity by opening several shopping centers in France: Family Village® in Limoges, the Okabé shopping centre and offices in Kremlin-Bicêtre, the acquisition of Cap 3000 in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, near Nice among others. Altarea Cogedim owns 42 shopping centers in France, Italy and Spain.

In 2012, it acquired a 96.5% interest in Rueducommerce, an e-commerce company operating through the website rueducommerce.fr.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is made up of Alain Taravella, Chairman and Founder, Jacques Nicolet, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Co-Founder, the Senior Executive Vice-Presidents of the Group's three business divisions: Gilles Boissonnet, Chairman of the Management Board of Altarea Commerce, Christian de Gournay, Chairman of the Management Board of Cogedim and Stéphane Theuriau, in charge of Office Property and Private Equity, as well as Ludovic Castillo, Managing Director of Altarea Commerce in charge of Development and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Altarea Italia, and Éric Dumas, Chief Financial Officer.

Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board is chaired by Jacques Nicolet. Representatives of the major shareholders also sit on the Supervisory Board: the pension fund ABP and the insurance company Prédica-Crédit Agricole Assurances, as well as independent members.

Ownership

According to reports from the company, 48.9 percent of it is owned by its founders, 16.6 percent by Prédica Crédit Agricole Assurances, 12.1 percent by Foncière des Régions, 7.7 by ABP Fund and 14.7 percent by smaller shareholders.

Financial results

In 2012, the Group's consolidated revenue exhibited strong growth to €1.584 billion (+ 42%), mainly thanks to the consolidation of Rue du Commerce. On the 31st of July 2013, the Group results indicated that an agreement had been reached between Altarea Cogedim and Allianz Real Estate for the establishment of a long-term partnership for a portfolio of five shopping centers owned by Altarea. €395 million of equity capital injected by Allianz made it possible for the Group to considerably reduce its debt and significantly increase its reinvestment capacity.

In Q3 2013, the Group's consolidated revenue grew by 4.4% to €1.1388 billion.

Relevant projects

In the early 2000s, Altarea introduced the "Family Village" concept. It involves shopping malls with a distinctive architecture and "environmentally friendly", designed for a clientele consisting of families and multiple age groups. The whole structure centers on parks and green areas. Bercy Village attracts 12 million visitors each year, 20% of whom are tourists.

In 2007, Altarea Cogedim purchased from the French State a 33.34 percent stake in Semmaris, the company that manages the Rungis International Market, the biggest wholesale food market in the world.

On 23 February 2011, it was announced that Altarea Cogedim, together with CFC Développement, will build the new French headquarters of Mercedes-Benz at Montigny-le-Bretonneux, replacing the current system of three venues for the carmaker distributed throughout the country. Altarea constructed around 170,000 m² of offices and hotels in 2011.

On 27 October 2011, an Altarea Cogedim subsidiary, Altacom, acquired a 24.13 percent stake in Rue du Commerce SA, one of France’s leading online retailers. On 26 January 2012, Altacom announced the purchase of a 95.11 percent majority stake, taking control of the firm, which allowed Altarea to diversify its business approach.