Europa Capital, the pan-European real estate investment manager announces that it has completed the sale of an office building in Suresnes on behalf of Europa Capital’s pan-European value add fund, Europa Fund IV, to SKEMA Business School.
5 Quai Marcel Dassault, originally constructed in 2003, comprises 14,000 sq m of office accommodation arranged over five floors and is situated in an established western Paris office submarket on the banks of the River Seine.
SKEMA Business School, a major business school with 7 campuses (3 in France and 4 internationally) will install its new “Grand Paris Campus” at the building. This new flagship facility will welcome French and international students. Equipped with the latest technological innovations, the campus will house the augmented intelligence research centre, the “SKEMA GLOBAL LAB in Augmented Intelligence”.
Following its acquisition in 2016, Europa Capital and Balzac REIM undertook a comprehensive refurbishment of the property’s reception and staff restaurant areas and successfully leased almost all the vacant office space inherited on purchase.
After an announcement in December 2016 that the main tenant, Airbus Group, would be vacating the building in December 2017 as part of wider operational cutbacks, Europa Capital secured a short-term lease extension with Airbus until October 2018 whilst an ‘off-market’ approach was progressed with SKEMA Business School to acquire the asset for its new campus. Having signed a conditional sale contract in July 2018, the parties went on to obtain all necessary statutory permits for the change of use to a public use building, with vacant possession of the building also successfully negotiated prior to completion.
Jonathan Mansie, Director at Europa Capital and Head of Acquisitions in France, commented: “Our acquisition in joint venture with Balzac REIM in 2016 was predicated on strong real estate fundamentals, including the high-quality and flexible nature of the building and its attractive and prominent location within easy reach of La Defénse and central Paris. These qualities were also key factors for SKEMA in choosing 5 Quai Marcel Dassault for their new campus after a lengthy search, and we are delighted to have completed this transaction with them, adding value for our investors in the process.”
Europa Capital were advised on the sale by Mayer Brown and Le Breton George V Notaires.
