Cheval Paris-Groupama: Oh Champs Elysees!

Despite having endured a difficult few years, the iconic avenue the French call the most beautiful in the world has never really gone out of fashion, a fact that was underlined in 2022 when the investment fund Cheval Paris wrote Groupama real estate a cheque for a cool €600 million for the 17,800-square-meter building located at the top of the Champs Elysees, a stones-throw from Arc de Triomphe.  

It was an offer that was simply too good for Groupama to refuse, one put together by the investment fund steered by Mimco Asset Management. The building, whose current commercial tenants include Celio and Swarovski, was acquired by Groupama in 2009, and underwent an extensive refurbishment in 2017.

A certain je ne sais quoi
Apart from its enviable location, the price that Cheval Paris was willing to pay can be explained by the fact that the building comes with planning permission for further development already secured and an authorization for mixed use in place since 2019. The six-storey building deceptively small too, if viewed from the Champs Elysees, and extends all the way back to rue Lord Byron. As the asset manager administering the Cheval Paris fund – held by a consortium of international investors – Mimco is now tasked with reimagining and optimizing the property in order to make it one of the most successful mixed-use projects in the French capital.

The deal underlines the renewed confidence investors have in the Champs Elysees

“We are selling the asset in question to Cheval Paris, which came up with an offer that was in line with our expectations, and whose ambitions for the building, and indeed the avenue, were very enticing,” explained Eric Donnet, the CEO of Groupama Immobilier, adding “This transaction represents exceptional value for us and will allow the group to reinforce our investment capacities in both the French and European real estate markets.”

He can say that again. The vast sum represents a considerable war chest for Groupama, which is used to making bank from the properties it owns on the Champs Elysees, the ace up the sleeve of the French real estate giant, which it has played judiciously in recent years. Three years ago, 79 avenue des Champs-Élysées was sold to Norges Bank Invest for €613 million, and has since become Nike’s flagship store. As to the eventual occupier of No.150, at the time of writing no details of how Mimco plan to exploit the building have been revealed.

The Groupama-Cheval Paris deal underlines the renewed confidence investors have in the Champs Elysees, confidence shaken in recent years by the Yellow Vests protests, the slow return of foreign tourists after the pandemic and the rise of rival chic shopping locales in the city of lights, such as the Marais.

Yet with Paris now booming once more – footfall on the Champs Elysees is up 23% on pre-Covid levels – and the Olympic Games around the corner, Cheval Paris looks to have bet on the right horse.