Codic has sold its redevelopment in rue de Rivoli, Paris, to Dutch investor Foram for more than FFr 200m.
The 4,576 m2 scheme at 118-120 rue de Rivoli should provide the fund with a yield of between 6.5% and 7% from a mixture of retail, offices and flats; for Codic, the sale represents a satisfactory outcome for a development opportunity it took on in 1995.
The predominant retail element was prelet last autumn to Scandinavian clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz as its first French store. “The lease is a top institutional lease,” commented Simon Marrison of Healey & Baker, who with Noel Simpson Consultants advised Codic on the acquisition, lettings and sale. “We took a shopping centre lease and put it on the high street.” As well as a 12-year term, the lease includes a rental element based on turnover.
Marrison said that, despite the weakness of the French market, retail demand in such prime locations had remained strong throughout the recession. Further lettings mean that more than half the office space is also occupied.
Foram holds several shopping investments in France, and purchased Codic’s first French retail scheme from the company in 1991.
