Axa Investment Managers - Real Assets has completed the acquisition of a 958-hectare forest known as 'Domaine de Saint Augustin' in France.
Located in the Allier and Cher departments in Central France, the property was acquired for €21.5 mln from a private vendor. The transaction has been undertaken on behalf of an Axa Insurance Company and brings Axa IM - Real Assets’ total forestry assets under management to €130 mln, comprising 21,000 hectares.
The asset is located near the forest of Tronçais, which is renowned for high quality oak wood, and next to a newly opened wood energy plant. Axa said that the forest has good supportive infrastructure, allowing for efficient harvesting and management, as well as three lakes and forest management equipment and vehicles.
'Following our forestry acquisitions in the Nordics last year on behalf of one of our client, this transaction is indicative of our strategy to diversify our clients' European forestry portfolios both geographically and through types of tree, which is an important tool for benefitting from peaks in demand and the provision of steady and secure income return,' commented Christophe Lebrun, head of Forest Investment at AXA IM - Real Assets.
AXA IM now manages around 5,500 hectares of forest in Finland, and around 15,000 hectares in France, on behalf of its clients, equally shared between coniferous and deciduous, with the balance set aside for various leisure activities. Comprising part of its €3 bn alternatives assets platform, which also includes healthcare facilities, hotels and data centres, forestry is a carbon neutral asset class which is largely immune to economic cycles, AXA IM said.
