Carrefour portfolio's valuation of EUR 20bn is 'cautious'

Carrefour was being cautious when it valued its property portfolio at EUR15bn-EUR20bn, ceo Jose Luis Duran told the Financial Times on Monday. The statement comes on the back of Thomas Barrack's claim that the French retailer has assets worth more than EUR30 bn. The founder of Colony Capital said that the retailer could raise up to EUR 30bn by using techniques such as sale-and-leasebacks aimed at releasing value from property.

Carrefour's property assets entered the spotlight a month ago when French billionaire, Bernard Arnault, and a US private equity fund, Colony Capital, announced they had acquired a 9.1% stake in the world's second-biggest retailer by sales. The two new investors are pushing for the French group to release capital by selling properties, in a move aimed to boost shareholder value. Carrefour owns 6 million m² of real estate. Some 80% of the property assets are in Western Europe and the remainder is in Latin America.