Canadian pension fund CPPIB has signed a deal with French asset management group La Française to invest in major real estate projects linked to the Grand Paris infrastructure project, initially allocating €387.5 mln of equity.
The real estate investment and development vehicle, called Société Foncière et Immobilière du Grand Paris, represents a joint venture between CPPIB, holding 80%, and La Française’s shareholder, Caisse Fédérale du Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe (CMNE) with 20%.
La Française is already involved in several schemes which will benefit from the Grand Paris Express transit service. The new vehicle will be managed by Guillaume Pasquier, head of real estate business development Grand Paris project, and Anne Génot, CIO, Grand Paris and European real estate business development director.
It has already secured two initial projects, Saint-Denis-Pleyel (mixed use) and Villejuif-Gustave Roussy (office buildings).
'This new partnership in France with a leading real estate manager and investor like La Française and its parent company CMNE allows us to invest in a strategically important development in Paris,' said Andrea Orlandi, managing director, head of Europe, real estate investments at CPPIB.
'Through this partnership, we will target regeneration and infrastructure-led investments, and we expect the Grand Paris Express to significantly transform the Greater Paris market over the next decade and beyond. We look forward to growing the venture anchored by the significant development opportunities in Paris and its Grand Paris Express project,' Orlandi added.
The joint venture said it would look to grow the partnership through additional development projects beyond Saint-Denis-Pleyel and Villejuif-Gustave Roussy that are consistent with its overall investment strategy.
'This partnership with a leading institutional investor will enable La Française, with the support of its shareholder, CMNE, to step up its real estate business development and participate, along with other public and private stakeholders, in making Paris a global city,' concluded Xavier Lépine, chairman of La Française Group.
