The French private equity group bought its 78% stake in the Cifa centre in Aubervilliers back in 2015 for €26.5 mln.
Eurazeo Patrimoine has announced the sale of its entire 78% interest in CIFA, a major ready-to-wear wholesale centre in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis) near Paris, to a fund managed by Mata Capital. The fashion centre was sold for €57 mln, more than double the price Eurazeo paid for it back in 2015. The sales amount generates an internal rate of return (IRR) of around 18%.
Eurazeo Patrimoine acquired the stake in s back in July 2015 from its founder, who retained 22% of its capital. Over the last five years, Eurazeo Patrimoine has deployed its human, financial and technical resources to improve CIFA’s rental yield in particular with the development of an additional fully let 1,500 m2 building. During this period the occupancy rate has been increased to 98% at the time of the sale.
With Eurazeo Patrimoine, CIFA has also created a digital platform - parisfashionshops.com (PFS) - which is now a major ready-to-wear clothing marketplace for wholesalers and their retailer clients. Eurazeo Patrimoine remains a shareholder in this platform.
CIFA was created in 2006 to supplement the textile businesses located in the Sentier neighborhood and the 11th district of Paris. It currently provides 40,000 m2 of space let to 280 tenants.
Renaud Haberkorn, managing partner of Eurazeo Patrimoine said: 'CIFA’s divestment confirms the relevance of Eurazeo Patrimoine’s opportunistic, and value-add investment strategies. CIFA was our first acquisition and we are very proud to have not only successfully implemented our original business plan and achieved an outstanding financial performance, but also added a digital component, whose development we will continue to support. This major success highlights the strength of our team and its ability to find quality investment opportunities.'
Jean Baptiste Pracca, managing partner of Mata Capital added:'We are delighted to invest once again in Aubervilliers in an asset well positioned to benefit from the long term development of the area.'