FDR buys 50% of Velizy Campus for EUR 191m

French office-focused Fonciere des Regions (FDR) has finalised the acquisition of a 50% stake in the Velizy Campus business park located south-west of Paris, CEO Cristophe Kullmann said the presentation of the company's third-quarter results on Monday. The company, which already owned 50% of the project, is buying the other half from Morgan Stanley Real Estate France for around EUR 191 mln.

'We completed a major acquisition from Morgan Stanley in the third quarter, the purchase of the remaining stake in the Velizy Campus project which we started to develop in 2002,' Kullmann said. The acquisition price reflects a net yield of 7.7%.

The 18-hectare commercial park includes 56,000 m² of high-quality environment (HQE) office space which was leased in July last year to software provider Dassault Systemes on a 12-year rental agreement. Another 83,000 m² of office accomodation is leased to tenants Thalès and Alstom. The site, which was valued at EUR 382 mln at end-June, offers development potential for a further 100,000 m2, FDR said.

The Paris-listed property group said that the efforts made over the past year to bolster its finances 'today allows the company to seize opportunities in the consolidating real estate market'. FDR posted revenues of EUR 488 mln during the first nine months of the year, a slight decrease on last year's revenues of EUR 498 mln. On a like-for-like basis, revenues increased by 3.8% over the period.

The company carried out EUR 715 mln worth of sales in the first three quarters, exceeding 2009's disposal target of EUR 500 mln.