Nexity is a French company that focuses on real estate development and the provision of related services.
Company was founded in 2000 in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
History
Beginnings: the Arnault family
In 1971,
Bernard Arnault started to work in his family business, the industrial and public works construction company Ferret-Savinel, owned by his father, Jean Léon Arnault.
There he began to develop real estate activities. In 1974, he convinced his father, then CEO, to change the focus of the company, sell the division of industrial construction to Quillery and use the money to enter fully into the business of the real estate. Following that sale, Ferret-Savinel changed its name, becoming Ferinel, and, focused on the real estate market, began increasing its portfolio. In 1988, following this success, the headquarters were transferred from
Roubaix
Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...
to Paris and the real estate branch was renamed George V Group.
CGE steps up
The ''
Compagnie Générale des Eaux
Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
(CGE)'' was established in the mid-19th century in order to provide water supply services to France's industrial cities. For the early 20th century, CGE was already one of France's largest private companies.
Through the first half of the century, CGE remained focused on its core water utilities operations. In the 1960s, however, CGE launched a new diversification strategy that led it into a variety of new markets over the next two decades, including the construction and real estate sales and development sectors. In 1979, the company increased this activity with the acquisition of Maison Phenix, a leading real state company. In 1988, CGE made another important purchase, obtaining the construction company Société Générale d'Entreprise (the future
Vinci
Vinci may refer to:
Places
*Vinci, Tuscany, a ''comune'' in the Province of Florence, Italy
*Vinci (Golubac), a community in Braničevo District, Serbia
People
* Alessandro Vinci (born 1987), Italian footballer
*Alessio Vinci (born 1968), Itali ...
). In the 90s, during the French real estate crisis, CGE gathered all its residential real estate and development activities in a new subsidiary, called MI SA, which soon begun to be the leader of the French housing market.
In 1995, CGE bought the George V real estate division from Groupe Arnault.
[
]
CGE restructure: CGIS era
CGE became a company, with a wide range of activities (construction, telecommunications, pay television, facilities management, the operation of amusement parks, and others), but the incompatibity between its real estate and construction components led it into a crisis in the mid-1990s. CGE was restructured and the construction sector was formed into a separate company, Vinci. In 1996, the real estate branch was also reorganised into a sole subsidiary, Compagnie Générale d'Immobilier et de Services (CGIS). The lack of coordination between different areas, however, continued. CGIS had to sell many assets to stay afloat and CGE finally decided to separate from the real estate area, adopt the name Vivendi, and refocus itself as a media and communications firm. CGIS and MI were apart soon after.
European expansion and refocus: Nexity era
As a new independent company, CGIS difficulties continued. It sold its hotels to Accor and Pierre & Vacances
Groupe Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs () specializes in tourism services, providing holiday and entertainment ''villages'', leisure activity residences and hotels under the brands Pierre & Vacances, Maeva, Center Parcs, Sunparks, and Adagio (th ...
and a number of its La Défense
La Défense () is a major business district in France, located west of the city limits of Paris. It is part of the Paris metropolitan area in the Île-de-France region, located in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in the communes of Courbevoie, ...
buildings to Unibail
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (previously Unibail-Rodamco SE) is a French commercial real estate company headquartered in Paris, France. Its history originates with the formation of two separate shopping centre operators, Unibail (founded in Fran ...
. In 2000 CGIS was sold in a management buyout backed by CDC Ixis Capital, LBO France
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as col ...
, and Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...
, changing its name to Nexity. In 2001, was created the Spanish subsidiary (even though operations there were made with French property since the 1990s), as well as the Portuguese. In 2002, was established Nexity Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. In 2003, Nexity separate itself from its engineering services branch, Cotebo, in order to focus on property services and development. In January 2004, it strengthened its relatively weak real estate services sector with the purchase of Saggel.
In July 2007, the Nexity shareholders approved the issuance of 19997501 shares, representing a 38.2 percent stake, for the Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne et de Prévoyance (CNCE), through the Groupe Caisse d'Epargne
A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation.
Air and aviation groups
The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches ...
(GCE), in exchange of a 25 percent of Crédit Foncier de France
Crédit Foncier de France (CFF) was a major French bank, active from 1852 to 2019 when its activities were entirely subsumed into Groupe BPCE, although the brand name appears to remain active.
History
The Crédit Foncier (English: landed cred ...
, 31.9 percent of Eurosic and 100 percent of CGE Immobilier services division, including Lamy. Later, CNCE (currently Groupe BPCE) expanded its stake to 41.4 percent.
In January 2009, Nexity sold its stake in Crédit Foncier to CNCE by 540 million euros.
Activity
Nexity operates as a real estate development company in Europe. Its working areas include residential properties, office buildings, offices, business parks, warehouses, distribution centers, office facilities, and hotels. This is carried out through several divisions.
Divisions
Nexity Enterprises
This division specialises in the development and renovation of skyscrapers and similar structures.
Geprim
Geprim centers on the development of warehouses, distribution centers and mixed-use units.
Nexity Services
Nexity Services provides services during every stage of a project design, purchase, daily management, renovation and sale.
References
Footnotes
Citations
{{Authority control
Companies based in Paris
Real estate companies of France
Companies listed on Euronext Paris