Three questions to Olivier Wigniolle, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Real Estate France (AREF)
Allianz Real Estate | Munich, 07/14/2011
Olivier Wigniolle, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Real Estate France
Mr. Wigniolle, what is the investment strategy of Allianz Real Estate France?
Olivier Wigniolle: Allianz Real Estate France operates in four markets: France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. It manages 367 buildings in France with a total area of 1.4 million square meters. The value of these assets totals around 5.8 billion euros. They are mostly located in Paris and the surrounding region, Brussels and Amsterdam with a significant share of office space.
Our strategy is to expand and to diversify our portfolio. And we want to focus on a selection of prime quality projects and core assets located in city centres and in surrounding regions. Globally, our goal is to reach a total return around seven percent in France, where the "risk -return" profile one the most attractive in Europe.
In parallel, we initiated a process to sell our assets which do no longer match the strategy of Allianz. The amount that we are going to sell is 550 million euros in a period of two years.
What is your review of 2010 and what is the outlook for 2011?
Wigniolle: Over the next three years we are aiming to invest 700 to 800 million euros per year - a goal we fulfilled in 2010. Allianz Real Estate is now structured as a real estate investment and asset management company. With more than 900 million euros our transaction volume is significant. Among our finest operations, we can quote the acquisition of Capital 8 (Paris 8th), Le Colisée (La Défense) or the Espace Saint-Quentin shopping centre (Yvelines) in a joint venture with Hammerson.
As to the commitment of Allianz Real Estate France towards sustainability, we completed the Tour Olivier de Serres (Paris 15th) which is notably the first green lease signed by Allianz Real Estate France and rented to France Telecom for its new headquarters. Besides we completed the Tour Cristal deal in late October 2010 which is labelled with the BREEAM certificate.
Allianz Real Estate pursues an ambitious sustainability strategy and is trying to get all the buildings in the portfolio certified over the next years.
Could you tell us more about the AREF team?
Wigniolle: When I became head of Allianz Real Estate France in 2009, it was the former real estate department of AGF, mainly aimed at rental and project management. The team used to work exclusively for the French investors of the group. Today, AREF has become an investment and asset manager, operating in four countries and managing assets which belong to non-domestic investors.
The organisation of Allianz Real Estate France is split into five operational divisions and central functions. The French entity, comprising about 150 people, manages the assets of Allianz Group companies in the region. It allows the Group to have a permanent presence in the real estate markets, to hold the investments over long periods and provides the option of buying in equity.
The Allianz Real Estate France team is a multidisciplinary team, fully integrated into Allianz Real Estate. We have managed to position ourselves rapidly as an important player in the real estate market, especially given our development projects and our business transactions.
