This should benefit Xavier Niel who owns around a quarter of the shares of Unibail-Rodamco –Westfield.
The shopping center giant, which owns the Forum des Halles in Paris, the Part Dieu in Lyon and the Quatre Temps in La Défense, announced that it was proposing the restoration of the payment of its dividends this Thursday, February 8, on the occasion of the presentation of its annual results for 2023 which experience
“strong operational performance”.
A proposal which must be validated by the general assembly on April 30.
This announcement was particularly awaited by the financial markets.
And it should delight Xavier Niel, who took a stake in the property company in October 2020 after preparing a shareholder putsch.
He then began a 180% strategic shift to straighten out the group's accounts.
The boss had changed, with the arrival of Jean-Marie Tritant at the head of the management board on January 1, 2021. The founder of Free – just like the other shareholders – should finally receive dividends, after a period of suspension of three years of their payment for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, as part of the property company's debt reduction plan.
This plan included first of all a massive withdrawal from centers present in the United States, but also sales of other assets, as well as a limitation of investments.
Result: Unibail gradually straightened out its accounts by reducing its debt below 20 billion euros last year.
At the same time, the group can boast of very good operational results in 2023 for the second consecutive year, with an increase in retailer turnover of 6.4% and attendance at shopping centers of 4.9%.
There is no doubt that the property company also benefits from the strong increase in rents, which are increasing by 8%.
New range of brands in the centers
“The group has returned to 2019 levels. These results can be explained by the good performance of our shopping centers,”
said Jean-Marie Tritant, chairman of the management board.
The commercial real estate giant has come a long way with retail assets that had lost 20% of their value in recent years.
“Its debt finds its source in the acquisition of Westfield in 2017
,” a company with shopping centers in the United States and the United Kingdom, recalls a specialist in the sector.
At the time, the operation was well received until the shopping center market across the Atlantic slowed down sharply, due to strong competition and the development of online commerce.
The Covid pandemic which broke out in 2020 did not fail to drive the point home a little further.
Today, there is no doubt: for the second year in a row, the Covid page has definitely turned for the group whose shopping centers are once again attracting consumers, attracted in particular by the entertainment offered such as fitness, cinemas and restaurants.
“We were able to meet demand with a good mix of brands within the centers
,” explained Jean-Marie Tritant.
“
The real estate company has unique assets with the most significant and urban flows.
It’s a superb quality portfolio
,” confides a sector specialist.