Nexity, the leading French real estate developer, announced on Wednesday an
“in-depth”
reorganization including a social plan to deal with the consequences of the historic crisis in construction.
“The group has decided to initiate in the coming weeks the information-consultation process of the IRPs (Staff Representative Bodies, Editor’s note), prior to the implementation of a job protection plan”
, indicates in a press release Nexity, which has not yet defined how many jobs would be affected.
“We are going to adapt our business and our costs
,” CEO Véronique Bédague told the press, adding:
“If we want to produce affordable housing, we have to reduce costs
. ”
In this he follows the real estate branch of Vinci, which announced that it had initiated the process with a view to a social plan
“preceded by a voluntary departure plan”
.
Professional federations in the sector have been warning for several months about job cuts to come or already in progress, due to the sluggishness of new real estate.
Rising construction costs combined with difficulties in accessing credit for buyers have forced large developers to diversify at full speed to cope with the collapse in their reservations.
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"Low point"
Nexity, which announced during the year that it was launching new activities (life insurance, solar energy, real estate investment advice), is no exception to the rule.
In 2023, its accommodation reservations have eroded by 19% in number and 24% in value, even if, underlines the group, this is better than the entire French market which fell by 26% in number according to the Federation real estate developers (FPI).
Its turnover, down 9% to 4.27 billion euros, is slightly below its target of 4.3 billion, revised downwards in the middle of the year.
The net result barely remained in the green with a net profit of 19 million euros compared to 188 million in 2022. The promoter also renounces paying a dividend to its shareholders, whereas until then it wanted to offer them a payment of at least 2.50 euros per share.
To compensate for this year's results, which it describes as a
"low point"
, and to control its debt, the group has sold its Portuguese and Polish subsidiaries, and above all wants to shed its services branch.
It announced at the end of 2023 that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with the investment company Bridgepoint to sell it its property administration branch (trustee and rental management), valued at 440 million euros and which employs some 3,100 people, or more a third of its workforce.
And it is still looking for buyers for its corporate real estate management and distribution activities.
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Accelerated transformation
Nexity has reduced its net debt from 820 to 776 million euros and has set itself the objective of bringing it below 500 million at the end of 2025. The group is not setting other quantified objectives for 2024, waiting to see the evolution of interest rates and public policies, and hoping for
“a rebound in 2025”
.
“At this stage, we remain quite conservative
,” explained Véronique Bédague.
“There may be some improvement, but no one knows when rates will fall and to what extent
. ”
In addition to the social plan, she promised an
“in-depth transformation of the organization of Nexity and the company”
.
The group will strongly decentralize its organization, to
“be able to imagine the best mix of products at each location in the territory
,” declared Véronique Bédague.
It also intends to accelerate its development in
“urban regeneration”
, that is to say the transformation of already built spaces, to anticipate the legal imperatives of
“zero net artificialization”
.