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Is the opening up of Nexity's services division capital a consequence of the difficulties facing the French property sector?

Avec une chute des ventes du fait d’une demande en berne, la promotion immobilière s’enfonce peu à peu dans la crise. Même les grands acteurs du secteur sont obligés de concentrer leurs forces pour faire face à cette situation inédite. C’est ainsi que Nexity (4,7 md€ de CA en 2022), spécialisé dans la promotion immobilière, ouvre le capital de sa branche services (938 m€ de CA, 840.000 lots et 20 millions de mètres carrés gérés).

Si effectivement, le marché de la gestion demeure porteur, celui des transactions doit nécessairement pâtir de la baisse de leur nombre depuis plusieurs mois.

Sans aller jusqu’à déduire que cette branche de Nexity serait en difficultés, la direction du groupe admet souhaiter accélérer son désendettement en ouvrant le capital à un partenaire financier ou stratégique.

S’il est probable que la solidité financière du groupe Nexity lui donne le temps de mettre en place cette opération de manière sereine, ce n’est peut-être pas le cas d’autres acteurs du secteur de la promotion immobilière de taille plus modeste.

Pour ces derniers, en l’absence de fonds propres, seule la mise en œuvre de procédures de prévention (mandat ad hoc et conciliation) ouvre la possibilité à un gel temporaire des échéances bancaires pendant la période de procédure elle-même, puis à un étalement si l’entreprise est viable.  

Ces procédures, si elles sont engagées suffisamment en amont, peuvent permettre aux entreprises du secteur immobilier de gagner le temps nécessaire pour enfin voir les taux d’intérêts décroitre et le marché repartir.

Pour mémoire, les procédures de prévention tout en étant confidentielles, permettent d’allonger la durée d’amortissement des PGE au-delà de 4 années contractuelles et de deux ans de franchise.

With sales plummeting due to sluggish demand, the property development industry is gradually sinking into crisis. Even the major players in the sector are having to pool their forces to deal with this unprecedented situation. For example, Nexity (€4.7 billion turnover by 2022), which specialises in property development, is opening up the capital of its services arm (€938 million turnover, 840,000 lots and 20 million square metres under management). 

While the property management market remains buoyant, the number of transactions has been falling for several months. 

Without going so far as to deduce that this branch of Nexity is in difficulty, the group's management admits that it would like to accelerate its debt reduction by opening up its capital to a financial or strategic partner. 

While it is likely that the financial strength of the Nexity group will give it the time to implement this operation calmly, this may not be the case for other smaller players in the property development sector. 

For the latter, in the absence of equity capital, only the implementation of French preventive procedures (mandat ad hoc and conciliation) opens up the possibility of a temporary freeze on bank instalments during the period of the procedure itself, followed by a deferment if the company is viable. 

If these procedures are initiated sufficiently far in advance, they can give companies in the property sector the time they need to see interest rates fall and the market takes off again. 

For the record, the prevention procedures, while confidential, make it possible to extend the amortisation period for PGEs beyond the four contractual years and the two-year grace period.

The property crisis has only just begun," stresses Philippe Trainar, "and because of a situation unprecedented since the end of the Second World War, it is likely to be unusually violent.
La crise immobilière ne fait que commencer, souligne Philippe Trainar, et, à cause d'une situation inédite depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, celle-ci risque d'être d'une violence rare.

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