AG Real Estate France announces the sale of its national portfolio of bus depots, a mobility infrastructure platform developed over nearly ten years and which has become one of the benchmarks in the sector in France. Made up of around 50 operation, maintenance and storage sites spread throughout France, the portfolio is mainly occupied by Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), Keolis and Transdev. These assets benefit from long-term firm leases of between 9 and 12 years, offering high rental visibility and secure income.
This transaction marks the culmination of an investment, development and value creation strategy initiated in 2016, when AG Real Estate France acquired a 50% stake in the portfolio from Atland, before taking full control of it in 2021. Valued at around €170 million, this portfolio illustrates AG Real Estate France’s ability to identify, structure and develop alternative asset classes that meet sustainable economic and societal needs.
A pioneering strategy on an alternative asset class
When AG Real Estate France entered the bus depot segment in 2016, this asset class remained largely unknown to the institutional investment market. Convinced of the potential of everyday mobility infrastructures, the company has developed a long-term strategy based on the quality of operators, the visibility of rental flows and the essential nature of the services provided to communities and users.
Over the past nine years, the portfolio has grown continuously through an active policy of acquisitions and investments aimed at supporting the operational needs of operators.
Infrastructure essential to the functioning of the territories
Bus depots are critical equipment for the daily mobility of citizens. Like other essential infrastructures such as logistics platforms or certain assets linked to energy networks, they play an essential role in the continuity of public services and the functioning of territories.
The resilience of the portfolio has resulted in a remarkable stability in its valuation despite an environment marked by the rise and then volatility of interest rates. This performance is based on solid fundamentals: the quality of public and private counterparts, the strategic nature of infrastructure, structural needs related to collective mobility and the visibility of long-term rental income.
In a more contrasted real estate environment, these characteristics have confirmed the defensive qualities of this asset class and its attractiveness to investors looking for sustainable income with a low correlation to traditional real estate cycles.
This sale allows AG Real Estate France to continue the active rotation of its portfolio and to reallocate capital to new investment opportunities with attractive growth prospects.
Thibault Delamain, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Asset & Investment Management of AG Real Estate France, said: “This sale marks the culmination of a cycle of value creation that began nearly ten years ago. It illustrates AG Real Estate France’s ability to identify high-potential asset classes at an early stage, to support their development and to bring them to full recognition by institutional investors. Throughout this period, mobility infrastructures have demonstrated their resilience, driven by the quality of operators, the visibility of revenues and their essential nature to the functioning of territories. This transaction allows us to continue the dynamic repositioning of our portfolio and to deploy our capital towards new value-creating opportunities. »
AG Real Estate France would like to thank all the teams that have contributed to the development of this portfolio since 2016 as well as its historical partners. The company would also like to pay tribute to the work done by Atland Voisin, who was in charge of the asset management of the portfolio and supported its development throughout this period.
In the context of this transaction, AG Real Estate France was advised by Estelle Arakelian and Thomas Flattot of Cheuvreux as well as by the tax team of De Pardieu Brocas Maffei.
