Fund manager The Valesco Group has bought Sequana Tower, Paris, in a €460 million sale and leaseback – the largest office deal this year in continental Europe. It is also the largest in France since 2021.
The iconic tower is the global headquarters of Accor SA, the largest hospitality group in Europe. The transaction is the first by Valesco’s new fully discretionary fund.
The 26-storey, 43,027 square meter tower in the Issy-les-Moulineaux commune was awarded the Eco Building Performance Grand Prize for its design. It features a concierge service, a gym and spa, an auditorium, multiple cafeterias and breakout areas, an executive restaurant on the top floor as well as various terraces.
Valesco portfolio growth
Valesco says it has amassed a portfolio exceeding €2.5 billion in five years, whilst delivering a returns profile more than double that of the peer group.
The property is fully let to Accor on a 12-year term, without breaks and also subject to annual indexation, and generates €22 million of contracted rent per annum.
In line with its strategy of acquiring assets with meaningful value creation potential and its commitment to
seeking to affect community impact through its investments, Valesco has identified a clear pathway to
improve the building’s already strong sustainability credentials.
Shiraz Jiwa, Founder and CEO of The Valesco Group, says, “Sequana Tower represents the latest
addition to our growing portfolio of mission critical, futureproof landmark assets. In Accor, with whom we have a very strong working relationship, we have added a global hospitality behemoth with a highly differentiated offering led by exceptional management, to our tenant roster. The collective market cap of our occupiers now exceeds €4 trillion.
“Our deep experience of executing during complex times against a backdrop of macro uncertainty, combined with our conviction on the real estate fundamentals underpinning this Parisian HQ Tower, has enabled us to close this year’s largest Continental European office deal and France’s largest since 2021.
Mission-critical offices
“Mission-critical offices have a vital role to play in the performance of corporates and in the development of talent. Their essence is to create an ecosystem and environment where talent can thrive and self-actualise whilst delivering for the collective – there must be a return on experience in any future proof office along with sustainability at its core. With Sequana being the first investment by our new discretionary fund, we continue our drive to deploy into further differentiated product in Paris and other European gateway cities.”
Foucault de La Rochere, Chief Efficiency Officer of Accor SA, added: “We are delighted to have completed
this transaction with a best-in-class partner like Valesco. This sale reflects both our ability to execute strategic initiatives on behalf of shareholders and the quality of our signature. Accor is proud to occupy the iconic Sequana Tower and we are confident that we will continue to build on our very strong partnership with Valesco in the coming years.”
Valesco was advised by Clifford Chance (legal), Lasaygues (notary), PwC (tax), Drees & Sommer (technical) and also Elan (ESG).
