AXA IM Alts buys French film studio for €150m
AXA has paid €150m (£129m) for one of the largest film studio complexes in France.
AXA IM Alts has signed the deal with Nexity to buy and extend the 12ha Bry-sur-Marne Studios site, 9km east of Paris.
It is the first foray into the subsector by the real estate arm of the French insurance company, which has more than €185bn of alternative assets under management.
AXA has paid €150m (£129m) for one of the largest film studio complexes in France.
AXA IM Alts has signed the deal with Nexity to buy and extend the 12ha Bry-sur-Marne Studios site, 9km east of Paris.
It is the first foray into the subsector by the real estate arm of the French insurance company, which has more than €185bn of alternative assets under management.
The site includes one of France’s largest film and television series studios, which produced this year’s Asterix and Obelix movie and the 2006 film Marie Antoinette.
The studios will be managed by Guillaume de Menthon, who was the president of Telfrance, one of France’s leading fiction production groups.
AXA said rapid growth in demand for original content from broadcasters and streaming services, as well as continued demand for feature film content, is underpinning increasing global demand for purpose-built studio space.
Bry-sur-Marne Studios currently provides around 60,000 sq ft of studio space across eight stages, ranging from 3,000 sq ft to 11,000 sq ft. This is in addition to approximately 200,000 sq ft of production accommodation, including workshops, offices, assembling sets and dressing rooms.
AXA plans to undertake a significant development programme across the site, more than doubling its production capacity and making it one of the largest studios in Continental Europe.
AXA said land constraints in and around major European cities, as well as rising energy and construction costs, were exacerbating an already severe shortage of suitable production space.
John O’Driscoll, global co-head of real estate at AXA IM Alts, said: “This was a rare opportunity to acquire one of the largest studios in France, close to Paris city centre, with good infrastructure and the option to extend the premises to meet rapidly growing demand. The investment also aligns with our purpose to deliver long-term value to clients; consolidated sites such as Bry-sur-Marne, which can house the entire content production ecosystem, are essential in accelerating the decarbonisation of the film industry. We have ambitions to significantly scale our studios real estate platform.”
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