On 10 November 2020, AG Real Estate and Société Générale Assurances completed the sale of the remaining shares in the company B.G.1., Owner of the “Crystal Park” building. This office development is located at “La Cloche d'Or” in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Luxembourg City, 16 November 2020
On 10 November 2020, AG Real Estate and Société Générale Assurances completed the sale of the remaining shares in the company B.G.1., Owner of the “Crystal Park” building. This office development is located at “La Cloche d'Or” in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
The Crystal Park is a 30,000 m² building developed by AG Real Estate to house the headquarters of PwC Luxembourg, the sole occupant of the building. The built-to-suit project, offering the most advanced technical performance and certified BREEAM Excellent, was completed at the end of 2014.
The building consists of six floors with, on the ground floor, an atrium, reception areas for external visitors, as well as the PwC Academy and various catering outlets. The upper floors are allocated to offices and open spaces. The building also comprises an auditorium, a sports hall and fitness room, together with car parking on two levels.
Strategic agility for AG Real Estate
In January 2017, AG Real Estate entered into a quality partnership with Société Générale Assurances, the insurance branch of the Société Générale group, by introducing it in the shareholding of B.G.1 at a 50% stake. Since then, AG Real Estate has continued to provide the Asset and Fund Management and will continue to do so in the future. .
The current market conditions have prompted the shareholders of AG Real Estate to adjust their strategy, which led to the anticipated sale of the remaining shares in B.G.1. to Société Générale Assurances.
Amaury de Crombrugghe, Chief Investment Officer of AG Real Estate explains: "as AG Insurance's property manager, AG Real Estate must manage its portfolio in an optimal way. In order to do so, it needs to rotate some assets. The Crystal Park building is a high-quality, hyper-localised asset. These are strengths that give it exceptional appeal on the Luxembourg market. We are pleased to have been able to sell our shares in this asset to our partner Société Générale Assurances".
Tatiana Posa, Senior Transaction Manager at AG Real Estate said: "By adjusting the composition of our portfolio, we have adapted our tactical investment decisions in order to respond as quickly as possible to the needs of our shareholder. I am particularly proud of the commitment of the teams whoworked together on this project and of how quickly we reached a balanced agreement".
Quality investment for Société Générale Assurances
Yann Briand, Real Estate Director of Société Générale Assurances commented: "The completion of this transaction within a very short timeframe reflects the strategy of Société Générale Assurances which, as a responsible investor, aims to ease a swift transition by acquiring assets that meet the highest environmental standards”.
For this the operation, AG Real Estate was advised by Dentons Luxembourg, while Société Générale Assurances consulted Treex on the technical aspects, Linklaters as legal and tax consultant and Mazars on the financial aspects.
About AG Real Estate
AG Real Estate, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AG Insurance, is an integrated property operator active in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and on certain select European markets with expertise in different lines of business: Asset & Property Management, Development & Construction Management, PPP and real estate financing, as well as in Car Park Management through its subsidiary Interparking.
A company active in urban real estate, AG Real Estate has more than 250 employees with varied profiles and areas of expertise. With a portfolio of more than €6.5 billion under management for its own account and on behalf of third parties, AG Real Estate is endeavouring to provide a responsible response to new urban needs and to implement a sustainable development policy as to make its projects even more meaningful.
About Société Générale Assurances
Société Générale Assurances is at the core of the Société Générale group's development strategy, in synergy with all the retail banking, private banking and financial services businesses, in France and internationally. Société Générale Assurances is also continuing to open up its distribution model by developing partnership agreements with players outside the Group.
With a presence in France through Sogécap, Antarius, Sogessur and Oradéa Vie, and in eight countries internationally, Société Générale Assurances offers a full range of products and services meeting the needs of private, professional and business customers, in life insurance, savings, retirement savings, and protection of people and property.
Drawing on the expertise of its 2,900 staff, in 2019 Société Générale Assurances turned over 15.8 billion euros, and manages 126 billion euros of customer loans and 23 million in contracts. For more information, follow us on Twitter @SG_Assurances or visit our website www.assurances.societegenerale.com.
