Hello, and welcome to Gecina Q1 2026 Activity Conference Call. For the first part of the conference call, the participants will be in listen-only mode. During the questions- and- answers session, participants are able to ask questions by dialing pound key five on their telephone keypad. Today, we have Beñat Ortega, CEO, and Nicolas Dutreuil, Deputy CEO in Charge of Finance, as our presenters. I will now hand you over to your host, Beñat Ortega, to begin today's conference. Thank you.
Good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to share an update of the execution of our strategy today. One word to begin with on rental income. Our rental income increased in Q1 on a like-for-like basis of 2.3% to EUR 176 million. This again shows our ability to outperform indexation, supported by rental uplifts and a consistently high level of occupancy. As expected, indexation is decelerating, reflecting the slowdown in inflation and construction costs in France last year, with the usual lag effects embedded in our leases. On a current basis, rental income reflects the impact of the significant disposals executed last year, as we recycled mature capital from residential assets into higher-yielding opportunities in the office segment. Occupancy remains high and broadly stable year-on-year, with more than solid activity in Paris and an acceleration of our residential occupancy.
The temporary increase in vacancy in Boulogne reflects the time required to re-lease surfaces vacated following lease maturities last year. We have signed several leases in Boulogne during Q1, and public transport will improve significantly with the upcoming arrival of a new metro ring line next year after some delays. Turning now to leasing activity. We started 2026 with a solid leasing momentum. It's been 23,000 sq m signed between January and March, securing EUR 80 million of annual rent on an average lease maturity of around seven years. Around one-third of this performance relates to renewals, illustrating our ability to anticipate lease maturities and secure occupancy ahead of time, while the remaining two-thirds come from new clients, reflecting continued business developments. The development of our fully managed offices is also progressing very well.
These represent more than 16,000 sq m and EUR 16 million of annual rents, marking a 33% increase compared to the figures we shared at the end of 2025. We are convinced there is a strong demand for high-quality, well-designed spaces offering more services and greater visibility, and we will continue the rollout of our full service business in the next quarters. On the residential side, leasing dynamics are also positive, with 335 leases signed, up 12% on a like-for-like basis. This confirms both the strength of our operating housing platform and the relevance of our diversified offering. Let me now spend the time on the pipeline. We continue to see a lively activity and interest across all our developments, and that includes also T1 Tower, now named Shape. Discussions are active and well-qualified, involving a diversified mix of large corporates as well as midsize or smaller tenants.
On several assets, we are running parallel expression of interests and discussions, which is a positive sign for demand depth. 60% of Signature, the first asset to be delivered end of 2026, is now secured, including a landmark deal with the global real estate expert JLL on almost 7,000 sq m and ongoing negotiations are occurring on several other floors. As you would expect, discussions are at different stages of maturity. For assets with later delivery dates, conversations are naturally at early stage, while visibility and conversion tend to improve as construction progresses and projects become more tangible for tenants. Lastly, portfolio rotation continued in 2026. The EUR 200 million disposals at a 3.5% yield announced at the full year are now fully completed. In addition, we have secured a further EUR 50 million of disposals at a 2.2% yield, reflecting the quality and maturity of the assets sold.
These proceeds will fund the EUR 265 million of development CapEx currently being invested in the four large flagship projects you are familiar with, targeting double-digit yields on CapEx. It clearly illustrates the value creation embedded in our capital recycling strategy. The repositioning of T1 is also progressing as planned. The tenant has moved, allowing us to start works early May, around 15 months ahead of lease expiry, while securing rental income until June 2027, and therefore meaningfully reducing the expected void period during renovation. Overall, these actions are fully aligned with our core objective of improving returns for shareholders while preserving a resilient and future-proof leverage profile. We remain disciplined and pragmatic in our capital allocation, continuously assessing all options with no taboo. One last word before turning to your questions.
Based on the performance we have seen so far and our current visibility, we confirm with confidence the guidance we have already shared with recurring net income expected in the range of EUR 6.7-EUR 6.75 per share. Thank you.
If you wish to ask a question, please dial pound key five on your telephone keypad. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial pound key six. The next question comes from Florent Laroche-Joubert from ODDO BHF. Please go ahead.
Yes. Good morning, Beñat. Thanks for this presentation. I would have maybe two questions. The first one on the leasing side. We understand that you have several discussions in progress, and you are confident about the leasing of your development project and then prime assets. What about Boulogne? We have seen that vacancy has still increased this quarter. Do you think that now we have touched a low point? When do you think that Boulogne can be positive in terms of leasing activity and in terms of occupancy for Gecina?
Yeah. On Boulogne, I think we are close to the low point, obviously. We are releasing progressively the square meter we have available. We have three buildings there. We have signed, as I said, several leases already in Q1. I think leasing is in progress. We should improve progressively the situation. As I mentioned, we are expecting the metro line for three years now. The train station is finalized and should open probably late this year or early next year, and I think it will improve significantly the attractivity of that area.
Maybe we can expect more positive to come from Boulogne or neutral opportunities?
Yeah, it will progressively ramp up. Yeah.
Okay. That's good. Maybe, yes, second question on share buyback. We understand that maybe you are today more open for share buyback. How would you like to include it in your allocation policy? Maybe at what share price could be interesting for you to look at share buyback, according to the current market condition on the recent data?
I would not say we are more open or less open. Like we mentioned in the earlier calls, we have a triangle approach on capital allocation. Obviously, it starts from disposals. It needs to be in line with the objectives we have for the balance sheet. Once we have the cash, we need to assess which is the best options. Obviously, and the best options depend on opportunities on the market and the share price, and therefore always linked to the cost of capital and the best use of the capital. That's why we said, with no taboos, we will find the best options based on those three elements, which is balance sheets, disposals, and then use of proceeds.
Okay. Thank you very much.
The next question comes from Valerie Jacob from Bernstein. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good morning. I'll just have some follow-up questions from the question that was just asked. Maybe on the vacancy, how do you see your vacancy rates evolving during the year? Do you think that in the office market, do you think you would go back up to where it was, or do you think it will stay here or deteriorate? If you could give us some guidance on how do you see this evolving, that would be helpful. Thank you.
Yes. Thank you, Valerie, for your question. As I always said, vacancy can fluctuate from a quarter to another around the figures we post in average. This quarter, it was slightly down on the office. At the same time, you might have seen that it was significantly up on the resi. I would not read across one quarter figure to determine what should be for the full year. That's a bit the situation. Like you saw, office CBD, which was a big question on the market following ImmoStat news. We grew a lot our rent in Paris. We grew occupancy. Reversionary was significantly higher than last year. Again, 18% reversion or uplift in average for Q1, I will not draw a line saying that it's annual figure.
I think it was excellent in Paris, a bit tougher in Boulogne, but big picture, and we grew more than 1% our like-for-like above inflation. Big picture, I think it was a positive quarter, and on long-term vacancy, I think it will improve over time, fluctuating, obviously, from a quarter to another.
Okay. Thank you. Maybe also, a follow-up on the share buyback. I understand that you said if you dispose of some assets, you have all options. Maybe, do you have any sort of financial metrics to share with us on how you want to invest at sort of 7%, and if you don't, then below this level, you think that share buyback will be more accretive? Maybe just if you can share. You know, some numbers on how you think about it.
Sure. I think the metric which is important is keeping our LTV where it is. That's really our DNA. I think we don't want to buy growth with debt these days. I think the market is uncertain. Rates are pretty high this time. I think keeping our A- rating is clearly a clear line for us in terms of strategy. That being said, we calculate our cost of capital based on the current share price. We look at potential acquisition and what they can deliver and assess, which is the best option, like I said. Based on the stable LTV, at EUR 70 or EUR 80 per share, the equilibrium is around a 6.57% acquisition. That's a bit, basically the metrics with the same LTV. Have in mind that the equivalent to buy EUR 100 million of assets, it's EUR 70 million share buyback to keep the same LTV.
That makes a bit the metrics flying on both cases.
Okay. That's clear. Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
The next question comes from Benjamin Legrand from Kepler. Please go ahead.
Yes. Can you hear me?
Yes.
Yeah. Good morning. Thanks for the presentation. I just had, one more time, a question about Boulogne, more for 2027. If you do expect some big tenant to be leaving at that time or not?
No, in 2027, no major expiring in Boulogne. Have in mind that, over the last three or four years, four of our five assets have been vacated, and we have been capable, in fact, to release almost full Horizon Tower, 70% of Sources, and probably we have released or renewed half of City Life. Obviously it's a challenging area, but we see a decent leasing activity on the ground in Boulogne. That's why I was commenting about the ramp up after those departures from 2022- 2025.
Okay. Thank you. If I may ask a second question, you are mentioning 6.5%-7% acquisition would be interesting for you instead of share buybacks. I was just wondering if you could add more colors about the investment market today, if you see that kind of potential acquisition coming onto your table at the moment, or if the market is pretty muted or not. Yeah, if you could add some colors.
Yeah, sure. The investment market is pretty complex to read, especially after the rate increase, after the Iran war. It plays two roles. Obviously, more complex to sell at tight yields, and at the same time, it gives more room for maneuver to buy assets. I would say, as long as we can continue to dispose at decent prices, obviously it gives more opportunities to buy on the right locations, the right assets, to generate growth in the future. The investment market is pretty quiet as of now, more than that.
Are sellers willing to be selling at 6.5% at the moment, or do they prefer to just keep the assets for now?
No. In fact, the best assets, well-restructured, trade at significant lower yields. Some deals were even occurring during Q1 below 4% yields. This is not the type of assets we try to buy. We try to buy complex situations where our integrated platform can generate better growth than other players. Typically where there is development risk or leasing risk or the capacity to generate better rents through our fully serviced office business. We tend to be an operator instead of just an investor, and that's where there might be a gap between what can generate a passive investor and what we can generate. That's typically what we did on Signature, on the Rocher-Vienne acquisition.
There was clearly a difference in the underwriting assumptions between what we did and what basically we are delivering, and we are delivering over budget, especially in terms of rents, and what a passive investor can generate. That's those frictions where we play our role.
Thank you very much.
You know-
The next question comes from Véronique Meertens from Van Lanschot Kempen. Please go ahead.
Hey, good morning all. Thank you for taking my questions. I wanted to focus a bit on the resi bit. Obviously, a very strong performance, +7.5%. Could you give some additional color on the exact drivers? Is that mainly coming from those transformations and the service product, or do you see a strong performance in the resi segment in general? Also, again, some disposals in that market. How are those discussions going? Do you see more potential there, and who are the buyers there at the moment?
Two questions in one. We commented on last year, the fact that we were significantly transforming the way to operate our resi platform. Coming from really traditional resi, where it was just a flat by flat leasing, no furniture, no service, and so on, where we have transformed our business model towards different kind of offerings in the same building with services on top. That each square meter has the best profitability. Each time a flat is vacated, we try to find the best way to maximize shareholder value. Therefore, sometimes it can be co-living, so we split into several rooms. We provide services to students, and then we lease up the rents. Sometimes it's just furnishing the flats. Sometimes it's B2B deals with, I don't know, expats or embassies. Each time, for one flat, we try to find the best solution.
Obviously, it's more management intensive, so we have to change our processes, our teams, our concierge, and so on, to be capable to address this more premium and valuable clientele. That's starting to pay off. With an improved occupancy and also more regular uplifts, because those tenants tend to rotate faster, and we can capture better growth. More generally speaking, in terms of resi, in terms of leasing, we are not really a free proxy of the market. Our portfolio is 80% in Paris. Everything is next to Paris, so obviously we have a high-end clientele, international clientele, with affluent people. Therefore, the role we have is to try to offer them services that they can't find elsewhere. Fitnesses, co-working places, laundries, experience homes that they can't find in that super fragmented living space in Paris.
Paris is mainly owned by individuals owning one flat, and we can provide something really different. That's a different situation against other cities where you find more institutional investors which are delivering those projects. We make the difference with the fact that we own large buildings, and we can offer services they can't find in the, let's say, general market. In terms of disposals, the disposal activity, a bit like in offices, is pretty quiet. We have found different type of investors willing to buy some residential assets last year. When we continue this year, it can be pension funds, it can be insurance companies, it can be state-owned entities, which are willing to expand their living platform. We see decent appetite on the living as a whole. Beds and sheds looks attractive these days.
We need to find the guys which are willing for the most prime location, willing to pay for the decent price.
Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. Maybe one additional question on the resi. Looking at your credit rating, does S&P take into account that you have sort of like a diversified portfolio? In other words, could it have an impact on selling more resi towards your credit rating, or is that not an issue at all?
The credit rating is obviously a series of combined objectives between the liquidity on the bond market, additional undrawn credit lines that we are providing future liquidity. It's also LTV, it's also ICR, which is excellent for us. It's also the quality of the portfolio we own, both resi, that plays a role, but also the prominence of our office portfolio and the liquidity of the assets. That shows that we have capacity, in fact, to manage those credit objectives. It's really the combination of all that resi with its stability and growth that you can see obviously plays a role, but it's in a general equilibrium that we try to keep. Everybody has in mind the 40% LTV, but it's more than that. It's also liquidity on the debt side, liquidity on the asset side, and asset quality.
Okay. You don't per se foresee an issue if you were to sell more resi, that S&P could look at you differently?
Not specifically if we do it well on all the other criteria.
Okay, that's clear. Thank you.
The next question comes from Ana Escalante from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good morning. I have a question regarding your target yields for acquisitions and marginal CapEx. I just wondered whether you are thinking about headline rents or you are thinking about cash returns. Because as we have seen, incentives in Paris are quite high, particularly in the peripheral areas, but in central Paris, above 15%. So my question is how you look at these returns, right? How do they look on a cash perspective, rather than on headline rents?
When you look at our Signature acquisition, the incentives are pretty low, and rents are probably 20% higher than what we expected. I think we have shown through that acquisition that we are careful in our underwriting, and we can generate decent returns on what we buy.
What your Gaia-
Return on CapEx are higher than double digits, so they are significantly above 10% return on CapEx.
In terms of cash returns, both on acquisitions and CapEx, what are your hurdle rates, more or less?
I will rephrase what I said earlier. I just said that, because one of your colleagues asked me the question, at between EUR 70-EUR 80 per share, the equivalent to 6.57% return, cash flow return. That's a bit what we try to achieve.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay. Clear. Thank you.
Yeah, you're welcome.
The next question comes from Francesca Ferragina from ING. Please go ahead.
Yes. Good morning, everybody. Many thanks for taking my question. Still another little question on the investment. There is a pretty sizable portfolio coming to the market in Brussels, the one spun out from a division of Cofinimmo. What's your view on the merger market, and do you have a knowledge of this portfolio? Thank you.
You are referring from about the office portfolio of Cofinimmo?
Yeah.
I think, yeah, we are mainly a large capital city operator. What we like is diversified leasing base, strong and profound leasing market, which is probably not a pure definition of the Brussels market. Very happy to be in Paris, like you saw. That's the way for us to generate growth is, especially the diversity of the tenant base we have, and the performance of our leasing markets.
Okay.
There are no more questions at this time. I hand the conference back to Beñat Ortega for any closing comments.
Thank you all for listening to the call, for your questions, and see you during the next quarters. Bye-bye.