Immobilier d’entreprise

Business properties A good investment in Provence

You might think that these tough economic times with lockdowns and the spread of teleworking must have hit the commercial property sector hard. In fact it’s doing rather well in our region.

Par Maurice Gouiran

There have always been advantages to working in the commercial and industrial property market. It offers profitability and the certainty of many years of passive revenues from rents based on long-term leases.
Philippe Stefanini, chief executive of Provence Promotion, makes a reassuring assessment of the 2020 situation in Bouches-du-Rhône. Warehouse rentals were on a par with 2019 (220,000m²), industrial premises showed 14% growth, and office premises, impacted by teleworking, held up well in the Marseille-Aix region with a drop of only 7%. That compares well with the 40% drop in some other big cities. So business real estate is still a safe haven in our region. That was borne out at the MIPIM event in Cannes in September, where Provence Promotion was advertising about 40 business parks in Bouches-du-Rhône, each with at least 10ha available. They included service sector developments like Euroméditerranée and La Duranne, the logistics hubs at Saint-Martin-de-Crau and Fos and industry parks at Marignane Floride and Fos. This year Provence Promotion has also added to its catalogue a selection of warehouse, workshop and office buildings that will be ready to occupy in 2022-2024. With innovative places like these and its exceptional quality of life, Bouches-du-Rhône is as attractive as ever, especially for foreign firms. Provence Promotion notes that 45% of the 65 firms that set up in 2020 were foreign ones, accounting for 48% of the 1360 jobs created by new businesses.