Nemea invests in modular dwellings - Business Newspaper - New Aquitaine

Location, location, location. This is undoubtedly one of the secrets of the continuous growth of the Nemea group, which has been managing tourist residences in France since 1994. From Mérignac (Gironde), it manages 95 properties for vacationers, students and workers alike. And judging by the stack of cases piling up on the desk of its creator, Pascal Recorbet, there's not enough room for development.

Pascal Recorbe

Pascal Recorbe, the former "good organizer" of Club Med, who has worked his way through various companies in the sale and management of tourist residences, now heads a group of 500-600 employees (depending on the season), which in 2022 a turnover of 90 million euros. "One day a developer who had a La Soulane residence in Ludanvielle, in the Pyrenees, asked me if I could commercialize and manage it. I said yes, and Nemea started working that way," he recounts.

The rental income company, of course, started small, with more structural costs than the number of apartments rented. But it has quietly but surely taken a firm place in the chain of programs: as a property manager who selects a developer's project, presents the developer with specifications on the layout or necessary equipment for the agreement, and liaises with the owners throughout the term of the lease. All this happens under the strict control of investors, both individuals and funds, who expect regular returns.

Precisely to reassure them, as well as to ensure long-term sustainability, the self-starter has carried out three reorganizations of its capital in ten years - in 2013, 2018 and 2023 - and has brought in banks BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole. In the latest operation in February this year, a subsidiary of Banque Populaire Ouest Croissance joined them. Pascal Recorbe also took advantage of this to bring in several partners and increase his stake from 57% to 67%. "The presence of banks in the capital is reassuring. In these challenging times, it's good to look like a trustworthy company, especially when we are providing services and paying rent to our investors." To prove it: between 2017 and 2022, the group's cash rose from €19 million to €38 million.

Diversity of the portfolio

This "favorable environment," as its founder describes it, Nemea itself created with one ambition: to diversify its portfolio. It currently manages 38 tourist residences, 15 hotels and 42 student residences. "Even though tourism is part of our DNA, the business remains the same regardless of the type of facility.

"Currently, demand is focused on student and business housing, here there are fewer risks and very high demand. Commercialization of the tourism product is more difficult because the cost of acquisition is higher." Mentioning perceived barriers to land release and a tight housing market, CEO Nemea says he opens three to six residences each year and has programs signed through 2026. "In 2024 we will have La Rochelle, Pessac, Montpellier and Clichy in student, business and mixed format. In 2025, Ivry, Merignac and Nice, among others." There are three projects in 2023, including two - mixed housing in Amiens and a student residence in Rouen - opened in September.

The diversity of its portfolio is valued by Nemea as much as the diversity of offers within its residences, a model the group wants to emphasize in order to "have a wider clientele depending on the seasons, making it easier to fill the residences." In August 2022, it opened a luxury hotel next to Nice Airport for the first time. It is a 119-room establishment with both simple rooms and two-bedroom suites for four people. "We can open and close equipped kitchens in the rooms, this allows us to offer different products within the same concept and adapt the structure to different clients." Of course, with the offer of differentiated services (two pools, one of which is on the roof, Jacuzzi, sauna...) to "establish loyalty". This entrance to the four-star hotel will not be the only one, "two more projects will be realized in two years," assures Pascal Recorbe, without naming the location.

Development strategy

In the medium term, Nemea's development strategy is clear: "to continue to develop our three main areas - business, student and tourism. We are also working on improving service levels in the business side, where we earn a little more than in other areas," adds the CEO. The Group also enjoys the popularity of other types of products such as shared accommodation, always in a bid to develop a full range of offers and attract a mobile clientele, adapting to the needs of a public increasingly attracted by the possibility of multiple short and sudden trips.

Nemea, which also renovates an average of three residences a year to be on trend, is already working on a new direction for its development: exporting its model, currently exclusively national, to neighboring countries. Belgium, Spain and Portugal are the first mentioned, and the residences offered for business travel, hotels and students are sought-after offerings. "We are also looking at an offer in Romania. We are working with developers, partners to explore the possibility of commercializing apartments as in France, that is, to ensure a triple collaboration between the developer, the merchant and the manager. I would imagine we will develop this within two to three years, unless we find a residence with a building permit already approved." What may be the case, "small developers experiencing difficulties are beginning to abandon the permits they have managed to obtain in favor of larger and more stable developers," concludes Pascal Recorbe. And adds, convinced, "but there are still many places in France where we can develop!" Nemea aims for 40-45 thousand beds and a turnover of 120 million euros by 2025.