The level of revenues achieved last year represented an increase of 16% on 2016. Pre-tax profit for 2017 came to €187 mln, an increase of 20% on the previous 12 months.

'In 2018, we aim to generate about €900 mln in revenues, €891 mln to be precise, with around €1 bn targeted for 2020. We would note that the impact of acquiring Strutt & Parker in the UK automatically boosts our revenues to reach €950 mln,' CEO Thierry Laroue-Pont said.

He continued: 'The acquisition this year of the UK company Strutt & Parker is a compelling illustration of our international expansion. Indeed, building on our leadership positions in France and Germany, this external growth has enabled BNP Paribas Real Estate to considerably strengthen its network in the UK. Our company is now a leader of real estate services in Europe.'

Paris-based BNP Paribas Real Estate's range of services covers the real estate lifecycle: property development, transaction, consulting, valuation, property management and investment management.

The firm operates in 15 main countries and 21 other markets through alliances in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Main markets
France, BNPPRE's home market, accounted for 54% of the €811 mln of revenues in 2017. The next largest markets were Germany (24%); the UK (12%) and Italy (4%).

Real estate services - transactions, consulting, valuation, property management and investment management - generated 74% of the revenues last year. Commercial and residential real estate development made up the remainder.

Business lines
With revenues of € 112,8m, investment management saw inflows of over €3.1 bn, consisting of €1.7 bn of new cash in funds and €1.4 bn in separate accounts/mandates in 2017. At the end of the year, the division managed €27.4 bn of assets in Europe (+€3.3 bn vs. 2016), of which 75% was on behalf of institutional investors.

BNPPRE said the transaction volume for the investment management business line finished on a new record high of €4.8 bn. This was made up of €3.5 bn of acquisitions and €1.3 bn of divestments.

Property management revenues came to €98 mln in 2017. The amount of space under management increased by 6.6% to 40.5 million m² (including 56% offices and 25% logistics), 41% in France and 59% abroad.

In 2017, revenues generated by advisory activities came to €390 mln. In Transaction, six million m² of commercial property was leased or sold in Europe (of which 2 million m² in France) through 3,458 commercial property transactions. The total investment volume came in at €27.9 bn.

In Valuation, the business was predominantly in France (44%) in terms of revenues, followed by the UK (24%). The value of assets valued in the 12 countries where this business operates totalled €329 bn, representing about 124 million m². Consulting offers services including real estate advisory for occupiers (78%), project management (11%), and outsourced real estate management (11%).

Some 100,000 m² of commercial property development was completed in 2017. Among the major schemes delivered were the management centre for the PSA brands in Rueil-Malmaison (about 16,200 m²); the head office of L’Oréal’s international selective divisions at Levallois-Perret (about 59,000 m²) and the HQ of the Caisse Centrale de la Mutuelle Sociale Agricole (CCMSA) in Bobigny (about 18,500 m²).

As of 1 January 2018, 137,600 m² of offices are under construction in Europe. All told, there is over half a million m² of advanced office development.

In 2017, the residential business line generated a sales volume of more than €1.1 bn. Housing units started amounted to 2,401 homes. 6,358 units in serviced residences are under management across 53 Studélites student residences and five Hipark residences for business travellers. The residential business also delivered what it described as 'the world’s first development of smart homes', controllable from software including Apple’s Home app.

Commenting on the prospects for 2018 and beyond, Laroue-Pont said, 'More than ever, our values are enabling us to display a collective strength that allows us to outperform in what is sometimes a complex political, economic and technical environment.

'In this context, we can draw upon our DNA, that of a player encompassing six business lines for which the skillsets are complementary in terms of both geographical coverage and the lifecycle of our various activities. We can now aim to be the "best in class" on all asset types in mainland Europe and rank among the top agents in the UK. More than ever, BNP Paribas Real Estate is a committed player with a proactive CSR policy that we have laid out in our Inspire Real Estate 2020 vision.'