Our business model: from rent to dividend

Mercialys is a retail real estate company: it holds, manages and transforms Shop•Park sites, on its own behalf and for third parties. Its business model can be summed up as a chain: the rents paid by retailers, less controlled costs and the cost of debt, make up net recurrent earnings, most of which is returned to shareholders each year as a dividend.

This model is based on a low-price offering, which attracts regular visits, and on cost-efficient management.

From rent to dividend

In 2025, each step in this chain can be seen in Mercialys’ financial statements.

From rent to dividend: 2025 financial year figures
2025 financial year	Amount
Rental revenues	€180.6 million
Net rental income	€170.5 million
EBITDA	€148.9 million
Net recurrent earnings	€117.5 million
Dividend	€93.9 million

Rents grow through indexation, through the reversion achieved on renewals and relettings, and through actions carried out on the portfolio. In 2025, organic growth in invoiced rents reached 2.8%, with reversion of 2.2% on leases signed. Reversion and indexation form a dual growth model, which ensures sustainable revenue growth through the cycles.

From rents to earnings: net rental income is rental revenues less the service charges and property taxes not rebilled to retailers; EBITDA then deducts operating costs, net of management income. It represents 82.4% of rental revenues in 2025, and 82.7% in the first half of 2026. After financial expenses, net recurrent earnings (NRE) came to €117.5 million in 2025, or €1.26 per share, up 3.9%.

The dividend: Mercialys pays out around 80% of its NRE, i.e. €1.00 per share for 2025, €93.9 million in total (see the Dividend page).

Low prices, sustainable rents

The model is based on low-price positioning: 76% of the retailers at Shop•Park sites apply a permanent low-price policy (Everyday-low-price), with a target of 90%. This offering attracts regular visits, which support retailers’ sales: in 2025, footfall at the sites rose by 3.9% and retailer sales by 2.6%, i.e. 300 and 280 basis points respectively above the national benchmarks.

Solid sales make rents sustainable. The retailers’ occupancy cost ratio, the share of their sales devoted to rent, charges and rebilled works (excluding large food stores), stood at 11.1% at end-June 2026, one of the lowest in the listed sector. While preserving retailers’ financial health, it leaves Mercialys significant reversion potential and supports occupancy at the sites: the current financial vacancy rate was 1.8% at September 30, 2026.

Cost-efficient management

The Shop•Park format offers the economic efficiency and effectively controlled costs of a retail park, and Mercialys keeps its operating expenses under control: the EBITDA margin improved by 70 basis points year on year in the first half of 2026. An artificial intelligence program targets a 5% reduction in operating expenses over the medium term; ten processes have already been automated.

The third-party management platform ImocomPartners (€650 million in assets under management) complements rents with management income, without tying up Mercialys’ balance sheet.