Strategy

Mercialys anticipated early on the polarization of retail around the dominant sites in each catchment area. Over twenty years, its portfolio has moved from 148 assets with an average value of €6.5 million to 34 Shop•Parks with an average value of €77 million (excluding transfer taxes), leaders or co-leaders in their catchment areas.

Their format is their strength: a “right size” of 50 to 150 retailers, tailored to each catchment area, and single-level buildings with no underground parking and optimized space usage, which keep occupancy costs moderate. Shop•Parks thus cover 80% of recurring household consumption.

The refocusing is also geographic: Shop•Parks are located in the most dynamic coastal and border regional metropolitan areas, both demographically and economically, in mainland France and overseas. The five-year target: more than 95% leading assets welcoming at least 3 million visitors a year, compared with 70% in 2025.

This discipline guides capital allocation. Mercialys does not buy square meters: it buys market share and future growth. Its criteria are consistent: strengthening its sites or moving into growth areas, an attractive immediate yield, consistency with the Shop•Park format and value-creation potential through its management. Since 2025, Mercialys has invested €192 million in acquisitions at an average initial yield above 8%, including the Saint-Genis 2 shopping center south of Lyon. This discipline is underpinned by a solid balance sheet: a BBB rating with a stable outlook, reaffirmed by S&P in October 2026, no debt maturing before November 2027 and nearly €400 million in undrawn credit lines.

Its projects in Brest and Niort, followed by Marseille Plan de Campagne, Grenoble, Saint-André (Reunion Island) and Dijon, represent around €100 million over 2026-2028, pre-let from nearly 50% to more than 90% depending on the project; once delivered, by end-2028, they will add more than €10 million in rental income on a full-year basis. A further €200 million is planned over 2029-2031, with a target internal rate of return of at least 10% and the flexibility to suspend or phase each project depending on the market environment.

Mercialys continuously adapts its retail offer and its sites to meet the everyday needs of as many people as possible, at affordable prices. More than 75% of the retailers in Shop•Parks follow an everyday-low-price policy, with a target of 90%, and 80% of the French public’s favorite brands are present, with the ambition of reaching 90% in the medium term.

A multi-brand food anchor is a strong conviction: Leclerc, Auchan, Intermarché, Carrefour, Grand Frais, Monoprix, Lidl and Aldi are all present in the portfolio. This unprecedented range of food retailers generates regular visits and strengthens the long-term viability of the sites.

Tenant risk is widely diversified: Mercialys aims to ensure that no sector represents more than 15% of rents and no single retailer more than 3% of rental income within five years. It is deliberately reducing its exposure to ready-to-wear, a sector undergoing consolidation. At end-2025, Intermarché was the largest tenant, accounting for 5.7% of rents. In 2025, 200 leases were signed, 10% more than in 2024.

The most sought-after retailers today, known as “top of mind”: accessible health and beauty (Normal, Adopt, Aroma-Zone), leisure and gifts (Legami, Nikito), discount (Lidl, Action) and major international brands such as Primark.

Helping retail partners anticipate consumer trends is at the heart of Mercialys’ approach. Drawing on its strong local presence, its business intelligence tools and close dialogue with its stakeholders, the Company has a detailed understanding of trends and continuously adapts its merchandising mix to the realities of each region.

It has often been ahead of the curve: pop-up stores, distinctive commercial identities, coworking spaces, digital loyalty programs and the downsizing of hypermarkets have since become industry-wide trends. In 2025, its digital drive-to-store campaigns reached a record level: 417 million views and 40 million people reached.

The ambition: to turn these trends into concrete commercial solutions, with a diverse offering that is affordable for as many people as possible and tailored to each region.

At Mercialys, financial and non-financial value creation go hand in hand, for the benefit of all stakeholders. Its strong local roots give the Company a detailed understanding of regional realities and allow it to tailor its actions on the ground.

Its ESG strategy, 4 Fair Impacts for 2030, is built on four commitments: (1) contribute to achieving carbon neutrality, (2) promote more responsible and sustainable retail, (3) strengthen its role as a key partner to local communities and (4) act as a committed employer.

In 2025, Mercialys’ greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets were scientifically validated under the SBTi Buildings sector standard. The Company has raised its decarbonization ambition, adopting a whole building approach, and now targets Net Zero by 2050. This commitment is recognized: Mercialys was reinstated on the CDP Climate “A List” in January 2026, and achieved a score of 93/100 in the GRESB 2026, its highest ever, with Green Star status for the 10th consecutive year.