Eiffage JV signs €7bn Armed Forces deal

A joint venture partnership of Eiffage and Arcade Vyv has signed a €7 billion agreement with the French government to manage the country’s Armed Forces housing stock for 35 years.

Signing ceremony for the Amition Logement programme

The companies will work together under the consortium name Nové, on the Ambition Logement (Housing Ambition) programme, which will ultimately include the construction of some 15,000 new housing units.

Initially, Nové will be responsible for improving the housing stock’s energy performance with the renovation of almost 8,000 housing units, and for expanding it, through the construction of around 3,000 new-build houses across 55 sites. These projects will be realised during the first years of the contract.

In a press release, Eiffage said financing for the programme will partly come from Nové shareholders’ equity capital and a €1.3 billion loan, subscribed by Nové, from the European Investment Bank (€474 million).

Additional funding will come from the EPFP military pension fund and a pool of ten commercial banks.

The Ministry of the Armed Forces in France said, “The main challenge of the Ambition Housing Plan is to increase the number and quality of housing for Ministry of the Armed Forces personnel and their families. It is also a question of offering future tenants an exemplary quality of service during the 35 years of the contract.”