AXA IM Alts enters studio sector with Bry-sur-Marne film & series studios acquisitions

AXA IM Alts has acquired a 12-hectare (29.7-acre) land plot in Bry-sur-Marne and Villiers-sur- Marne, Paris from Nexity.

The site includes one of France’s largest film and series studios. The transaction represents AXA IM Alts’ first in the fast-growing studio sector, where rapid growth in demand for original content from broadcasters and streaming services, as well as continued demand for feature film content, is underpinning increasing global demand for purpose-built studio space.

Bry-sur-Marne studios now provides about 5,600 square meters (60,278 square feet) of studio space across eight stages, ranging from 300 square meters (3,229 square feet) to 1,100  square meters (11,840 square feet), in addition to extensive production accommodation of 20,000  square meters (215,278 square feet) comprising workshops, offices, assembling sets and costume and artist dressing rooms. The studios will be managed by Guillaume de Menthon, who was the president of Telfrance, one of France's leading fiction production groups.

AXA IM Alts plans to undertake a significant development program across the site, which will more than double the production capacity and make it one of the largest studios in Continental Europe.

Located about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) east of Paris, Bry-sur-Marne studios, benefits from its proximity to both Orly and Charles de Gaulle international airports.

“This was a rare opportunity to acquire one of the largest studios in France, close to Paris’ city center, with good infrastructure and the option to extend the premises to meet rapidly growing demand,” said John O’Driscoll, global co-head of real estate AXA IM Alts. “The investment also aligns with our purpose to deliver long-term value to clients. Consolidated sites such as Bry-sur-Marne, which can house the entire content production ecosystem, are essential in accelerating the decarbonization of the film industry. We have ambitions to significantly scale our studios real estate platform.”