Socri Reim acquires the premises of the Gaumont Comédie cinema in Montpellier

Following the development of the Polygone Béziers and Polygone Riviera urban shopping complexes, the acquisition of the Galeries Lafayette stores in Béziers and Avignon, the acquisition of the Monoprix store building at Polygone Montpellier, which enabled the Maisons du Monde chain to move in, after the acquisition of the La Coupole shopping centre in Nîmes in 2021, and ahead of the restructuring of the Monaco Fontvieille shopping centre, Socri Reim has confirmed its commitment to urban retailing by acquiring the iconic building on Place de la Comédie in Montpellier. This iconic 19th-century Haussmann building, which historically housed a Galeries Lafayette department store, has since 1998 been home to a cinema owned by France’s leading Pathé Gaumont group, with 1,127 seats in 8 screen rooms, totalling around 1,800 m² over 4 floors. The largest screen room alone has space for 364 people. Socri Reim is consolidating its position as a property developer in the Mediterranean arc, specialising in city centre commercial assets, with this acquisition a hundred metres or so from its historic headquarters in the Polygone office tower in Montpellier. The Pathé Gaumont group will remain in place as a tenant. The operation was financed with the support of Crédit Agricole du Languedoc. Nicolas Chambon, Chairman of the Group, explains: “This is a natural and important acquisition for Socri Reim, which is pursuing its policy of revitalising our city centres. The city of Montpellier has a unique and special place in the history of our group. So it was only natural that we should take an interest in this takeover. We would like to thank the Gaumont Group and our financial partners for placing their trust in us”.