In recent years, French SCPIs (Société Civile de Placement Immobilier) have been expanding their assets beyond France. An SCPI is a French collective real estate investment vehicle that allows individuals to invest in property without buying or managing buildings directly. Geographic diversification has become a core strategy for asset managers seeking returns across Europe, from logistics assets in Germany and offices in the Netherlands to healthcare real estate in Spain.
Investing in real estate outside France through an SCPI often requires opening a bank account in the country where the asset is based to collect rent, pay local service providers and suppliers, and repatriate income to the French structure.
Drawing on Ebury’s experience servicing SCPI structures with assets across Europe, this article looks at how local currency accounts, managed through a centralised view, help asset managers streamline acquisition timelines and simplify ongoing operations.
Why do SCPIs need local IBANs in every market where they operate?
An SCPI investing in real estate across Europe will often set up local legal entities in the asset countries, one Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) per asset or per country, each requiring a local account to operate within the target country’s ecosystem. A local account increases tenant comfort with transferring rent and speeds up rent collection and reconciliation.
Most banks do not have the footprint to offer local accounts in every European country. If they do, opening a local account often requires a new onboarding with the local branch of that bank, which can take months. These timelines can put cross-border asset acquisitions at risk.
How can SCPI asset managers reduce the friction of operating across jurisdictions?
A few practical steps can help managers of SCPI that operate across jurisdictions reduce friction from payments and collections:
- Centralise accounts: Set up a single platform and point of contact across jurisdictions, rather than separate banking relationships in each country. This helps reduce new account setup turnaround time, improve cash visibility, and minimise operational handling costs.
- Collect in local currency, via a local account: Allow tenants to pay rent domestically in their currency to speed up rent collection.
- Increase operational efficiency: Set up local accounts per asset to streamline reconciliation of incoming payments.
As account opening times can differ, account openings should be built into the deal timeline, treating it as a workstream from the start of the cross-border acquisition.
Client case: How did Ebury support a French SCPI expanding into Europe?
A French SCPI expanding into Southern and Eastern Europe needed local IBAN accounts to collect rent and pay counterparties in the new markets.
Ebury provided the transactional account infrastructure well within the acquisition time frame and allowed the newly set up SPV to settle payments in-market in line with the asset manager’s acquisition schedule.
European diversification is an opportunity for French SCPIs to boost returns and diversify risk. Managing assets across Europe leads to increased operational complexity in treasury and financial administration. By working with the right partner, they can manage this operational complexity more efficiently and meet acquisition timelines.
Let's start a conversation
Get in touch with our experts to discuss your SCPIs needs and how Ebury can help, or visit our Institutions page to learn more.
Disclaimer
Ebury Partners Belgium NV/SA is authorised and regulated by the National Bank of Belgium as a Payment Institution under the Act of 11 March 2018, registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under number 0681.746.187 (France branch registration: 850208992). EBURY and EBURY What Borders? are trademarks. Products and services described in this document may not be available in all jurisdictions or from all Ebury entities; availability depends on the entity’s regulatory permissions and applicable local laws. Clients will be onboarded and serviced by the relevant Ebury entity, depending on the product or service, applicable regulatory requirements, and the entity's regulatory permissions.
