FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Mercier, Myriam Mejdoubi and Gabriel Dalarun, DLA Piper France LLP
4.7 Enforcement of Restrictions on Development and Designated Use See 4.3 Regulatory Authorities and 4.5 Right of Appeal against an Authority’s Decision. 5. Investment Vehicles 5.1 Types of Entities Available to Investors to Hold Real Estate Assets The types of corporate vehicle are as follows: • SCI ( société civile immobilière ) – real estate civil company; • SNC ( société en nom collectif ) – partnership; • SARL ( société à responsabilité limitée ) – lim - ited liability company; • SA ( société anonyme ) – stock corporation; • SAS ( société par action simplifiée ) – simplified stock corporation; • SCPI ( société civile de placement immobilier ) – real estate civil investment company; and • SIIC ( société d’investissement immobilier cotée ) – listed real estate investment com - pany. 5.2 Main Features and Tax Implications of the Constitution of Each Type of Entity SCI An SCI is a real estate civil company. Its share - holders are liable indefinitely for the debts of the company in proportion to the shares they hold in its share capital. SNC This is a commercial partnership whose partners are deemed to be businesspersons (commer- çants ) who are jointly and severally liable for any debts.
SARL A SARL is a limited liability company in which shareholder liability is limited to the amount of their investment. SA An SA is a stock corporation in which the capital is divided into stocks, and the shareholder liabil - ity is limited to the amount of their investment. SAS An SAS is a simplified stock corporation and may be formed by a private individual or a cor - poration as a sole shareholder. As with an SA, shareholder liability is limited to the amount of their investment. SCPI An SCPI is a real estate civil investment compa - ny, the purpose of which is to acquire and hold rental property. These companies are entitled to sell their shares to the public as soon as the total value of the shares held by the founding share - holders is at least equal to the minimum share capital amount, and if they provide evidence that a bank guarantee is in place, as approved by the French stock market regulator ( Autorité des Mar- chés Financiers ). At least 15% of the share capi - tal must have been issued to the public within one year of the initial public offering. SIIC An SIIC is a listed real estate investment compa - ny that allows for special tax exemption arrange - ments – the main purpose of which is to acquire or build property for rental purposes – or directly or indirectly owns stakes in legal entities with identical corporate purposes legally classified as partnerships or subject to corporate income tax.
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