Our History
A family business history dating back to 1970
1970 – 1988 | The origins: starting up and developing a profitable business
The origins of the Batipart family-owned group lie in the restructuring of housing belonging to the Lorraine steel industry. The gradual separation of “industrial” steelmaking activities from “social” activities gave rise to a genuine real estate business, under the control of Immobilière Thionvilloise.
For more than 15 years, Charles Ruggieri was in charge of a sector that had become profitable within a shrinking industry. The aim was to manage, modernize and embellish this real estate portfolio. In October 1983, Immobilière Thionvilloise became Batibail. In 1985, the French steel industry experienced the highest deficits in its history, which ultimately led to the decision to sell off the real estate arm. Charles Ruggieri began looking for investors.
1988 – 1999 | Structuring and becoming independent
In 1987, Batibail is listed on the Nancy stock exchange. In 1988, Batigère-Participations (Batipart) is created to collect profit-sharing from employees.
For more than 10 years and throughout the real estate crisis of the 1990s, and under the leadership of Charles Ruggieri, Batibail pursued a strategy of diversification and restructuring, which led in 1999 to the merger of the two real estate companies, Batibail and Gecina. Once this operation was completed, the gradual sale of Gecina shares held by Batipart enabled the Group to redevelop in new businesses and to support the development of a new company, Foncière des Régions.
At the same time, the Ruggieri family is restructuring the capital of its shareholding by buying out minority shareholders or offering them Foncière des Régions shares in exchange for Batipart shares.
1999 – 2007 | Scaling up and growing despite the crisis: the birth of a family project
This phase was marked by a real change of scale for the family-owned group, with internationalization and the completion of numerous sale and lease back operations with the support of international financial partners. Batipart became a pioneer in this type of transaction in France and Europe.
After successive acquisitions and capital increases, Foncière des Régions’ portfolio is experiencing very strong growth. The group is structured with the arrival of external skills, complemented by the entry into the group of Julien and Nicolas Ruggieri. At the same time, Batipart diversifies into the healthcare sector with the development of a group of nursing homes, later to become the Korian group.
Claire Ruggieri joined Batipart in 2006, taking the company a step further by structuring the split of missions between Batipart, professional arm and the family holding company, the philanthropic activities. The Family Charter, signed the same year, sets out the values that the Ruggieri family intends to uphold throughout its history. The fundamentals of the family project were laid down and will guide subsequent developments.
In 2007, the Juniclair Foundation was created, along the lines of an association and an endowment fund. The project is led by Marianne Ruggieri: the five family members are now an integral part of the Group’s governance.
Since 2007 | Diversifying and going international
The financial crisis of 2008 impacted the company due to the sharp drop in the value of Korian and Foncière des Régions shares. In November 2010, Batipart sold its stake in Foncière des Régions (renamed Covivio in 2018), now a leading European group with over €20 billion of real estate assets under management.
The sale of Foncière des Régions provided Batipart with new financial resources and enabled it to orga nize the buyout of Eurosic in June 2011. With the contribution of its new shareholders and manage ment team, Eurosic continues to grow significantly and becomes a leading real estate company.
At the same time, the Korian-Médica merger created a genuine European leader in nursing homes and doubled the size of Batipart’s stake, the group reached maturity and Batipart sold its stake in 2016.
After six years of sustained growth, during which its portfolio of assets grew from €1 billion to over €7 billion, Eurosic was sold to Gecina in 2017. This new transaction enables Batipart to write a new chapter in its history.
Major focuses are chosen, including internationalization (with the development of Onomo in Africa and Cogir in Canada, for example) and diversification, with breakthroughs in the hotel, tourism and retail sectors.
Four investment theses inherited from the family’s history
Familial prism
Entrepreneurial dimension
Partnership mindset