8.1 SIGNIFICANT EXISTING OR PLANNED PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
As of December 31, 2014, the Group owned property, plant and equipment with a value of approximately €8,006 million. The Group’s telecommunications network represented most of the total value of its property, plant and equipment. For detailed information on the Group’s network, see Section 6.6 “Group network” of this Registration Document.
The Group leases some of its property, plant and equipment, particularly certain buildings and telecommunications network infrastructure.
Property, plant and equipment owned or leased by the Group consist primarily of the following. 8.1.1 Tertiary and mixed-use sites
SFR Group
SFR Group owns or leases, directly or indirectly, 11 tertiary sites throughout mainland France, mainly in regional cities (Saint Herblain, Toulouse, Rennes, Lyon Saint Priest, Lyon Bron, Metz Territoire de Borny, Aix le Sulky, Bordeaux lac, Marseille, Vénissieux, Vélizy). These are office buildings, sometimes with adjacent technical facilities (in which case the site is referred to as “mixed-use”), ranging in size from 2,500 and 11,000 m² and altogether totaling around 70,000 m² (excluding the technical facility at the Vénissieux site).
SFR Group also leases 18 other tertiary sites representing a total surface area of 214,000 m², through commercial leases entered into under normal market conditions. These sites include, in particular: - the Group’s headquarters (“SFR Campus”) at Saint-Denis, divided into two lots representing a total useful area of 125,701 m². The freehold to the site was held by four companies, jointly owned by SFR Group and Vinci Immobilier. One of the two lots was sold on April 4, 2014 to SCI Campus Medicis St Denis for €372 million excluding tax. The other was sold off-plan to SCI Campus Rimbaud St Denis for €308 million excluding tax. This site is leased to SFR under four leases:
(i) two leases with a fixed term of 11 years and 9 months which took effect on December 4, 2013, corresponding to the first lot and representing an area of 61,474 m²;
(ii) two off-plan leases with a fixed term of 11 years and 9 months, due to take effect in November 2015, corresponding to the second lot and representing an area of 51,394 m². This site will accommodate staff transferred from the tertiary sites currently leased in Meudon and Nanterre; - mixed-used sites in Courbevoie and Strasbourg (totaling around 55,145 m²) and office premises in Massy, Gentilly, Lille Republic, Efixo Marseille and Grenoble (totaling around 18,149 m²), representing a total surface area of approximately 73,294 m².
Numericable Group
Numericable Group occupies administrative buildings and offices for the Group’s administrative and commercial needs, comprising 64 sites with a total surface area of 29,100 m², primarily in France. The Group owns the registered office of Ypso France SAS, Numericable and NC Numericable, located in Champs-sur-Marne (Paris-Ile de France). The main sites held under commercial leases are Béla Bartok (where the Company has its headquarters), Champs-sur-Marne, Isneauville and Limonest. The Company’s registered office is now at 1 square Béla Bartok, 75015 Paris, following the relocation from its former headquarters at La Défense (notice given by Completel on September 30, 2014). The Béla Bartok lease was signed on April 9, 2001 for a term of three, six or nine years with effect from January 1, 2001.
8.1.2 Technical sites SFR Group
The technical sites of SFR Group are classified in three categories: - Mobile switching centers (“MSC”);
- Radio sites: transmitting/receiving sites with transmitting/receiving antennas; and - fiber optic exchanges.
SFR Group owns around 50 MSC buildings, mainly in Trappes, Valenton, Mitry Mory, Toulouse, Lyon Bron, Saint Herblain and Corbas.
Radio sites consist of about 20,000 sites of various types (existing buildings, undeveloped land, water towers and pylons). Of these, 2,000 are leased to major groups under the terms of leases concluded under framework agreements. The main framework agreements are with the TDF Group, Accord and the SNCF.
Fiber optic exchanges primarily include small local optical connection nodes, which are a priority acquisition for the Group.
Numericable Group
Numericable Group assets consist of land, buildings and telecommunications network infrastructure. The Group owns the optical fiber and coaxial cables of its network, as well as its equipment, head- ends, nodes, switches, connection equipment and certain other parts of the access network, including the long-distance backbone network. The main technical sites of NC Numericable/Completel are located in Palaiseau, Marseilles and Nanterre. The cable infrastructure (such as ducts and pylons) is owned by the Group or Orange, in which case Orange makes them available to the Group under long- term indefeasible rights of use (IRU) entered into with Orange (see Section 6.6 “Group network”). 8.1.3 Commercial sites and premises
SFR Group
The Group SFR holds more than 800 commercial leases for its stores located throughout France. Numericable Group
Numericable Group owns or leases 63 stores and warehouses, representing a total sales area of 11,500 m².
8.1.4 Furniture and equipment
The Group’s assets also include movable assets, computer equipment and servers, particularly set-top boxes and other digital terminals and equipment installed on the premises of the Group’s subscribers, of which the Group retains ownership and which must be returned to the Group at the end of the subscription.
The Group believes that the usage rate of its property, plant and equipment is consistent with its activity and projected growth, as well as with its current and planned investments.
As of the date of this Registration Document, the Group’s planned property, plant and equipment correspond to the investments in progress and the planned investments presented in Section 5.2.2 “Current and future investments.”
8.2 ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
In view of its activities and its current property, plant and equipment, the Group believes that there are no environmental factors likely to have a significant impact on the use of its property, plant and equipment. Nevertheless, the Group pays particular attention to its environmental footprint and seeks to implement a policy of profitable, sustainable and responsible development from a labor, environmental and social point of view.
The Group has introduced various environmental procedures for its business and its employees. The Group is keen to maintain this approach in the years to come.
For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company has also prepared a sustainability report, as provided for in Article L. 225-102-1 of the French Commercial Code. This report and the accompanying KPMG report are available on the Company’s website.
Aside from limiting its direct impact, the Group is also careful to offer its subscribers ecologically responsible products and services in order to reduce their energy consumption. Due to its versatility and multifunctionality, the new LaBox represents a significant step forward since it combines several functions (Blu-RayTM player, HD-TV box and removable hard drive).
Finally, the Group keeps track of the latest scientific developments and health authority guidance on radiofrequency exposure. In a spirit of vigilance and transparency, it also continues to inform and engage in dialog with its various stakeholders, be they politicians, landowners, customers or local residents.