EDHEC Alumni : Can you give us a brief description of your career since leaving EDHEC and explain how Pointcocapital came about?

Hervé Pointillart : I started my career with L’Expansion, selling advertising pages. During that time, I discovered group mailshots, which I introduced to France. I then set up a direct marketing agency and created the leading database Claritas, which includes some 5 million addresses. I then took over as chairman of 20 Minutes for two years before setting up Femme en ville (a free women’s magazine), which I then sold on to M6. It was at that time that I received a letter with an estimation of my pension entitlements, and I wondered whether it was an annual or monthly figure. Unfortunately it was annual! So I approached a property professional in order to find an office building to finance my retirement. My friends, including Vincent Beaufils from the magazine Challenges, who also understood how difficult it was to find such property, asked me to do the same thing for them. That’s how Pointcocapital came about. I later teamed up with Jérôme Cornille, a real estate professional. 

What does Pointcocapital offer?
HP : Pointcocapital looks for investment products that will ensure high and sustainable future returns. We meet with investors and try to determine the level of risk and the right duration for their investments. We mainly offer three types of products:
- commercial property transactions with a two-year reversal period 
- investment transactions for the purpose of securing one’s retirement. For example, you invest €100,000 and for 12 years nothing happens, but at the end of that period you should receive an annual revenue of around 20 to 24,000 euros
- the third type of transaction is transforming office buildings into hotels. This kind of investment is eligible for wealth tax deductions with a reversal period of 5 to 7 years.

The appeal of these transactions is that by investing you are purchasing the commercial hotel premises and establishing the business, so high returns can be expected.We have already completed several schemes. In Marly le Roi, we brought together a group of around 10 investors to purchase 1800 m² of office space that was being rented by 15 different tenants, which provided security in terms of occupancy rates. Part of our remuneration was reinvested in the scheme so we could stay on as shareholders alongside our investors. The selection process is always quite lengthy. We don’t have a portfolio to offer our clients, but as soon as an attractive scheme becomes available, we begin to contact potential investors.

What are your prospects for growth?
HP : The two main growth factors are our ability to find good products at a good price, as the best deals are to be had through purchases, as well as our ability to develop our network of investors. Given the current prospects on the stock exchange and the low yields available on life assurance policies, combined with our ability to offer annual returns of nearly 10%, we are quite confident about the future.

What do you expect to gain from EDHEC graduates?
HP : We feel that all graduates between the ages of 35 and 60 should be thinking about preparing for their retirement, which is not looking great. For other age groups, allergies to the tax on wealth can be treated by investing in hotels, so I suggest they get in touch with us. 

Contact
www.pointcocapital.fr
hp@pointcocapital.fr
Tel :  06 98 54 24 54