Finding premises

Finding the accurate location and premises for your business is an essential step to set up and launch your activities on the Côte d’Azur in the best conditions.

4 times cheaper than Paris and 7 seven times cheaper than London, the Azurean offer in terms of premises is a great asset to come set up in the area. The rental prices in the two main business parks (Nice Côte d’Azur Metropole and Sophia-Antipolis) are the following:

Rental price range sqm/year/excluding tax and charges

• Sophia Antipolis : 225€ high range and 200€ low range for new or redesigned premises,
  190€ high range and 120€ low range for second-hand premises.
• Nice Côte d’Azur Metropole: 250€ high range and 190€ low range for new or redesigned premises, 190€ high range and 140€ low range for second-hand premises.

Acquisition price range sqm/year/excluding tax and charges

• Sophia Antipolis : 3.000€ high range and 2.900€ low range for new or redesigned premises, 2.300€ high range or 1.600€ low range for second-hand premises.
• Nice Côte d’Azur Metropole : 3.200€ high range or 2.800€ low range for new or redesigned premises, 2.400€ high range and 1.800€ low range for second-hand premises.

Premises in the azurean business hubs and technopoles

There are three main business hubs on the Côte d’Azur, which offer great real estate opportunities to set up your future premises: Nice Méridia, Nice Grand Arénas, and Sophia-Antipolis.

Nice Meridia

Nice Méridia is an urban technopole located at the heart of the OIN of the Eco-Vallée. It is renowned for its diversity in offices, shops, and accommodations, and seen as a real living space. In the future, the neighborhood will totalize 58,000 sqm of offices. Nice Meridia is also very close to the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (5 minutes away), and the Nice Saint-Augustin train station (5 minutes away). It benefits from a straight access to the A8 highway, and the T3 tramway line. Many iconic buildings are in Nice Méridia or planning on being built there, such as the Joia Meridia (73,500sqm with 2,580sqm offices), the Palazzo Meridia (7,900sqm of offices), and The Crown (11,105sqm of offices).

Nice Grand Arénas

Grand Arénas is an international business hub at the West of Nice. It benefits from close proximity to the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (5 minutes away), the Nice Saint-Augustin train station (5 minutes away), and direct access to the A8 highway. It is served by many buses, and the T2 tramway line of Nice. Many iconic buildings are located or planning on being built there, such as the Connexio (11,500sqm of offices), Air Promenade (25,000sqm with offices), and Unity (20,500sqm with offices).

Sophia-Antipolis

Sophia Antipolis is an internationally renowned technopole located in the heart of a natural park. It owns the largest surface of offices on the Côte d’Azur. Sophia Antipolis is only 20 minutes away by car from the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, and benefits from straight access to the A8 highway. A lot of iconic buildings are already set up there, and new ones are going to be built or redesigned. The most important buildings include Centrium (13,500sqm of offices), Sky Sophia (9,500sqm of offices), and Garden Space (8,200sqm of offices). By 2030, close to 500,000sqm of additional surface will be added to the current 1.4million sqm.

Co-working spaces/business centers on the Côte d’Azur

As they quickly developed over the past years, many co-working spaces set up across the Côte d’Azur.

In total, there were 127 co-working spaces in the South Region in 2018, which represents 8% of the national French park. The largest Azurean cities hosting co-working spaces and business centers include Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet, Vence, Cagnes-sur-Mer, and Nice. Together, they hold the highest concentration rate of the Côte d’Azur. The technopole of Sophia Antipolis also welcomes co-working spaces and business centers.

Find out more about the different co-working spaces and business centers available in the region.

Startups: business incubators, hotels and accelerators on the côte d’azur

The Côte d’Azur received the French Tech label and welcomes more than fifteen business accelerators, hotels and incubators. The region offers a stimulating environment, which is perfectly adapted to the creation and development of your startup, regardless of its development stage and field of activity.

Incubators/business hotels

Is your startup being created or was it created recently? Do you need assistance ? The incubators of the Côte d’Azur welcome and guide your newly created business through the first steps of your project : business model analysis, search for funding, access to certain strategic tools…

A lot of incubators are located in the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropole: the CEEI (general incubator created by the Metropole), the “centre 27 Delvalle” (supporting startups working in the Health sector), Le Mas (incubator of Nice Matin working for local startups), as well as the incubator of the EDHEC (supporting the projects of its own students). In addition to being set up in Valbonne and Toulon, the incubator PACA-EST opened another branch in the premises of the CEEI in Nice.

Several business incubators are also set up in Sophia Antipolis. The largest incubator is PACA-EST, which mainly supports innovating projects. There is also the incubator of SKEMA Business School dedicated to the school’s alumnis, and the Paris Tech incubator supporting startups specializing in Digital activities.

As part of the creation of the Imagery Technopole, Cannes also set up a business incubator for creative startups, which are directly linked to the businesses of Imagery and New Technologies.

The city of Grasse has its own incubator, which supports startups specializing in the Flavor and Cosmetics fields in priority. It also supports startups working in the Health, Microelectronics and Biochemistry sectors. A business hotel “Grasse Biotech” is also available in Grasse, and mainly focuses on Biotechnologies, Chemistry, Health and Cosmetics.

Business accelerators

Business accelerators are programs intended to help startups boost their growth through measures such as funding, legal, and accounting assistance, business accommodation, and training or support from a trained entrepreneur.

The missions of business accelerators are close to the incubators’. The difference lies in the increased mentoring from entrepreneurs or Business Angels. Businesses hosted in accelerators are usually specializing in the Digital or Mobile industries and seeking to raise funds quickly.

The city of Nice hosts the business accelerator of Allianz within the Stadium of Allianz Arena.
This accelerator supports startups specializing in Big Data, Collaborative Economy, Internet of Things, Insurtech and e-Travel in priority.

The technopole Sophia Antipolis hosts one of the many Villages by CA, a network of business accelerators developed by the Crédit Agricole. Le Village by CA supports companies working in different sectors such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity.

The Principality of Monaco launched its own business incubator-accelerator with MonacoTech in 2017. Hosting more than ten companies, it focuses on different sectors such as Energy, Health, Sailing, and Online Storage Solutions.

Legal aspects

Commercial, professional or mixed leases? Administrative domiciliation or exercise of the activity? Do you face legal aspects concerning your premises or the property management of your business site? We try to best answer your questions, whether you are a tenant or buyer of your premises. Start with “The practical guide for entrepreneurs” from BPI France

Commercial Rentals

Commercial leases are specifically for companies engaging in a commercial, industrial or artisanal activity. The rented premises will be used for running an artisanal or a commercial business. Find out more below. Liberal professions can also seek commercial leases with the agreement of the premises’ owner.

Professional Leases

Professional leases are specifically for tenants running a non-commercial or artisanal activity (liberal occupation or related) as long as no other artisanal business has been run in the same premises. Find out more below.

Mixed Leases

Same as the professional leases, mixed leases are premises in which the tenant will run a non-commercial (liberal occupation or related) or artisanal activity as long as no other artisanal business is run in the same premises. The specific feature of mixed leases is that a part of the premises is reserved for the housing unit of the tenants. Find out more below.

Assistance and useful contacts

Do you have any questions regarding the set up of your company or regarding the search for premises? Several relevant organizations can assist you:

Team Côte d’Azur – Business Promotion Agency of the Côte d’Azur
400 Promenade des Anglais, BP 3185, 06204 Nice cedex 3, France
Phone: +33 (0)4 92 17 51 51
Fax: +33 (0)4 93 80 05 76

Eco-Vallée Plaine du Var – Operation of national interest
455 Promenade des Anglais BP 33257, 06205 Nice Cedex 3 – Immeuble Nice Plaza
Phone: +33 (0)4 93 21 71 00

CCI Côte d’Azur
20 Bd Carabacel, CS 11259 – 06500 Nice Cedex 1
Phone: +33 (0)8 00 42 22 22
Phone: +33 (0)4 93 13 73 17 from abroad