Viparis, owned equally by URW and by the Paris Ile-de-France Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, operates venues including Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, where the handball, table tennis, volleyball, and weightlifting will take place.

Its Palais des Congrès de Paris venue will host the International Olympic Committee and the main press centre for the Games, URW said.

URW sees its adjusted recurring earnings per share for 2024 increasing to between 9.65 and 9.8 euros, up from 9.62 euros in 2023, partly thanks to increased footfall over the Olympics, which take place at a time when Parisians typically flee the city to holiday at the coast.

The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 to Aug. 11, with the Paralympics taking place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

In a sign of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, vacancy rates in URW shopping centres dropped to 5.4% last year, back to 2019 levels, and group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also recovered to pre-pandemic levels, hitting 2.199 billion euros.

Shares in URW were up 5.5% by 0850 GMT.

URW is also growing its advertising business, charging brands to be featured on screens and in pop-up spaces in its shopping centres. Its retail media revenues increased to 121.3 million euros in 2023, up 15% on a like-for-like basis.

URW said Westfield Rise, its in-house retail media agency for Europe, would generate 75 million euros in net margin this year, up from 53.3 million euros in 2023.

(Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

By Helen Reid