ANF, initially called "Ateliers de Construction du Nord de la France", was founded in 1882.

In the first half of the 20th century, the company supported France's industrial development by making equipment used to build and operate railways, trams and other transport systems, as well as building viaducts, bridges and various machinery. After this phase as a manufacturing company, ANF became a holding company.

ANF became part of the AXA Group when AXA acquired Providence, which held a 26% stake in ANF. By late 1986, AXA owned 45% of ANF, which was then a holding company with a portfolio of industrial and property assets. These included four floors of Tour Aurore, a building in which ANF acquired a further two floors a year later.).

In 1990, following market transactions with investors and other AXA subsidiaries, Finaxa owned 93% of ANF. After the sale of Financière des Terres Rouges (Rivaud group) and a 32% stake in Compagnie du Cambodge in 1997 (a listed subsidiary of the Rivaud group), ANF's assets consisted solely of the six floors of Tour Aurore and AXA shares.

In October 2004, ANF sold the six floors of the Tour Aurore. As a result, ANF's assets consisted solely of cash and financial investments (particularly AXA shares).

In late 2004, Eurazeo acquired ANF as part of a reorganisation of its property division, following on from Eurazeo's absorption of Rue Impériale in May 2004. In this transaction, Eurazeo took over Rue Impériale's property assets, diversifying its managed asset portfolio..

To boost the development of its property business, Eurazeo span off this activity and its related assets into a listed company, ensuring that it had all the resources required to manage these assets and that it was capable of adopting SIIC status. The spin-off took place by Eurazeo transferring its property division to ANF and taking indirect control of ANF on 24 March 2005.

Finally, on 4 May 2005, Eurazeo transferred all the ANF shares it received as consideration for this transfer to its Immobilière Bingen subsidiary (in accordance with article 210 B bis of the French general tax code), such that Eurazeo's entire stake in ANF was held via Immobilière Bingen. As a result, ANF's assets now consist of buildings formerly owned by Rue Impériale and Immobilière Marseillaise (acquired by Rue Impériale in 2002), dating back to 1850-1870.

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