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Sareb Is Selling The Assets It Inherited From Polaris

7 May 2015 – Expansión

The company has appointed N+1 to manage the sale of 3 golf courses, two 5-star hotels and several residential estates.

Sareb wants to cut its ties with one of the ‘great chapters’ of the real estate bubble as soon as possible. In the last few days, the company chaired by Jaime Echegoyen has started the process to dispose of the property it inherited from Polaris World, by putting a portfolio with a nominal value of €500 million up for sale. The market price may amount to less than half of that value.

The portfolio comprises three golf courses, two five-star hotels and several residential complexes, built in Murcia by Polaris, which Sareb inherited in the form of property developer loans from Banco Valencia and Bankia. The sale also includes loans with real estate collateral that have not yet been foreclosed.

Sareb has appointed N+1 to manage the process and according to sources at funds consulted by Expansión, the firm has already distributed information to potential investors (corresponding to the so-called) Project Birdie.

The assets and loans up for sale come from Inversiones en Resorts del Mediterráneo (IRM), a company created in 2009 by Bancaja, Banco de Valencia, Popular and CAM to manage the Polaris assets that were left after the property developer’s debt was restructured.

Sareb’s decision to sell has generated confusion for the other two creditors, Banco Popular and Sabadell – following the latter’s absorption of CAM – because they were not notified (in advance) and because they believe that the best way of maximising the value from IRM’s assets is a block sale, given that they comprise a single residential estate and six golf courses. As a result, it is likely that these entities will contact Sareb over the next few days with a view to repositioning the sale.

When IRM was created, the company held assets worth €991 million, although by the end of 2013 – the latest available accounts – they had deteriorated (in value) by almost €500 million. The owners of its capital are Sabadell – covered by CAM’s EPA (Asset Protection Scheme or Esquema de Protección de Activos) – Bankia, CaixaBank and Popular.

Original story: Expansión (by Jorge Zuloaga)

Translation: Carmel Drake