TH Real Estate Offers €450M For Diagonal Mar

14 June 2016 – Expansión

The owner of the shopping centre Diagonal Mar, the British fund Northwood, has received a binding offer amounting to €450 million from TH Real Estate. This amount almost triples the €160 million that Northwood paid for the Barcelona-based shopping centre in 2013.

It is not the only offer that has been presented, given that TH Real Estate’s proposal was accompanied by two others from funds whose name has not been revealed. The sale of the asset is being brokered by the consultancy firm CBRE, which has declined to comment on the deal, along with TH Real Estate.

Diagonal Mar is the largest shopping centre in Cataluña, with a surface area of 87,500 sqm. Nevertheless, not all of the property is up for sale, given that 27,000 sqm are owned by Alcampo (which will hold onto its space).

Northwood acquired the centre at the worst time of the crisis, in 2013, from the Irish bad bank, which means that it could end up generating capital gains of €290 million in less than three years.

The investor

TH Real Estate is owned by the financial services provider TIAA. The origin of the company dates back to the London-based real estate manager, Henderson Real Estate, which was absorbed by the US group TIAA in 2014 to create TH Real Estate, which is also headquartered in the USA.

TH Real Estate manages real estate assets all over the world, covering 26,800 sqm, for around 50 investment funds and other operating mandates.

As well as TIAA’s assets in the USA, this platform integrates properties worth €83,900 million in total, which makes it one of the largest property managers in the world.

In Spain, TH Real Estate owns several shopping centres, including Islazul, in Madrid, measuring 90,000 sqm; Nervión in Sevilla, measuring 25,000 sqm; and Bulevar Getafe in Madrid, measuring 27,150 sqm. It also owns an industrial park in Alovera (Guadalajara) measuring 42,000 sqm.

The company has been present in Spain since 2007 and its Madrilenian headquarters is headed up by Manuel Martín. In recent years, as well as investments in operating assets, TH Real Estate has also undertaken co-investment projects, such as in the case of the Viladecans outlet (in Barcelona), where it joined forces with Neinver.

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake