Martinsa Revises Books & Reports €652 Mn Loss

9/05/2014 – Expansion

Martinsa Fadesa checked its books once again and raised the annual debt volume amassed in 2013 to €652.3 million. Compared to 2012, the figure is by 12% larger.

On February 28th, the company announced a €568.2 million loss registered throughout 2013, that was 2.5% less than a year before.

The group´s Ebitda showed negative €46.6 million, doubling the figures of 2012. Gains proceeding from real estate reached €109.88 million, by 27.8 % less though. The income was generated mostly in France (39%), Spain (33%), Poland (21%) and the rest in Hungary.

Impairment provisions consumed €368 million, out of which €308 million corresponded to non-financial assets and the remaining €60 million were financial. The depreciation was provoked mainly by real estate assets value loss (by 3.7% more acute than in 2012).

On the other hand, Martinsa´s financial expenses climbed to €163 million, out of which around €147 million ought to be assigned to its bankruptcy debt.

With all the figures, the real estate firm led by Fernando Martín submitted “the Aurora Project” to its lenders with hope of swapping the debt for liquidated assets.

According to sources close to negotiations, Martinsa Fadesa considers itself unable to pay-off the 12% of the entire insolvency debt this year, the deadline set by its lenders.

 

Original article: Expansión (after EFE)

Translation: AURA REE

Investment in Shopping Centers to Go Over €1 Bn

9/05/2014 – Expansion

“In Spain, the demand for shopping malls reaches far beyond the supply capacity. I dare to say that sun started to shine on this market again”, says Rupert Lea, partner director for Retail in Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).

Closing such large sales as the one of the Parque Principado in Asturias for €162 million to Intu or the 7-shopping mall and a business park portfolio in Alicante for €160 million acquired by consortium of Baupost, GreenOak and the Lar group, are only modest examples marking the turning point in tendency.

So far in 2014, investors left €340 million in various transactions concerning shopping centers. Taking this into account, Cushman & Wakefield predicts to see up to €1 billion of total operation volume at the end of the year.

“The main buyers are international funds with a team in Spain and their motives and targets vary. There are pension funds poaching the best quality product, experts in shopping centers who are looking for properties with development potential so that they could advance in their know-how strategies, as well as opportunistic funds that are ready to buy unwanted units highly encumbered with risk”, Lea explains.

 

Original article: Expansión (by R. Ruiz)

Translation: AURA REE

CaixaBank, Sabadell & Kutxabank Sell Jointly €2.4 Bn in Non-Performing Loans

8/05/2014 – Expansion

Vulture funds prep for new carcass drop. Many banking entities and among them CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell and Kutxabank are giving the finishing touch to launch at least €2.4 billion in nonperforming loans.

It is expected that the three transactions will have been closed by the end of June so that the banks could add gains and cut-off default scope in their biannual balance reports.

Loan portfolios of CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell and Kutxabank contain all types of nonperfoming loans: customer lent to individuals, to SMEs (with and without collateral property) and big companies (some of them property-backed).

The three operations ought to be added to two other ongoing sales of CaixaBank and Fortress (Santander´s loans). Altogether, they amass a €4.5 billion volume of NPLs.

Once CaixaBank transferred the credits inside the “Flanders Project“, it is going to put up for sale another lot of default €1 billion. Unlike the first sale, the second called the “Valonia Project” will include €700 million in default without any guarantee and €350 million of property-backed loans. More than a half of the credits belongs to companies in bankruptcy process which suspended payments in 2009. Also, more than 50% of them are located in Andalusia (where Banca Cívica operated) and Madrid.

In turn, Sabadell that announced sale of €1 billion in NPLs in February claims that it prefers to shed them and focus on its Solvia instead of collecting the debt. Last year, the entity sold a default portfolio inside the €632 million worth “Garbi Project” to Elliot and Lindorff for €41 million.

When it comes to Kutxabank, the transaction is less complex as the bank sells only customer loans of individuals and SMEs without property as collateral. The Basque group´s lot is worth €350 million and includes 47.000 loans which have been defaulting since 2008. Nearly half of the portfolio corresponds to debtors in Andalusia (through Cajasur).

 

Original article: Expansión (by J. Zuloaga & S. Saborit)

Translation: AURA REE

CaixaBank, Sabadell & Kutxabank Sell Jointly €2.4 Bn in Non-Performing Loans

Vulture funds prep for new carcass drop. Many banking entities and among them CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell and Kutxabank are giving the finishing touch to launch at least €2.4 billion in nonperforming loans.

It is expected that the three transactions will have been closed by the end of June so that the banks could add gains and cut-off default scope in their biannual balance reports.

Loan portfolios of CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell and Kutxabank contain all types of nonperfoming loans: customer lent to individuals, to SMEs (with and without collateral property) and big companies (some of them property-backed).

The three operations ought to be added to two other ongoing sales of CaixaBank and Fortress (Santander´s loans). Altogether, they amass a €4.5 billion volume of NPLs.

Once CaixaBank transferred the credits inside the “Flanders Project“, it is going to put up for sale another lot of default €1 billion. Unlike the first sale, the second called the “Valonia Project” will include €700 million in default without any guarantee and €350 million of property-backed loans. More than a half of the credits belongs to companies in bankruptcy process which suspended payments in 2009. Also, more than 50% of them are located in Andalusia (where Banca Cívica operated) and Madrid.

In turn, Sabadell that announced sale of €1 billion in NPLs in February claims that it prefers to shed them and focus on its Solvia instead of collecting the debt. Last year, the entity sold a default portfolio inside the €632 million worth “Garbi Project” to Elliot and Lindorff for €41 million.

When it comes to Kutxabank, the transaction is less complex as the bank sells only customer loans of individuals and SMEs without property as collateral. The Basque group´s lot is worth €350 million and includes 47.000 loans which have been defaulting since 2008. Nearly half of the portfolio corresponds to debtors in Andalusia (through Cajasur).

 
Original article: Expansión (by J. Zuloaga & S. Saborit)
Translation: AURA REE

Carlyle Puts Up For Sale Its Madrid Jewel

Cerep Gran Vía building attracts attention of investors who wheel around it like bees around a honeypot. Not without a reason, as the building of 10.000 square meters situated at number 68 of one of the most popular streets in Spanish capital is a real cherry on the real estate cake.

“It´s a unique property of 12 stories above the ground level and 5 stories below it. The underground part could be converted into an internal parking of between 75 and 85 spaces, something that is rather unusual in the area”, assures Alas Abogados, lawyer office named by Carlyle to auction the building.

In March 2012, the risk company voluntarily filed for insolvency process and the building refurbishment works were halted.

The property price will be conditioned by proposals presented by investors but, according to sources close to the operation, it may settle at between €20 million and €30 million. “At the moment, its price marks €3.000 per square meter. Compared to the values in the area it´s a bargain as normally they demand from 6.000 to 7.000 €/sqm”, the same sources explain.

Allegedly, Carlyle paid €45 million for the unit in 2005.

 
Original article: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)
Translation: AURA REE

Villar Mir Will Keep an Eye on Colonial From His Seat at the Board

Businessman Juan Miguel Villar Mir wishes to monitor his investment in Colonial from closer distance. Therefore, he filed for a seat at the managing board table in the real estate firm.

The president of OHL, vice-director of Albertis (19% stake) and second main shareholder in Santander will attend Colonial´s administrative board meeting to take place on Wednesday.

Grupo Villar Mir owns 24.4% of the real estate firm, followed by Qatar´s sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Coral Partners (9%), Grupo Santo Domingo (7.5%), Mora Banc (7%) and Fidelity (3%), to highlight.

After the entrance of new investors, the managing board´s membership slightly changed, however the former executives of Colonial, Juan José Brugera and Pere Viñolas, are expected to stay. Presently, the real estate company is chaired by Luis Maluquer Trepat, Carlos Fernández-Lerga Garralda, Javier Iglesias de Ussel and firm HDA Conseil on behalf of Crédit Agricole.

The new shares of Colonial deriving from the €1.266 million capital enlargement started to sell on the stock exchange yesterday. They kicked-off with a 10.68% depreciation at 0.594 Euros a share.

 
Original article: Expansión (by M. Anglés & C. Morán)
Translation: AURA REE

Q1 2014: Spain´s Largest Banks Double Their REO Property Sales

Spanish financial sector has become a real estate expert since the property bubble burst and flooded banking balance sheets with dwellings, housing developments and plots.

Over the past two years, Spain´s six biggest entites solely sold 18.000 properties. In parallel, they have turned into the most efficient developers in the country, finishing thousands of houses with intention of subsequent sales. This activity allowed the large banks to double the pace of reducing their REO stock volume at the very beginning of the ongoing year.

Precisely, Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, Popular and Bankia sealed jointly 22.121 transactions year-to-date, including both own and the financed developers´properties for around €3 billion (€2.64 million without Bankia that does not reveal the data), compared to the 14.339 units sold in the first quarter of 2013.

In spite of strong boost received by banks which outsourced the management of their real estate to the third parties, also those entities that decided to bet on their servicers are among the most successful sellers.

Thus, a priori, CaixaBank leads in stock trading volume. The bank sold 51% of Servihabitat to Texan fund TPG. Thanks to the agreement, in the first quarter the Catalonian entity earned €630 million by selling 6.302 units. This is almost twice as much as 3.227 properties sold in the same period last year. However, one shall bear in mind that 42% of its activity focuses on rent, while other entites exclude this field from their calculations.

Therefore, the first place is disputable as BBVA together with its Anida is treading on CaixaBank´s heels with a 4.996 unit score (in Q1 2013 it sold about 3.000). Although the entity registered €231 million losses, it has got a positive outlook for the future.

When it comes to Santander, this bank sealed 4.200 transactions for €700 million and the figure is similar to the previous year´s value. The entity has transferred its platform Altamira to Apollo, however the operation had not been closed before January so its influence is hardly detectable.

Next in the ranking stands Banco Sabadell which has been fiddling the market for last months keeping it on tenterhooks by not making the final decision about the future of its property manager, Solvia. The odds are high that after seeing the 3.271 property score (2.497 a year before) bringing it a €657 million revenue, the bank will confirm the belief that investing in Solvia and launching it on the market is the right step.

One of the sharpest surges was noted by Bankia that shed its servicer handing it over to Cerberus. The bank sold 2.235 properties in the first quarter this year, juxtaposed with only 700 units transferred in the same period of 2013. 

As per Sareb, the bad bank managed to find a new owner for 3.800 housing units with an average of 40 transactions a day (25 in the entirety of 2013).

Banco Popular has almost tripled the speed of its real estate sales. Namely, in the first quarter of 2013 it sold 1.117 properties for €248 million (last year it shed shy 415 untis). The entity reckons that the jump yet is not reflection of the sale of 51% of Aliseda to Kennedy Wilson and Värde Partners as the management change is believed to multiply sales in the forthcoming months.   

 
 
Original article: Cinco Días (by Juande Portillo)
Translation: AURA REE

Bankia to Launch a Socimi & Dispose Several Assets

8/05/2014 – El Confidencial

Exactly one week ago the deadline passed for the shareholders of Bankia´s real estate fund to decide whether they wish to reimburse or transfer their investment. The bank´s director, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, is going to launch a new trust on the stock market, baptized as Bankia Monetario Deuda III. Moreover, he set his final target at exclusive ownership of the vehicle.

In order to dodge intrusion, Goirigolzarri has modified the vehicle´s policy with €1 million minimum investment obligation including subscribtion commission and a 5% repayment.

By converting the property fund into a Socimi (Spanish REIT firm), Bankia will follow the suit of Banco Sabadell which took this decision two weeks ago. The bank considers as an alternative creation of a listed firm similar to Hispania. Goirigolzarri´s bank has also hired JP Morgan as an advisor at retail sales.

“Socimis are attractive in terms of tax benefits, as well as funds, but the regulatory requirements for them are much lighter than those imposed on the Collective Investment Schemes” (or IIC by their acronym in Spanish), sources from a large servicing firm indicate.

Why to undersell the assets to foreigners when the advantage could be taken by Spanish property market?

Presently, Bankia´s real estate fund manages a €281.56 million worth of assets but its profitability shows poor -11.7%. Other banking funds at the verge of extinction are as follows: Santander Banif with €1.9 billion real estate, Sabadell Inmobiliario with €930 million, Segurfondo Inversión with €266 million, AC Patrimonio with €93 million and CX Propiedad with €64 million.

 

Original article: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde & C. Hernanz)

Translation: AURA REE

Bankia to Launch a Socimi & Dispose Several Assets

Exactly one week ago the deadline passed for the shareholders of Bankia´s real estate fund to decide whether they wish to reimburse or transfer their investment. The bank´s director, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, is going to launch a new trust on the stock market, baptized as Bankia Monetario Deuda III. Moreover, he set his final target at exclusive ownership of the vehicle.

In order to dodge intrusion, Goirigolzarri has modified the vehicle´s policy with €1 million minimum investment obligation including subscribtion commission and a 5% repayment.

By converting the property fund into a Socimi (Spanish REIT firm), Bankia will follow the suit of Banco Sabadell which took this decision two weeks ago. The bank considers as an alternative creation of a listed firm similar to Hispania. Goirigolzarri´s bank has also hired JP Morgan as an advisor at retail sales.

“Socimis are attractive in terms of tax benefits, as well as funds, but the regulatory requirements for them are much lighter than those imposed on the Collective Investment Schemes” (or IIC by their acronym in Spanish), sources from a large servicing firm indicate.

Why to undersell the assets to foreigners when the advantage could be taken by Spanish property market?

Presently, Bankia´s real estate fund manages a €281.56 million worth of assets but its profitability shows poor -11.7%. Other banking funds at the verge of extinction are as follows: Santander Banif with €1.9 billion real estate, Sabadell Inmobiliario with €930 million, Segurfondo Inversión with €266 million, AC Patrimonio with €93 million and CX Propiedad with €64 million.

 
Original article: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde & C. Hernanz)
Translation: AURA REE

Marina D´Or´s Real Estate Company Suspends Payments

The Mercantile Court of Castellon has approved insolvency application of Comercializadora Mediterránea de Viviendas of the owner of old Marina D’Or, Jesús Ger. 

Through the division Marina D´Or Hoteles the businessman managed five hotels in the Ciudad de Vacaciones (Holiday City) in Oropesa. Now he is weighting up investing in Marina D’Or Golf having courses of joint 20 million square meters in Oropesa and Cabanes.

Due to recession hit, the group was forced to plead financing (first in 2008). At the end of 2012, its liability burden reached €681 million, out of which €546 million was due to return to banks.

 
Original article: Expansión
Translation: AURA REE