Month: December 2016

EY Gets Ready To Move 2,500 Professionals To Torre Azca

1 December 2016 – Expansión

EY is preparing to move into Torre Azca, previously known as Torre Titania, and is completing the final details of its move, which will be completed next March. The professional services firm will occupy 22,000 m2 of this 100-m tall building, which is owned by El Corte Inglés.

EY will occupy eleven office floors in this property, whose lower floors are occupied by the distribution group’s department store. EY’s employees will have direct access from the street. Specifically, 2,500 professionals will be located on floors 10 to 18, and the 19th floor will be used for external client meeting rooms, with more than 15 meeting rooms and an auditorium. Meanwhile, the 9th floor will house a canteen and a space for events and training. EY will also have a room with panoramic views of Madrid where it will hold presentations and events.

The firm will place is logo at the top of the tower, which will include more than 28 LED modules and will be visible from the Paseo de la Castellana and from Paseo del Prado. EY has been advised by the real estate consultancy CBRE regarding the design of the new offices and the logo, which is currently being installed.

Besides Torre Azca, EY will also lease 2,000 m2 of additional space in Torre de Mahou for its reprographic team. The President of EY España, José Luis Perelli, explained to Expansión that the move to the tower will be completed in several phases. “Two floors have already been occupied by employees from the finance team, who moved in in October. They are busy resolving questions and ensuring that everything is working property, in an effort to minimise problems when most of the staff move in”.

Perelli explains that the move to the new headquarters responds to a change, not only in the building needs, but also in the culture. “We need collaborative spaces that allow us to prioritise the resolution of clients’ needs with multidisciplinary teams”.

The Director of Human Resources at EY in Spain, José Luis Risco, explained that EY’s staff will be able to work on “any floor in the building because the technological means will allow it”. The company is committed to “paperless, open spaces, without any offices”, which promote flexibility and interaction between workers.

Nevertheless, to facilitate the need for so-called Chinese walls, workers will be able to use soundproof rooms on every floor so that they can work with their teams and have confidential conversations.

In line with current intelligent buildings, EY’s new offices will be equipped with the latest technological solutions. For example, there will be a wifi connection throughout the tower, and the building will have 25 video-conference rooms as well as a centralised system for booking meeting rooms, which will allow users to reserve a meeting room from anywhere in the world using an app.

The new offices are located in the heart of the financial district, just a stone’s throw from Torre Picasso – EY’s headquarters until now – and are well connected in terms of public transport. The property also has a car park.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Round Hill Capital Invests €250M In Luxury Homes In Málaga

1 December 2016 – Expansión

Round Hill Capital, one of the leading international real estate investment firms, has launched operations in Spain with an investment of €250 million in the luxury Palo Alto real estate development. The project that will be constructed on a plot of land measuring 50 hectares in Ojén (Málaga) and represents the entity’s first investment in Spain.

The project will be divided into six phases and reflects Ojén’s General Urban Development Plan (PGOU). The licence has already been granted for the first phase and construction will begin as soon as the tender has been awarded.  Six construction companies are currently competing to secure the bid.

Specifically, the first phase, which will be executed between January 2017 and the autumn of 2018, will involve the construction of sixty apartments and fifteen penthouses, which will be sold for between €440,000 and €1 million each.

At an event in Ojén yesterday, the architect and developer of the project, Matías Villarroel, explained that the land on which the housing development will be constructed was acquired from Sareb for €30 million. It represents one of the most important sales by the entity in the area. “The natural location is privileged and unique”, said the property developer.

According to Villarroel, Palo Alto “is going to put Ojén on the map with a development that will be talked about a lot in the future”. The urbanisation, which has panoramic views of the sea and mountains is just five minutes from the La Cañada shopping centre and thirty minutes from the Málaga-Costa del Sol airport.

Meanwhile, the mayor of the municipality, José Antoni Gómez, who also attended the event yesterday, said that a project like Palo Alto “represents a socio-economic boost for Ojén and for the coast as a whole”. Gómez said that this urbanisation will be “a balcony to the Costa del Sol and a door to the nature and mountains of Sierra de las Nieves”.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Former SARquavitae Director Creates Fund With Oaktree

1 December 2016 – Expansión

The former CEO of SARquavitae, Jorge Guarner, has joined forces with Oaktree Capital to launch a new fund, Healthcare Activos, an investment vehicle specialising in real estate assets in the healthcare sector. The fund has a minimum size of €100 million, according to sources in the sector.

Healthcare Activos, which is headquartered in Barcelona, places its focus on acquiring real estate assets such as hospitals, clinics and other medical centres, both in Spain and overseas. The vehicle has not made any purchases to date.

The project is led by Guarner, who served as the CEO and Director General of the nursing home and services group between 2003 and 2015.

Guarner is an expert in the field of healthcare. He is currently a Director of the group Confide Correduría and a partner at the international consultancy firm Sphera Global Healthcare. At a more institutional level, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Association of Directors and a member of the advisory board for Esade’s Health and Pharmacy Club. Meanwhile, Oaktree is a fund that has starred in several major operations in Spain, such as the sale of Panrico to Bimbo.

The Board of Directors of Healthcase Activos includes Guarner as the Chairman; Karim Khairallah as the Director General of the investor group; and Carlos Gila as the expert in business restructurings. Sergio Sánchez Solé, a lawyer from Garrigues, has been appointed as the Secretary to the Board.

Original story: Expansión (by G. Trindade)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Imperio Fórum Buys The Vinçon Building In Barcelona

1 December 2016 – Inmodiario

Imperio Fórum, a Spanish holding company owned by the Canadian investor Marco Fabiani, has purchased the former Vinçon building, located at number 175 on Calle Pau Claris in Barcelona, through one of his companies in which other shareholders also hold stakes. Imperio Fórum has acquired the residential part of the property, which is spread over 6 floors and covers 2,000 m2 in total, comprising 10 apartments and one penthouse.

The operation, which has been completed for €6.5 million, has been advised by Jordi Coma from the consultancy firm Think Big Capital and has received financing from CaixaBank. The renovation work will begin during the first quarter of 2017.

Six months ago, Marco Fabiani also bought another corner building with similar characteristics on El Eixample in Barcelona for €5 million. That property was located on Calle Sant Antoni Maria Claret, close to the modernist complex of Hospital de Sant Pau, where the renovation and marketing of 19 apartments, 2 penthouses and 3 retail premises is already underway. That operation was financed by Banc Sabadell.

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Idealista: Second-Hand House Prices Fell By 1.1% In November

1 December 2016 – El Economista

Second hand house prices decreased by 1.1% during the month of November, according to the most recent real estate price index published by Idealista.

Specifically, the web platform places the average price per square metre at €1,497/m2, which represents a YoY decrease of 4.3% with respect to the same month last year, wen it stood at €1,564/m2.

Non-uniform decreases

Nevertheless, this decrease has not been uniform throughout the Spanish territory, given that the price of second-hand homes has actually increased in six autonomous regions.

The greatest increase was recorded in the Balearic Islands, where prices rose by 1.3% to €1,972/m2; followed by Navarra, where the price per square metre now amounts to €1,442/m2, up by 0.8% with respect to the previous month; and Cantabria, which experienced an increase of 0.4% to €1,572/m2.

País Vasco, Aragón and La Rioja recorded increases of 0.1% in all three cases taking the price per square metre to €2,498/m2, €1,235/m2 and €1,063/m2, respectively.

At the other end of the scale is Castilla-La Mancha, where, after a 1.5% decrease in the price of second-hand homes during the month of November, the price per square metre is now €884/m2.

It is followed by Madrid and Cataluña, where prices have decreased by 1.3%, taking the price per square metre to €2,332/m2 and €1,793/m2, respectively.

The case of Extremadura stands out too, where prices have not moved with respect to the month of October, remaining stable at €917/m2.

By province

During the month of November, twelve provinces saw price rises, led by the Balearic Islands (1.3%), Navarra (0.8%), Córdoba (0.8%), Huesca (0.6%) and Ourense (0.5%).

Meanwhile, the most significant decreases were recorded in Lleida (-3.5%), Cuenca (-2.6%), Segovia (-2.2%), Jaén (-1.9%) and Toledo (-1.9%).

Gipúzcoa and Vizcaya continued to lead the ranking of most expensive provinces, with average prices per square metre of €2,823/m2 and €2,556/m2, respectively, followed by Madrid, at €2,332/m2 and Barcelona, at €2,218/m2.

By contrast, the cheapest provinces were Toledo (€800/m2), Ciudad Real (€823/m2) and Cuenca (€835/m2).

Prices rise in 15 provincial capitals

By provincial capital, the most pronounced increase was recorded in Palma de Mallorca, where price rose by 2.5%, followed by Barcelona (1.7%) and San Sebastián (1.6%).

By contrast, Lleida (-3.3%), Murcia (-2.7%), Pontevedra (-2.5%) and Segovia (-2.4%) recorded the highest decreases in second-hand house prices.

San Sebastián is still the most expensive city in Spain, at €3,952/m2, ahead of Barcelona, where the average price amounts to €3,781/m2 and Madrid (€2,887/m2). At the other end of the scale, Lleida and Castellón are the cheapest provincial capitals in the ranking, with average prices of €865/m2 and €946/m2, respectively.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake