Year: 2017

Bankinter Prepares to Debut its Hotel Socimi in Q1 2018

26 December 2017 – El Confidencial

Bankinter has started to offer its private banking clients the option of acquiring a stake in a listed real estate investment company (Socimi) that owns a portfolio of 4- and 5-star hotels located across Spain, which it plans to debut on the stock market during the first quarter of 2018.

This Socimi will be created with a share capital of almost €200 million invested in a selection of hotels: 65% holiday establishments and the remainder urban, including several properties operated by high-profile chains such as Marriott and Meliá, according to reports made today by sources close to the project.

In recent weeks, Bankinter has been in charge of choosing the hotels, all of which are operating, in order to offer an annual dividend of approximately 5% to all of the shareholders of the Socimi, which will make its debut on the MAB, the stock market segment designed for SMEs.

The main shareholders will be Bankinter’s private banking clients, who have already pledged to contribute around €120 million to the project on 18 January. The minimum investment per client will be €200,000 and the maximum will be 15% of each individual’s financial wealth.

In addition, other investors, including Bankinter itself, the manager of the Socimi and institutional investors, will invest at least €60 million more.

The idea is that the bank led by María Dolores Dancausa will invest €18 million and the manager of the Socimi, GMA, €9 million, which would mean that both will hold a minority stake in the company, but one that is sufficient to entitle representation on the Board of Directors.

Unlike other Socimis, the investment vehicle designed by Bankinter has a divestment period of 7 years, although the bank reserves the right to extend its life.

This Socimi is not the first to be launched by the financial institution, given that in February, it placed Ores on the market, together with the company Sonae Sierra. Ores invests in commercial assets such as shops and large retail spaces in Spain and Portugal.

Original story: El Confidencial 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Neinor Homes Considers Buying Land in Canary Islands

27 December 2017 – El Periódico de Canarias

Neinor Homes is considering entering the real estate market in the Canary Islands in 2018, according to its CEO Juan Velayos. It is also planning to generate profits and start buying land in Cataluña again, despite the political instability. Finally, Velayos forecasts that house prices will continue to rise at a rate of 5% over the next two years.

“House prices will continue to rise at a rate of 5% due to the gap between supply and demand. Then, prices will stabilise and grow at a rate of between 1% and 1.5% per year”, he explained to Efe.

In his opinion, 500,000 homes should be sold per year in Spain and 30% of those should be new build properties, equivalent to around 150,000, compared with the 80,000 that are currently being sold. The difference between those two figures shows that there is still a great deal of potential in the real estate development sector.

In terms of the performance of his company, which made its stock market debut in March, Velayos explained that this year will end with a positive EBITDA and with almost 100 developments “launched”, of which 33 are already under construction (around 2,500 homes).

In total, the company owns a buildable land bank on which it can construct 12,300 homes, of which 8,000 correspond to developments already underway.

“We want to always have two thirds of our land working”, said Velayos, who explained that his firm will continue buying land, primarily in Madrid, Barcelona, País Vasco and Valencia, at the same time as looking at entering new markets such as the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Galicia and Lisbon (Portugal).

From 2019 onwards, the purchases will be financed using the recurrent cash flow that Neinor expects to generate, according to Velayos, who added that, if necessary, the company may also resort to capital and/or debt increases.

In Cataluña, which currently accounts for 22% of the value of Neinor’s total housing portfolio, the real estate developer’s commercial activity has not been affected by the political uncertainty.

“We have sold everything and we only have four plots left to launch. I want to buy more land there”, said the executive, who, nevertheless, warned that he worries that Cataluña will be “impoverished” if the instability continues.

“If the situation continues, Cataluña will go from being one of the main drivers of the company to being replaced by another region, but I hope that someone can bring coherence. In the short-term, regardless of what happens, we are going to buy more land”, said Velayos. The CEO added that the company is fulfilling its plans and so will start making profits in 2018. Moreover, it will reach its “cruising speed” by 2020, with the handover of 3,500 homes per year, a turnover of €1 billion, an EBITDA of €0.2 billion and a profit of between €0.13 billion and €0.14 billion.

In terms of the composition of its shareholders, Velayos expects that Lone Star, the founder of the company, will block sell the 12.5% stake that it still holds in Neinor in the short term, after the lock-up period that it signed up to has ended, on 15 December.

Original story: El Periódico de Canarias

Translation: Carmel Drake

KCRE Acquires 5,600 m2 Office Building in Madrid

18 December 2017 – KCRE Press Release

Kefren Capital Real Estate (KCRE) has closed the acquisition of an office building located on Calle Juan de Mariana, 15 (Madrid). The property was Grupo Segur Iberica’s headquarters until the company filed for insolvency during the summer. PwC, the receiver administering the liquidation proceedings, awarded the asset to Kefren Capital, as the winner of a competitive bid process.

The building was completed in 1994 and comprises c. 3,600 m2 above ground, spread over 5 floors, and more than 2,000 m2 below ground, including 39 parking spaces. “The building is very flexible – it would be ideal as the headquarters for: a company wanting a central location at a competitive rent; a co-working office in the south of Madrid, very close to the high-speed train; or as a mixed-use building offering the possibility of servicing last-mile logistics thanks to a loading dock at street level” states Pelayo Primo de Rivera, CEO of KCRE.

It is located in the Méndez Álvaro-Delicias district, a consolidated business area home to large companies such as Repsol, Amazon, Gas Natural, Ericsson, CLH and Mahou, with excellent public transport and road connections. The building is just a 15-minute walk from Atocha train station and Parque del Retiro (to the north), and a 5-minute drive to the M-30 ring road (to the south).

Over the last 10-15 years, Méndez Álvaro has benefited greatly from the general gentrification of Madrid’s southern neighbourhoods and the comprehensive supply of services that new office and residential developments have brought with them.

KCRE has been advised by Araoz y Rueda on legal matters and Mace on the technical side. The c/Juan de Mariana 15 office building is the 4th successful value-added transaction that Kefren Capital Real Estate has completed in 2017.

Kefren Capital Real Estate

KCRE is a real estate asset management company created in 2012 by the investment firm Kefren Capital. KCRE offers investors the full range of services required for real estate transactions: sourcing, analysis, financing structuring, deal negotiation and asset management. What differentiates KCRE from other platforms is its ability to co-invest and its investment philosophy – assets are managed from the perspective of the owner and not simply as a third-party manager.

Original story: KCRE Press Release (by Pelayo Primo de Rivera)

Translation: Carmel Drake

HI Partners Acquires 3 Hotels in Mallorca & Málaga

26 December 2017 – Ali Market

On 22 December, Spain’s National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV) reported that the US fund The Blackstone Group International Partners (through Halley Bidco, S.L.U.) had finally made effective the purchase of 100% of HI Partners Holdco Value Added from Banco Sabadell, in an operation worth €630.73M (…).

Hotel Investment Partners (HI Partners) divides its assets between two subsidiaries, HI Partners Holdco Value Added and HI Partners Holdco Gestión Activa. Value Added owns HI’s larger tourist accommodations, located in premium areas and capable of generating significant returns once converted. That division owns 15 tourist accommodation establishments (grouped into 14 complexes), which are integrated into various hotel groups through management and rental contracts, comprising 3,724 rooms in total.

Meanwhile, Gestión Activa (635 units spread over 11 establishments) owns the rest of the group’s assets, most of which are smaller properties, in secondary locations, with the aim of being sold after optimising their management. As at 25 December 2017, HI Partners owned a total portfolio of 4,359 accommodation units (beds) spread over 26 hotels, according to a Census performed by Alimarket Hoteles.

New additions

Blackstone’s aim over the next few years is to position HI Partners in the Spanish hotel sector and to continue adding new assets to its portfolio in order to make it one of the largest owners in the domestic hotel market. In this sense, HI Partners has just announced the purchase of three holiday resorts. Specifically, in the Balearic Islands, it has purchased ‘Calviá Dreams’ (4E-161 beds) and ‘Barracuda’ (3E-264 beds) in Magaluf (Mallorca) and in Torremolinos, it has acquired the Malagan aparthotel ‘Pueblo Camino Real’ (4E-513 beds).

The first two assets currently form part of the Alua Hotels & Resorts portfolio (a chain that is owned in its entirety by Alchemy) (…). In fact, and in its fight to grow its portfolio, Blackstone bid this year to acquire the Alua Hotels’ portfolio; however, the Socimi Hispania (the largest hotel owner in Spain, with 11,047 beds spread over 39 hotels) pipped the US fund at the post by acquiring a batch of 7 hotels linked to Alua for €165 million earlier this month (…).

Original story: Ali Market (by Ricardo Vallano)

Translation: Carmel Drake

El Corte Inglés Should Receive Approval for Madrid Mega-Centre in March

23 December 2017 – Expansión

Three years have passed since El Corte Inglés acquired the most sought-after plot of land in Madrid, a space measuring 13,000 m2, located on Paseo de la Castellana. The group paid €136 million to be awarded the land, previously owned by Adif, in a deal that involved an initial payment of €68 million, followed by the disbursement of the remaining amount three years later. And that is also how long it has taken for El Corte Inglés to process the paperwork to allow it to expand the jewel in its crown, its Castellana shopping centre. According to sources familiar with the process, in January, the Town Hall of Madrid will submit its approval of the definitive plan to the central Spanish Government (…). According to the same sources, if all goes according to plan, El Corte Inglés will receive the green light to expand its Castellana megacentre in March, or, in any case, before the summer.

A complex project

The wait of more than three years to unblock the project has been due to a mix of complexity and bad luck. The urban planning proposal for the land established a total buildable surface area of 35,192 m2, of which 10,176 m2 corresponded to three above-ground storeys for tertiary use and 25,000 m2 to four underground basement floors for parking.

This proposal was very complex given the location of the land, located as it is, right on top of the Nuevos Ministerios Metro and Renfe stations (…).

Once it has been given the green light, it is likely that El Corte Inglés, which declined to comment, will not take long to start the building work to expand its Castellana centre. Its flagship store in the Spanish capital spans a surface area of more than 170,000 m2, with 70,000 m2 of retail space spread over seven floors and 1,600 underground parking spaces. More than 3,000 people work there.

According to sources in the sector, El Corte Inglés will also take the opportunity (of the construction of the new building) to reorganise the retail space that it owns in Nuevos Ministerios, and which includes its stores located between number 83 and 85 Paseo de la Castellana, which it sold to the real estate firm Monthisa in September 2016 through a sale and leaseback agreement (…).

Premium fashion and gastronomy

The marketing and design of the new retail space that El Corte Inglés is preparing to build on the land acquired from Adif is being carried out with the utmost secrecy by the retailer, which has refused to hire real estate agents like normally happens in these types of projects (…).

The most likely course of action is that it will create a premium space to house luxury brands and the highest-level gastronomy – although that is not the only possibility that the retail chain is currently contemplating -. That would strengthen one of the main objectives of its star centre: to attract tourist shoppers in the capital (…).

Original story: Expansión (by V. Osorio and R. Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cajamar Sells 2 Problem Loan Portfolios

23 December 2017 – La Voz de Almería

Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar is continuing with the gradual reduction of its non-performing asset balance thanks to its strong performance in terms of the commercial management of its foreclosed assets and a reduction in its default rate.

In recent weeks, the entity has completed the sale of two portfolios, one containing foreclosed assets and the other containing non-performing loans, bringing the volume of problem assets sold so far this year to €791 million.

In this way, with the ordinary management of recoveries, boosted by the sale of these portfolios, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar expects to close 2017 with a non-performing loan balance of less than €3.4 billion and a default rate of less than 11%.

Asset sales

Based on data as at 15 December, the rural Almería savings bank has sold more than 4,100 real estate assets for more than €600 million in terms of their gross book value, which represents an increase in sales of 55%.

Meanwhile, its non-performing loan balance, which amounted to €4.211 billion at the end of last year, had decreased to €3.964 billion as at September.

Interest in the market

The operations that have accumulated the largest volumes have been the sale of the Escullos portfolio, containing 1,456 loans worth around €176 million, sold to CarVal Investors and the combined organisation of Lindorff and Intrum Justitia; and the Tango portfolio, comprising around 400 assets, worth more than €57 million, which was sold to the US fund Waterfall.

Both operations were carried out through competitive processes and sparked a great deal of interest in the market. They received financial advice from Alantra.

The first portfolio of non-performing loans to companies and SMEs, most of which were secured, was mainly concentrated in the Community of Valencia (48.9%) and Andalucía (25.8%), although it also contained assets in Murcia, the Canary Islands, Cataluña, Castilla (La Mancha) and Madrid. The second comprised residential properties, although it also contained commercial and industrial assets, most of which were located in Andalucía, Murcia and Valencia.

Cajamar will close a positive year in terms of divestment, with a YoY variation in terms of the number of assets sold of more than 62%. The final numbers will also reflect the results of the current promotional campaign “Now or never”, with a selection of 4,500 properties with discounts of up to 40% (…)

Original story: La Voz de Almería

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lladó Family Buys Office Building in Madrid from Axiare for €30M

22 December 2017 – Eje Prime

Axiare is ending the year by starting a new divestment phase and the Lladó family is growing its portfolio of assets. José Lladó, President and majority shareholder of Técnicas Reunidas, is exercising his real estate leg with the purchase of a building on Calle Fernando el Santo, owned by the Socimi Axiare, for €30 million. The asset will become the new headquarters of the European investment fund Eurofund Capital Partners.

The Socimi has begun its divestment phase and has decided to get rid of its Fernando el Santo property, a prime building located in the centre of Madrid, for which it will receive proceeds of €30 million.

The property, measuring 3,254 m2 spread over six floors, is located at number 15 Calle Fernando el Santo.  It has 42 underground parking spaces and currently houses the headquarters of the Argentinian embassy and consulate in Spain. It is adjacent to the current residence of the Argentinian ambassador.

The Socimi has obtained a return of 82% from this asset in just three years, after having purchased the property in 2014 for €16.5 million. Moreover, the building’s rent has risen by 43% during the three years that the company has managed it.

The new owner of the building is the Lladó family, which in recent months has opted to acquired assets located in prime areas where the value of those assets may exceed their prices over the coming years. Before acquiring this property from Axiare, the company purchased another building from the Socimi Hispania, which will house the future headquarters of the law firm Uría y Menéndez for €29 million.

In recent years, the owner of Técnicas Reunidas has also purchased a building at number 2 Marqués de la Ensenada, located just a stone’s throw from Plaza Colón in Madrid, for €6 million. In July 2014, the family office also purchased a building from Vía Célere at number 15 Paseo de Recoletos, for almost €20 million. The Lladó family also owns the property at number 33 on the same street.

Axiare starts divesting at the height of its takeover bid

The Socimi Axiare, which on the offensive, after Colonial launched a takeover bid to take control of the Socimi, is beginning a new divestment phase with the sale of this asset.

Axiare’s portfolio appeals to Colonial because it mainly comprises offices (74%), but also contains other types of assets, such as commercial premises, which account for 9% of the total, and logistics assets, which represent 18% of the total. The Socimi is led by Luis Alfonso López de Herrera-Oria.

The main assets of Axiare, whose tenants include companies such as eBay, Cuatrecasas, Konecta, McKinsey&Company and Alantra amongst its clients, are its office buildings on Calle Sagasta in Madrid, measuring 7,054 m2; on Calle Velázquez, measuring 16,816 m2; and on Calle Manuel de Falla, measuring 6,252 m2.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Optimum III Buys 48 Homes & 5 Shops on Outskirts of Barcelona

22 December 2017 – Eje Prime

Optimum III’s final push in 2017 is proving dizzying. In its latest deal, the Catalan Socimi has acquired a package of assets containing 48 homes, 5 shops and 39 parking spaces in Rubí, a town on the outskirts of Barcelona, according to a statement issued on Friday by the company, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

This purchase follows a series of acquisitions in recent weeks in the same Catalan city, where it bought a residential property in Hospitalet de Llobregat, as well as in Madrid, where it purchased an office building in the city centre.

The Socmi’s new asset has a surface area of 6,548 m2 and, as well as containing almost fifty homes, includes 51 storerooms. The company, controlled by BMB Investment Management and Bluemountain, has reported that 80% of the homes are already occupied, mainly under lease contracts, but just one of the five shops is currently leased (…).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Forcadell Advises Purchase of Industrial Warehouse in Barcelona

21 December 2017 – Forcadell

Forcadell, the real estate consultancy firm, has advised a company dedicated to the maintenance of lift equipment with more than 35 years of experience, on the purchase of an industrial warehouse measuring 2,300 m2. The company has undertaken this operation with the aim of expanding and improving its existing facilities.

The warehouse is located on the Bon Pastor industrial estate, in the district of Sant Andreu in Barcelona. This industrial estate, which is home to 350 modern and technological SMEs from various sectors, has become one of the stars of the Sant Andreu Economic Plan for 2017-2021: the Town Hall has spent €1.5 million on the initiative with the aim of boosting economic activity on the industrial estate.

According to Gerard Plana, Director of the Industrial-Logistics Department at Forcadell, “during the course of 2017, demand for industrial warehouses has recorded a very significant increase in terms of requests by companies. According to Forcadell’s Industrial-Logistics Market Report for H1 2017, the increase has represented a YoY variation of 136.9%, which means that we have seen more than twice as much demand as during the same period last year”.

Original story: Forcadell 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Town Hall of Córdoba Approves New Shopping Centre

20 December 2017 – Eje Prime

The Town Hall of Córdoba has authorised the installation of a large retail space, with an investment of €30 million, after three years of paperwork.

Rabanales 21 has finally been given the green light to open a shopping centre on its site. Rabanales Plaza could finally become a reality after three years of paperwork and institutional obstacles. On Tuesday, the plenary session of the Town Hall of Córdoba approved a change to the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU), which will allow the installation of a commercial complex in the Cordoban technological park, according to ABC Sevilla.

In total, €30 million will be invested in Rabanales Plaza, which is expected to generate 400 new jobs. The plot for the new complex spans 18,000 m2. The owners of the complex tried to build a commercial business in the city in 2015, on the Las Quemadas plots, but the crisis put an end to that venture.

Now, and after the technological estate filed for creditor pre-bankruptcy in February, the Town Hall has accepted the opening of a new retail centre, for whose land Rabanales 21 will receive €1.5 million.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake