CBRE Global Investment Partners and IBA Capital to Sell Gran Vía 18 in Madrid

CBRE Global Investment Partners and IBA Capital announced their intention to sell the property located at Gran Vía 18, in Madrid for an estimated 70 million euros. The two firms acquired the asset in 2017 for €44 million and have since implemented a major renovation.

The building, which is on the corner of Calle Clavel, will become a mixed-use retail and office building. The retail side of the asset, which has a basement and seven above-ground floors, is large enough to accommodate a flagship store of a major retailer.

Blackstone’s Real Estate Empire in Spain

The US giant controls at least 100,000 real estate assets in Spain through dozens of companies. Most of the properties are in Catalonia. When it finally completes the purchase of the Popular’s real estate portfolio, Blackstone will become the largest property development company in Spain, ahead of Sareb.

Few ordinary people have heard of Blackstone. Even when asked about it, this firm sounds more like a private mercenary company (Blackwater) than what it is: one of the largest asset managers in the world and the largest foreign investor in Spanish property.
 
 
 
 

Silicius Real Estate Completes €22-Million Capital Increase

The Socimi Silicius Real Estate has finalised a further €22-million capital increase. The increase is aimed at “the continuation of the investment plan set out in the Company’s Business Plan.” Current shareholders took up the new shares, along with 13 new investors.
The firm also acquired 29% of Shark Capital, which is also managed by Mazabi. Shark invests in real estate focusing on long-term, stable income streams. It currently owns properties in London, Amsterdam and Luxembourg.

Grupo Abu Acquires Land in Seville

The Seville-based real estate company Abu has managed to finalise the acquisition of several plots of land that had once belonged to the La Trinidad glass factory. Abu took two years to reach an agreement with the 41 small owners.

The agreement will permit Abu to begin the development of the land under the Carmona-Ronda de Capuchinos Special Plan for Internal Reform. The land has a total of 29,000 square meters, enough for 200 homes. The development would also provide the city with 14,167 square meters of free spaces and 1,578 square meters for services of public and social interest.

Euronext Access Vies With MAB for Socimis

Euronext Access is increasingly competing for listings of socimis with Spain’s Alternative Market (MAB). The stock exchange is comparable to the MAB in that it is aimed at companies with smaller capitalisations. Euronext, however, has the added benefit of lower costs and requirements.

Those benefits, together with Euronext’s pan-European reach (with a presence in Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Norway and the United Kingdom), are leading a growing number of socimis to opt for a listing in Paris instead of in Madrid.

Invesco to Convert Newly Acquired Office Building in Madrid to Flats

The US firm Invesco Real Estate has reached an agreement, together with the Spanish real estate company Grupo Barba, to acquire the former headquarters of the Madrid Traffic Headquarters, a building located Calle Arturo Soria 125 in the capital. The two firms are buying the asset from its previous owner, the socimi Jaba I Inversiones Inmobiliarias.

The new owners plan to convert the property into an apartment building. The property has approximately 5,700 square meters of surface area on five above-ground floors.

Grupo HNA Acquires the Torre Spínola in Madrid for €52 Million

19 December 2019 – Invesco Real Estate has sold the Torre Spínola to the HNA Group in a deal worth approximately 52 million euros. The global real estate investment management firm had only acquired the property at the beginning of this year from Lar España for 37 million euros, a 71% return on its initial investment.

The building, which is located in the region of Chamartín in the north of Madrid, has 12 floors and a total gross leasable area of about 8,875 square meters. Invesco’s new acquisition is at Calle Cardenal Marcelo Spínola 42. During its ownership, Lar implemented a €9-million refurbishment.

After its purchase, Invesco subsequently mandated Knight Frank to lease offices in the property. This year, firms including OPD Energy, Walmeric and Marco de Comunicación signed long-term leases.

Original Story: El Economista – Alba Brualla

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Bain Capital Hires JP Morgan and Deloitte to Securitise NPLs

18 December 2019 – Bain Capital has hired JP Morgan and Deloitte to sell off all of the non-performing loans it acquired in Spain during the crisis. The portfolio has a nominal value of approximately €4 billion, though it is likely to sell at a significant discount.

The firm is looking to securitise the portfolio of NPLs. The credits would remain in the same companies, but any new investors would assume the risks and the potential profits.

Market analysts believe that Bain’s decision is linked to two major factors. First, the entrance of Unidas Podemos into the governing coalition, together with the Socialists, an second the expected coming change in the economic cycle. Both have been roiling the market in the last few weeks.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Jorge Zuloaga

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Sareb Looks for New CEO to Lead Development of Homes

Sareb is looking for a new CEO to lead the company’s transition to the real estate business. The current president, Jaime Echegoyen, will continue to act as Sareb’s president. The model is similar to the one that Sareb used before when Echegoyen was CEO and Belén Romana was president.

Sareb presented a new strategy earlier this year. The bad bank is now looking to develop 17,000 new homes via the real estate developer Árqura Homes by 2027. The homes are expected to cost between 200,000 and 220,000 euros, essentially guaranteeing a minimum level of demand. Though homes sales fell in October and analysts fear a change in the economic cycle, the homes Sareb intends to sell are in provinces where housing prices have not increased to the extent that they have in the larger cities.

Original Story: El Diário – Marina Estévez Torreblanca

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Grupo Abu Acquires Land in Seville

18 December 2019 – The Seville-based real estate company Abu has managed to finalise the acquisition of several plots of land that had once belonged to the La Trinidad glass factory. Abu took two years to reach an agreement with the 41 small owners.

The agreement will permit Abu to begin the development of the land under the Carmona-Ronda de Capuchinos Special Plan for Internal Reform. The land has a total of 29,000 square meters, enough for 200 homes. The development would also provide the city with 14,167 square meters of free spaces and 1,578 square meters for services of public and social interest.

Original Story: ABC de Sevilla – María Jesús Pereira

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner