Year: 2019

Mabel Capital Purchases the Los Llanos Estate in Estepona for €20M

14 February 2019 – Preferente

Mabel Capital, the investment company owned by Abel Matutes Prats y Manuel Campos in which the sports players Rafa Nadal and Pau Gasol also own stakes, has completed the purchase of Los Llanos estate, on the beachfront in Estepona, spanning almost 40,000 m2, for €20 million. Luxury homes are going to be constructed on the plot, according to La Información.

The owner of the estate was the company Vee Inmuebles Estepona SL, behind which, as the administrator, was the German magnate Uwe Cloppenburg, owner of the retail textile chain Peek & Cloppenburg, who was asking €20 million for the plot in a single payment.

The estate has a buildable surface area of 10,000 m2, therefore, it may be used for single-family homes. The most likely outcome is the construction of luxury apartments on the beachfront in one of the most sought-after and expensive areas of the Costa del Sol.

In March 2018, the investment company owned by Matutes closed one of the most important real estate operations in Portugal. Mabel Capital acquired four buildings in Lisbon, for which it paid more than €74 million, as previously reported by preferente.com

Original story: Preferente (by R.P.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Marathon Acquires 2 Office Buildings in Madrid from CaixaBank

14 February 2019 – El Confidencial

The US fund Marathon Asset Management, one of the first to back the recovery of the residential property development sector in Spain, has set its sights on the peripheral office market. According to sources speaking to this newspaper, the firm has purchased a complex measuring 17,557 m2 in Madrid from CaixaBank.

The complex comprises two office buildings and 300 parking spaces, as well as several commercial premises and is located at number 43 on Avenida Institución Libre de Enseñanza in the Julián Camarillo area, which is home to the offices of companies such as Atos, Indra and Prisa.

It is the second operation of its kind that Marathon has carried out in the past three months, given that in November, it acquired a mixed-used complex, also in this area from Credit Suisse. That complex comprised an office building and a hotel managed by Barceló.

Specialising in value-added operations, as demonstrated in the past, with its anticipation of the recovery of the residential property development market with its investments in Habitat and San José Desarrollos (now Vía Célere), the fund is convinced about the potential of the secondary office market in Spain, which it has placed at the centre of its investment target.

In fact, Marathon is interested in closing more acquisitions of this kind both in Madrid, where it plans to continue growing in the Julián Camarillo area, and in Barcelona, where it is looking at opportunities in areas such as 22@.

Last sale by CaixaBank

The fund, which has been advised in its purchase from CaixaBank by Cuatrecasas, Arcadis and Doble Dígito Brokerage, is planning to carry out a comprehensive repositioning of the asset, given that its current occupancy rate amounts to just 30%, according to market sources. They also indicate that the acquisition price will have amounted to around €15 million.

This complex was originally promoted by Grupo Veintidós in 2010, a company that ended up transferring ownership of the complex to CaixaBank, which lodged it in its real estate subsidiary Building Center.

Meanwhile, the bank reached an agreement with Lone Star last year to sell 80% of its real estate business, which means that this could be one of the last operations that the real estate subsidiary carries out under the control of the entity.

Original story: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Iberian Capital & AEW Logistics Invest €150M in Torrejón de Ardoz

14 February 2019 – Eje Prime

E-commerce needs logistics and Torrejón de Ardoz is getting ready to host a new platform. The property developer Iberian Capital Corporation (ICC) and the US investment fund AEW Logistics are going to invest €150 million over the next four years in the development of a logistics park in the new Los Almendros Industrial Estate in Madrid.

The new platform will have a surface area of 37,818 m2 and will be available from the second quarter of 2020, according to Iberian Capital. The logistics park will be able to accommodate up to eight tenants, will have a free storage height of twelve square metres and 38 loading docks.

The location of the new platform is one of its main strengths, according to its promoters. Located in the Henares industrial and business corridor, the complex will be 13 kilometres from Madrid Barajas Airport and 21 kilometres from the centre of Madrid (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Roger Arnau)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Santander Matches the Reuben Brothers’ Bid to Acquire the Ciudad Financiera

13 February 2019 – Voz Pópuli

Santander has matched the bid presented by the Reuben brothers for the Ciudad Financiera, in a new attempt to neutralise the offensive by the British investors to acquire its headquarters in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid).

On Tuesday, the bank chaired by Ana Botín presented a preferential acquisition right against the bankruptcy of Marme – the previous owner of the Ciudad Financiera –in the commercial court of Madrid, having set aside €20 million to be able to carry out the acquisition, according to sources familiar with the process. The operation is valued at around €3 billion.

Spain’s largest bank considers that it has the option of resorting to a preferential acquisition right, established in the lease contract for the Ciudad Financiera, signed on 30 December 2008 between Marme and Santander Global Facilities.

Bankruptcy process

Nevertheless, during the bankruptcy process that has resulted in the sale of the Ciudad Financiera, the administration appointed by the judge warned that the aforementioned right could not be exercised in order to “not obstruct the liquidation of the assets any further”.

Judge María Teresa Vázquez Pizarro, from Commercial Court number 9 in Madrid, said that the purpose pursued with the transfer of the Ciudad Financiera determines “that the lessee’s right of preferential acquisition cannot be accepted, given that the interest in the continuity of the business activity prevails over any rights recognised to third parties”.

The deadline for Santander to exercise its preferential acquisition right expires in the middle of this month (…).

Last November, the bankruptcy administration announced that the Reuben brothers had submitted the highest bid for the Ciudad Financiera, exceeding even the offer presented by Santander, a decision ratified this year by the court.

Santander warned that the offer from the British investors – one of the top 100 wealthiest families in the world – should not be accepted, highlighting the corporate network that they had set up for the operation, which includes several companies registered in tax havens.

Moreover, the Spanish bank has agreed the purchase with the main creditor banks of Marme – Caixabank, ING, Natwest Markets (previously The Royal Bank of Scotland), Bayerische Landesbank, and HSH Nordbank- of their debt. Through that, it has managed to obtain the support of those entities for its intentions and they have sent letters to the mercantile court defending the purchase of the Ciudad Financiera by Santander.

The breach of the preferential acquisition right by Marme carries a fine of €500 million, and the retraction of the sale to a third party, according to the terms of the contract signed by Marme and Santander, say the sources consulted.

The same sources indicate that this fine could be supplemented by another penalty amounting to €750 million if the suitability test is not fulfilled; in total, a fine amounting to €1.25 billion that Santander hopes will serve to ensure that the Reuben brothers reconsider their strategy

Original story: Voz Pópuli (by Alberto Ortín)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Forcadell: 370,000 m2 of Office Space was Leased in Barcelona in 2018

13 February 2019 – Eje Prime

The office market in Barcelona is breaking records. In 2018, 370,000 m2 of space was leased in the city, up by 8.8% compared to 2017. According to the consultancy firm Forcadell, that trend was due to three main factors: interest from international companies, demand from tech companies and the boom in coworking.

Up to 60% of the surface area leased in 2018 corresponded to companies from overseas. According to the report from the consultancy firm, the interest from those companies in Barcelona is attributed to the city’s “entrepreneurial and innovation eco-system”, which is complemented by a commitment to technology, which has attracted companies such as Everis, Oracle and Indra.

In just one year, coworking operators have doubled the amount of space leased in Barcelona, renting out a surface area of 46,700 m2 in 2018. According to this report, the Catalan capital is the European city that has seen its office space increase by the most in percentage terms.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Proyme Buys Land from Sareb & Starts Construction at 4 Sites in Valencia

13 February 2019 – Valencia Plaza

Four residential buildings as it starts out life as a property developer. They are the figures with which the firm iHomes Urban Life is being created. It belongs to the company Proyme Grupo Gestión. The group, whose trajectory has focused exclusively on construction, decided to take advantage of the change in the cycle to develop residential projects.

Three of its projects are located in the city of Valencia and the fourth in Quart de Poblet. The largest of them is the latter, where 60 homes are being constructed in La Plaza San Rafael in the town of l’Horta Oest, on a plot acquired from Sareb. The smallest, known as Residencial Jardins del Botánic, will have 10 homes at number 16 Calle Turia.

The two remaining sites, which are both in the construction phase, are located on Avenida Primado Reig in the Valencian capital, specifically at number 136, with project Nexo Residencial, comprising 16 homes on a plot also purchased from the bad bank; and another 30 units at number 40, with project Alfa Residencial, on a larger plot before the tunnel that links to Peset Aleixandre.

According to explanations provided by sources at the group, which is originally from Algient and administered by Juan Bautista Pelufo Gayà, it is a family business with 30 years of experience, currently managed by the second generation and strengthened with personnel from other property developers (…).

Original story: Valencia Plaza (by Dani Valero)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Christie & Co: Hotel Investment Amounted to €4.9bn in Spain in 2018

13 February 2019 – Press Release

According to data available to Christie & Co, total hotel investment in Spain in 2018 amounted to €4,860 million, across a total of 223 transactions (surpassing the 185 transactions registered in 2017). That represents an average price per room of €128,000 and an increase of 24.6% in the total investment volume versus 2017, positioning Spain in second place after the United Kingdom (where investment amounted to £6,500 million), but ahead of Germany for the first time (where €4,000 million was invested).

In terms of investor profile, the report highlights the importance of investment firms as the largest source of capital in 2018, representing 53% of the total investment, with more than €2,560 million (up from 42% in 2017). Hotel companies, with 24% of the total investment figure (vs. 20% in 2017) are in second place, and REIT companies are in third place once again with 15% (vs. 16% in 2017). Furthermore, regarding origin, it is worth noting that investment from domestic players decreased in comparison to the previous year (35% in 2018 vs. 51% in 2017), to be replaced by an increase in US investors (40% in 2018 vs 23% in 2017) and the entrance of new investors from Thailand (8%) and México (4%).

The report also emphasizes how the estimated investment figure was greatly increased by portfolio transactions and significant assets, which represented more than 60% of the investment volume across the whole country. Blackstone, which was the main player in 2017 with the purchase of the HI Partners portfolio (€630 million) was again a protagonist in 2018 with the purchase of 48 hotels from the Hispania REIT portfolio, for €1,900 million.

Likewise, transactions such as the purchase of the Atom Hoteles portfolio, the joining of the Chinese group Gaw Capital and the increase in the stake of Omega Capital in the Hospes hotel chain, the 9 urban hotels in the Silken portfolio acquired by CBRE Global Investment Partners and Pygmalion Capital Advisers LLP, the takeover of NH Hotel Group by Minor International, and the purchase of Hotel Villa Magna by the Mexican REIT RLH Properties for €210m (with a record price per room of €1.4 million) caused the total volume transacted in Spain in 2018 to once again beat all the established standards (…).

Finally, the analysis shows how almost 93% of the transactions carried out in 2018 (vs. 90% in 2017) were concentrated in the same six Spanish regions as in the previous year: the Canary Islands (29.6%), the Balearic Islands (21%), Andalucía (16.5%), the Community of Madrid (12.9%), Cataluña (6.8%) and the Community of Valencia (6.3%). Regarding the average price per room per region, the Canary Islands led the ranking in the resort market, with €140,000 per room, while the Community of Madrid led in the case of urban destinations with an average price of over €200,000 per room.

Original story: Press Release

Translation: Carmel Drake

Apollo Returns to Spain with the Purchase of Properties from Santander for €200M

13 February 2019 – Expansión

The US fund, which barely has any financial assets left in Spain, is acquiring offices in secondary areas of Madrid and Barcelona.

In recent years, Apollo has dedicated itself almost exclusively to the sale of assets in Spain, which caused experts to speculate that it might be leaving the country. But the fund led in Spain by Carlos Colomer and Pablo Crespo is still present and is very much backing Spanish assets once again.

According to reports from financial sources speaking to Expansión, Apollo reached an agreement with Santander in December (…) to purchase a portfolio of so-called tertiary assets (commercial properties) worth €200 million. The transaction, according to the same sources, will be definitively closed at the end of February.

A large part of these assets are offices located in secondary areas of Madrid and Barcelona. “Half of the value of the portfolio acquired corresponds to large office buildings located in secondary locations. All of the assets are in Madrid, except for one building that is in Barcelona”, they said.

Apollo is acquiring this portfolio because it considers that rental prices in secondary markets have not recovered yet. The sources consulted believe that “the rental prices of core (higher quality) buildings are recovering, but, as prices in the city centres rise, so tenants will consider moving to more secondary locations”.

The fund’s plan goes beyond this purchase. In fact, it wants to acquire new assets to incorporate into a new vehicle to generate value from them, through capex investment, with the aim of selling them a posteriori.

The rest of the portfolio

The rest of the portfolio that Apollo has purchased from Santander comprises a mix of more heterogeneous properties, some with an industrial component, other smaller offices and other premises that they intend to sell to retail investors.

This purchase is the first that Apollo has undertaken with its latest fund called European Principal Finance III, which it raised in December 2017 with USD 4.6 billion (almost €4.1 billion). It is also the first investment that it has made since the departure of its main executive in Spain, Andrés Rubio (…).

Apollo, led by Andrés Rubio, the executive who left the firm in September last year, arrived in Spain in 2011 to take advantage of the opportunities that were emerging as a result of the financial crisis. Since then, the fund has made purchases in Spain amounting to more than €1 billion (plus debt), such as the acquisition of 85% of Altamira, Evo Banco, the credit cards of Bank of America, the mortgage business of Citi and General Electric, and the hotels that had been awarded to CaixaBank and Popular (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Daniel Badía)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Prepares for Stock Market Debut of its Socimi Inbest

12 February 2019 – Idealista

The Socimis are continuing to make inroads in the real estate market. There are now more than 70 listed vehicles operating under this regime in Spain, and another twenty new vehicles could make their stock market debuts soon, according to the experts.

They include five that the manager Corpfin Capital Real Estate has been promoting through its investment vehicle Inbest Real Estate, including a company called Inbest Prime Inmuebles Socimi. And it is precisely that company that is finalising its stock market debut.

According to explanations provided by the manager to Idealisa News, the purchases that Inbest has completed recently have been materialised through those Socimis and its objective is for them to be listed on the stock market by September this year at the latest, just two years after their constitution and, therefore, by the deadline established by the legislation for continuing to enjoy tax incentives. Nevertheless, the firm chaired by Javier Basagoiti expects that the Socimis will be listed before the summer.

Although the valuation of the assets and the price at which the shares will debut are not yet known, the portfolio will include some very well-known and sought-after assets. They include four commercial premises in Edificio España in Madrid, whose purchase was recently signed between Inbest and the hotel chain RIU, the owner of the skyscraper, for almost €160 million. The investment vehicle’s plans include establishing four flagship stores for first-rate operators from the textile and restaurant sectors.

The assets also include three others that Inbest has acquired in recent months from the Spanish department store giant: El Corte Inglés. One of them is located on Calle Colón in Valencia and spans 7,000 m2, distributed between two adjoining premises, whilst another is located on Calle Princesa in Madrid, and another still on Gran Vía in Bilbao, with a combined surface area of almost 8,800 m2 in the case of the latter two. The investment in those three buildings amounted to around €180 million.

The Socimis have a combined investment objective of €400 million (half from own funds), of which almost 85% has now been consumed, whilst the remaining amount (around €60 million) could be targeted towards a new acquisition, given that that is exactly the ticket size that the manager is interested in.

Inbest’s strategy for this game of poker between the Socimis is based on searching for assets located in prime situations (above all in Madrid, Barcelona and other important provincial capitals), and focusing on unique assets in the commercial sector. Barring any last minute changes, the firm will keep the Socimis active for at least five years after finalising the investment period (…), although that term may be extended for another two years (…).

Original story: Idealista (by Ana P. Alarcos)

Translation: Carmel Drake

BNP Paribas: Valencia’s Logistics Stock Set to Rise by 100,000 m2

12 February 2019 – Valencia Plaza

The logistics capacity in the province of Valencia is going to increase by 99,457 m2 this year with the launch of five new platforms located in Riba-roja, Torrent, Paterna and Loriguilla, according to the latest report from BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Moreover, there are locations that will offer the possibility of “turnkey” constructions with a total constructed surface area of more than 200,000 m2.

The purchase price of logistics space has risen to €200/m2-€220/m2 in the most sought-after locations due to the interest in the purchase of land from property developers and investment funds, in an area where available logistics space currently accounts for just 2.8% of the total, and 77% of that surface area is located in Riba-roja.

Due to the lack of availability, maximum rental prices have increased slightly to reach €4.5/m2/month in Riba-roja.

In 2018, demand for logistics space remained high and 24 operations were signed, three more than during the previous year. The most sought-after area was Riba-roja, which accounted for 30% of the space leased.

Nevertheless, last year closed with 127,502 m2 of logistics space leased, a very similar figure to the average for the last four years although somewhat lower than in 2017 (by 30,000 m2).

The fourth quarter of 2018 saw high leasing activity and accounted for 43% of all of the surface area leased during the year.

Original story: Valencia Plaza 

Translation: Carmel Drake