Author: facuna

MAB, The Alternative Stock Market, Is Ideal for SMEs Which Need Boost for Their Business

06/08/2014 – Expansión

From renting five apartments among friends to managing more than 24,000 properties in 106 countries. That is the story of Only-Apartments, a company created in 2003 by two architects living in Barcelona, Alon Eldar and Elisabet Cristià, the success of which has led its founders  to take the leap onto MAB, the alternative stock market, in search of finance which is intended to accelerate its growth and ignorethe Gowex fraud, which has left the alternative stock market in a difficult period. “We are the first company to be listed on the MAB alternative stock market since the scandal and we have made a very good start. Gowex is an isolated case”, assures Eldar. “It is good that MAB is in the public eye because it is a market of SMEs, ideal for people who need a boost for their business”, they recognise.

As for the motive for which they went for a listing, Eldar explains that “Only could continue to grow like it has done to date, organically, but this would put a limit to our rhythm of progress. We believe that there is an advantage to positioning ourselves as leaders in the sector and, to do that, finance is required”.

The company considered the possibility of going public on MAB after the summer but decided to do it “as soon as possible”, by means of a direct listing, without making an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares. ”We have decided to go public by means of a direct listing because we want the shareholders to participate in the company’s creation of value. It means sharing the business rather than selling it, which is what an IPO means”, state QRenta, the firm which has advised them in the MAB listing process.

AS for the business model, its founders explain that “Only-Apartments is not the first shared-economy company to go public, others such as Spotify have done it and successfully. There is a clear demand for this type of company linked to the collaborative economy and this concept is going to play an increasingly important role.”

Before taking the leap onto the stock market, in May, Only made a capital injection of 3.4 million euros, a rate of 1,26 euros per share. The transaction implied valuing the company at 10 million euros. “Between 2011 and 2013, our average sales were 5.1 million with a net profit of one million. We hope that in 2017 our revenues will be between 40 million and 50 million euros, and that profits will represent between 15% and 20% of those revenues,” explain the company’s management.

After the capital injection, the founding partners maintain 65% of the share capital and the rest is listed on the stock market. “Our idea is to have a second round of financing in Autumn and to do that we want the value to increase and we want to conduct this new raising of funds under the best possible conditions,” underlines Cristià. With the funds obtained, Only-Apartments plans to increase its presence in the markets of the American continent and Asia. “There is an enormous potential in both areas and also in Europe. It is a sector where only 5% or 6% of the product is on the market”, explains Eldar. His plan is to reach 300,000 apartments in the next three months.

Original article: Expansión (by R. Ruiz./C.G.Bolinches)
Translation: Aura REE

The Constructions of Homes is Bouncing Back Eight Years Later

05/08/2014 – Cinco Días

The cranes are back. Following the increase which the sales of homes are beginning to experience in various places in the country and the cautious return of prices to positive rates in those places with the most demand, it was only a matter of time before construction would awaken from the slumber which has already lasted eight years. It has been the deepest and longest-lasting crisis the sector has experienced in recent history.

The Ministery of Development has just announced that the permits requested to build homes amount to a total 14,944 houses in the first five months of the year, which still represents a 3.1% decrease on the same period in the prior year. This is a contraction on an overall basis, but a much gentler one than that experienced only one month earlier, when the reduction was 8.8% year on year.

Furthermore, even those areas where the construction activity shows no signs of rising being able to rise above the low figures of last year, it is evident that during April and May, months which fall into the second quarter, those areas have shown more encouraging signs. In May alone 3,264 permits to build homes were accounted for, which represents 9.4% more than 30 days earlier. These are small steps which go towards softening a situation which has reached levels of deprivation never-before imagined.

As an example to understand the magnitude of the contraction experienced in the sector, remember that in the whole of last year only 34,288 homes were built, a figure which is equivalent to 4% (yes only one digit) of everything built in 2006, the year in which all records were beaten (building reached the astounding sum of 865,561 homes). As a result, the almost 15,000 permits which were registered in the period up to this May provide an indication that this year, even if the situation little improves during the remainder of the year, at the end of December there will be more production of housing than in 2013. Above all because there are already seven autonomous regions where in January to May more homes were started than in the same period last year. They include Asturias (+35.8%), Castilla-La Mancha (+10.3%), Castilla y Leon (+12.6%), Catalonia (+9.6%), Valenciana (+14.8%), Galicia (+31.6%) and Madrid (+17.1%).

Absorbing the stock of homes

These are some of the most important regions for the real estate sector, since, for example, sales in Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia usually represent more than 60% of the total. For this reason, it is only logical that the construction of homes should begin in these regions, except for in Andalusia (where it is still decreasing at a rate of 24.9%).

Those areas where sales and absorbing the stock of homes are at their greatest (in the centre of the peninsula and essentially the whole Mediterranean crescent) must be where supply begins to increase again, if we are to avoid the excesses of the past. Still fresh in the collective memories of the property developers is the madness of eight years ago and in that of the citizens the utter swarms of cranes which could be seen for too many miles on end. “That cannot be repeated and we do not believe it is going to be repeated because, besides the fact that demand will no longer return to the levels experienced during the boom, the banking sector will no longer be so eager to lend neither to developers nor to individuals”, state representatives of a real estate company which specialises in the holiday home segment.

In fact, this return of cranes to the places where the demand is willing to buy at reasonable prices, is also tightly linked to turning back on the finance tap. Sources of the banking sector admit that they have started to issue loans again to construction companies with solvent projects “in those places where it makes sense to start constructing homes again.”

And, as was logical, this increase in activity has already translated into the macroeconomic figures published last week. First was the Bank of Spain, which in its last report on the state of the economy in which it estimated that economic growth had accelerated to 0.5% in the second quarter of the year, it highlighted that residential investment had slowed down its contraction from April to June.

It calculated that it would have experienced a quarter-on-quarter contraction of 0.8% in those three months (a rate similar to that of the period from January to March) “in a context in which the main indicators of the real estate market began to show signs of a significant slow down of the sector’s contraction”. On the same note, the supervisor pointed out that the “number of new construction permits no longer showed a downward trend, hovering in the last few months at figures slightly above the historic minimum.” And a few days later, the Spanish Statistical Office (INE) announced that the GDP rose by around 0.6%, above all boosting private consumption and business investment, among which the beginning of this improvement in the construction industry can be found.

Original article: Cinco Días (by Raquel Díaz Guijarro)
Translate: Aura REE

Sabadell Sells 554 Million of Doubtful Debts to Aiqon Capital for €23,3 Million

05/08/2014 – Expansión

Bank Sabadell has completed on Monday the sale of a portfolio of debts which were completed provided against amounting to 554 million euros to the international investor group Aiqon Capital for a price of 23,3 million euros.

The sale is part of a transaction referred to as Project Siroco, and in doing so it transfers the risk of these portfolios, the bank presided by Josep Oliu has announced in a statement.

The general director of Bank Sabadell, Miguel Montes, has pointed out that this transaction is “new evidence of the capacity of the bank to produce transactions which help to reduce the exposure of non-strategic assets.

Furthermore, the transaction, which forms part of the balance sheet transformation strategy, has been carried out by means of a competitive sales process which has generated significant investor demand and which positions the bank as one of the primary operators of this type of portfolio.

The transaction has been managed by the structured transactions team, which belongs to the Institutional Markets Management team of Bank Sabadell’s Asset Management area.

Original article: Expansión
Translation: Aura REE

Tecnitasa Purchases Tasaciones Andaluzas From Unicaja

05/08/2014 – Expansión

The company Técnicos en Tasación (known as Tecnitasa) has acquired 100% of the share capital of Tasaciones Andaluzas (Tasa) which up to now belonged to Unicaja. The transaction, the amount of which has not been disclosed, has been carried out with equity.

Tecnitasa, which has 47 branches in Spain and is the third largest operator in the sector, already acquired the company Servicios Vascos de Tasaciones (Servatas) from Kutxabank two years ago.

The company asserts that this acquisition forms part of its strategic growth strategy, acquiring companies with which it achieves clear synergies and geographic positioning.

Andalusian business

The current president of Tecnitasa, José María Basañez, who will also hold the same role in the acquired company, states that the objective is to “maintain Tasa’s position as a key player in the property valuation sector in Andalusia”. The acquired firm will maintain its central offices in Malaga and will continue to focus its activity in this Autonomous Region.

“Gradually the technical criteria, IT resources and general services of both companies will be integrated”, explains the president of the firm in a statement.

Tecnitasa closed its last fiscal year with revenue of over 15 million euros. In addition to its latest acquisitions in Spain, in 2012 it completed the purchase in Mexico of the company Unidad de Valuación Tasvalúo. Founded in 1985, Tecnitasa currently carries out around 40,000 valuations each year. The company is controlled by a group of private investors, its president being one of them.

Original article: Expansión
Translation: Aura REE

Banco Popular Agrees to Sell 51% of Its Card Issuing Business to Värde

05/08/2014 – Cinco Días

Banco Popular has reached an agreement to sell to the American firm Värde Partners 51% of its Bancopopular-e credit card business, according to the Spanish bank today.

In a statement sent to the Spanish Securities & Exchange Commission (CNMV), BancoPopular clarifies that the details of the corresponding administrative approvals are still outstanding for the pending transaction.

In December 2013, Banco Popular signed an agreement for the sale of its real estate business, Aliseda, to Värde Partners and Kennedy Wilson for 815 million euros.

Original article: Cinco Días
Translation: Aura REE

Aktua Receives a Credit Rating From S&P as a Real Estate Management Business

05/08/2014 – Expansión

The mortgage and real estate asset management business Aktua now has a credit rating from the rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P). This firm comprises the acquisitions of Banesto and BMN’s real estate management businesses, made by the North American fund Centerbridge. The statement from S&P may provide a boost to Aktua’s business.

In a report, the rating agency points outthe growth which Aktua has experienced and highlights the solid and professional management team, the internal control systems and encouraging rates of recovery.

It is the first rating of Aktua given by S&P. Enrique Dancausa, CEO of the real estate operator, believes that “this rating reaffirms our position of leadership and as being a point of reference in the management of mortgage assets in the Spanish market, where there is a great necessity for advanced management.”

Business in Spain

Aktua is the brand name with which the American fund Centerbridge operates in Spain, after being acquired by Banesto at the end of 2012 for 100 million euros. With this transaction, Centerbridge became the first international fund to purchase real estate and mortgage asset management subsidiaries from the Spanish bank.

Additionally, the North American investor last April acquired BMN’s real estate management company for 50 million euros, positioning itself as one of the principal brick and mortar management businessin the country.

Original article: Expansión
Translation: Aura REE

Evo Banco Grows Thanks to the Acquisition of Finanmadrid

05/08/2014 – Expansión

Apollo yesterday completed the merger of two of its four banking businesses in Spain. EvoBanco, the bank which bought NCG Bank almost one year ago, has acquired Fracciona, the old Finanmadrid which Apollo acquired from Bankia in March 2013.

With this transaction, Apollo unites its retail banking and consumer creditsubsidiaries (Evo and Fracciona, respectively). As a result, EvoBanco increases its activity in Spain by 132,000 new customers, a total of 335 million euros of loans and 67 new employees.

In total, this bank now has a total of 357,000 customers, 602 employees and assets valued at 2,350 million euros.

Apollo purchased EvoBanco for 60 million euros. The North American investment fund had to accept stricter conditions from the Bank of Spain, such as injecting a greater amount of capital as a buffer and committing to not sell in the short term.

The fund also has a further two businesses in Spain: AvantCard, Bank of America’s old credit card business; and Altamira, Santander’s real estate management business, of which the fund has an 85% share and the bank a 15% share.

To complete the AvantCard business, Apollo is looking into the possibility of investing in the credit card and consumer credit businesses of BancoPopular and Citibank.

In total, the fund has now invested close to 1,500 million in Spanish banking businesses during the financial crisis.

Original article: Expansión (by J.Z. Madrid)
Translation: Aura REE

The Banking Sector Sells 40.000 Properties in the First Half, a 10% Increase

05/08/2014 – Expansión

The banking sector is putting the gas on the sale of homes. The primary banks in the country handed over close to 40,000 properties during the first six months of 2014, a 10% increase on the same period last year.

With these figures, the large listed banks (Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Bankia, Sabadell, Popular and Bankinter) have managed to slow down the accumulation of foreclosed assets on their balance sheets, the volume of which has stabilised in recent months and, in some cases, has even reduced.

The best news for the banks is that not only have they sold more homes, but they have done so with fewer discounts and for larger amounts. “The improvement in the property market allows for profitability criteria to be incorporated into the commercial management without slowing done the pace of activity”, CaixaBank affirmed in their presentation of half year results.

In total, the transfer of properties has brought approximately 4,500 million euros to the banks, almost a 20% increase on the first half of 2013. These sales include not only homes – the banks are also moving commercial properties, garages, storage spaces and land.

Another impact of this trend is that the banks are starting to issue more mortgages again. Santander announced that it has increased its issuing of mortgages by 62% and Bankinter has doubled its market share of loans (from 2.8%) within the new mortgages, of which it accounts for 6.1%. This competition has been reflected in the prices offered on mortgages, which have dropped more than two percentage points below the Euribor rate.

The largest player in the property market has come from the hands of Sabadell, which absorbed all the property portfolio of CAM. Through its subsidiary Solvia, the bank has achieved sales of 1,319 million, a 7% increase on the first half of 2013. This has been achieved in spite of selling 3% fewer properties, as many as 7,541. The bank points out that Solvia is focusing on the sale of homes worth more than 100,000 euros, with financing, and that it is already seeing “price increases in some developments”. Madrid, Cantabria, the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands are the regions experiencing average increases of the value of homes, according to data from the Spanish Statistical Office (INE).

BBVA is another of the banks which has upped the pace the most, with 11,402 properties transferred for a total of 910 million in the half. These figures include the sales of property developers, unlike with other banks. Sabadell and BBVA, the only two large banks which have not sold their real estate firms, are the ones which are contributing the most to the upward trend. Hot on the tales of these two groups are CaixaBank and Santander, which sold their real estate businesses to TPG and Apollo, respectively. CaixaBank transferred 7,229 properties in the half, versus Santander’s 6,000, with a 27% reduction compared with 2013. The CEO of the group, Javier Marín, explained two days ago that the entity is avoiding making sales with losses and that it is already noticing price increases “in some segments”. He added that Santander has 159 developments in progress, with 40% of them already sold.

Competition from Sareb

Joining the large banks is a new competitor, Sareb, which a year and a half after its creation is already among the top of the ranks. According to data provided by its president, BelénRomana, this company transferred 5,150 homes in the first four months of the year, which extrapolated to the first half would be 7,725 sales.

Original article: Expansión (by J.Z./A.T./M.G.B.)
Translation: Aura REE