Home Capital has leapt onto the Alternative Investment Market (MAB). The Socimi, which is dedicated to the rental of apartments for professionals on business trips, has received approval from the stock market regulator to start trading on the MAB at a price of €8.36 per share, which means a company valuation of €50.2 million. The firm is making its debut on the alternative market in the midst of the coronavirus crisis and has already warned that "it (the crisis) could have a material and negative impact on the balance sheet, results, economic outlook and assets " of the company, according to Europa Press. Specifically, the Socimi has warned that business travel will be affected by the crisis, which will directly affect its turnover given that it is driven by the rental of apartments to professionals. The firm is owned by Timón (26%), the Polanco family's real estate company, and is chaired by Borja Jesús Pérez Arauna, who in turn has an indirect stake of 6.84% in Timón. Specifically, the Socimi’s business objective is to invest in residential buildings in order to renovate them and then dedicate them to medium-term corporate leasing.
The significant decreases suffered by practically all the stock markets around the world, with the exit of thousands of investors, has left changes in two of the large Spanish listed real estate companies. Such is the case of Lar España. The company specialising in shopping centres, which was due to hold its annual shareholders' meeting this week, has seen the company Brandes Investment Partners reduce its stake in the Socimi to below 3%, according to the registers held by Spain's National Stock Market Commission (CNMV). In this way, Brandes Investment, which first acquired share capital in Lar España in August 2016, has gone from owning 5.03% to 2.94%, its smallest stake since becoming a shareholder. Another real estate company, Renta Corporación, has also undergone changes in its reference shareholders. In its case, the manager Santander Small Cap has reduced its stake in the company, down from 3.55% to 2.32%, according to the CNMV. This is the first move by the Santander firm since June 2019 when it first acquired a stake in Renta (3.5%).
The effects of the coronavirus are also impacting the sale and purchase of homes and the signing of mortgages, at least in March and April. More than 30,000 home loans are in danger, if we look back at the number signed in March 2019 by way of reference. Specifically, 30,176 mortgage contracts, according to data from INE. Meanwhile, the Government is already beginning to take measures in relation to the real estate sector: on Tuesday, it agreed to postpone the mortgage repayments of those people in situations of economic vulnerability affected by the coronavirus crisis. This is a measure that banks already expected. They have also asked for the provisions required by law to be relaxed. Why? Because based on the current banking regulations in Europe, a moratorium on the payment of mortgage repayments would force the affected loans to be reclassified as doubtful, known as NPLs (Non-Performing Loans), which would trigger the obligation for the banks to dispose of them through portfolio sales to avoid being penalised.
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