Arcano Will Invest €200M with its Second Real Estate Fund: Ava II

19 February 2018 – El Economista

Arcano Asset Management, the asset management arm of the Arcano Group, is redoubling its commitment to the Spanish real estate market with the launch of its second fund specialising in property.

Known as AVA II, the new vehicle will have a target size of between €150 million and €200 million and will replace its first real estate fund, Asoref, by raising and investing its funds over a period of 18 months.

AVA II is going to focus on value-added operations and will complete its first close at the end of March, although it already has €40 million of funding committed, from domestic and international investors.

The fund, which is going to be open to new investors for the next 15 months, has a target net rate of return (IRR) of 15% and is going to invest in operations involving all types of real estate assets, with a clear focus on residential assets and offices in Spain’s main cities.

In addition, and in an opportunistic way, Arcano’s new fund is also going to have the option of exploring beyond Spain’s borders and investing in real estate assets in Portugal and Italy, although under no circumstances shall its investments in those countries exceed 20% of the fund’s total value.

Eduardo Fernández-Cuesta, Partner at Arcano Real Estate; José Luis del Río, CEO of Arcano Asset Management; and Pablo Gómez-Almansa, Director of Investments at Arcano Real Estate, are going to be responsible for leading this new vehicle, supported by a team of six professionals, including the recent new recruit Diego Vizcaíno, as Development Director.

Operations in Madrid

Asoref, Arcano’s first real estate fund, which has just completed its investment process, has disbursed or committed more than €170 million in total, focusing primarily on office assets and residential properties. Its most recent operation involved the purchase of Hotel La Moreleja in Madrid, for approximately €12 million, which it is going to convert into a state-of-the-art office building, designed by the architecture studio Rafael de la Hoz. The firm is going to spend around €14.5 million on the construction of that project.

That acquisition follows the purchase of another office building for corporate headquarters in Madrid at number 24 Calle Ríos Rosas, in the heart of the Chamberí neighbourhood, which has an above ground surface area of 3,517 m2.

Likewise, through this fund, Arcano has entered the residential market, closing the acquisition of a plot with a buildable surface area of 6,029 m2 in the north of Madrid, in Las Rozas, for the construction of high-end housing.

It also completed the purchase of a residential plot in the centre of Madrid, on Calle Divino Pastor 5, in the Malasaña neighbourhood, for the construction of 30 homes. Beyond Madrid, the fund closed the acquisition of a plot of land on the seafront in Benalmádena, with a buildable surface area of 12,000 m2.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake