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Lar Buys Gran Vía de Vigo Shopping Centre For €141M

8 July 2016 – Expansión

The Socimi Lar España is strengthening its position in the shopping centre market. The company has reached an agreement with the investment firm Oaktree to acquire the Gran Vía de Vigo shopping centre for €141 million. The deal is expected to be signed in Q4 2016.

Gran Vía de Vigo was acquired by Oaktree in 2014 for €115 million. This is the second purchase that Lar has made from the US fund in less than a year, after the Socimi bought the Megapark Barakaldo shopping centre in Vizcaya last October for €170 million.

The shopping centre – one of the largest in Galicia, along with Marineda City, in A Coruña – has a retail area of 41,246 sqm. The centre, opened in June 2006, spans three floors dedicated to retail space and another three for parking, with capacity for more than 1,700 cars.

Capital increase

In order to raise finance, the company has launched a capital increase amounting to €47 million through the issue of 30 million new shares with a subscription value of €4.92.

The company will use these funds to expand its current portfolio of assets. Specifically, Lar has identified investment opportunities in the market amounting to €838.5 million in total, including this shopping centre. 81% of those assets under analysis are shopping centres, 14% are offices and the remaining 5% are other types of properties.

The capital increase will be performed with subscription rights. The company indicates that, just like happened a year ago in its previous capital increase, a “solid base” of the existing shareholders have expressed their intention to execute those rights. The company’s main shareholders include the Spanish (fund) manager Bestinver, controlled by the Entrecanales family, as well as international funds, such as Pimco, BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.

JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are acting as coordinating entities and they have underwritten the capital increase, together with Fidentiis.

The Chairman of Lar España, José Luis del Valle, indicated that this increase reflects “the strength and attractiveness” of the Socimi and adds value to its capacity to go to the capital markets with guarantees of success.

Lar España owns assets worth €1,003 million in total. Of those, €728 million corresponds to the acquisition of 13 retail spaces (shopping centres) in Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, Alicante, Cantabria, Lugo, León, Vizcaya, Navarra, Guipúzcoa, Palencia, Albacete and Barcelona; €150 million relates to four office buildings in Madrid and one in Barcelona; €70 million corresponds to four logistics assets in Guadalajara and one in Valencia; and €55 million relates to a residential property on Calle Lagasca, 99 (Madrid).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake