122
122

Pontegadea, GMP & Insurers Vie For Old Saint Gobain Premises

30/10/2014 – Expansion

The sale of the old headquarters of Saint Gobain (pictured in the center), situated at 77 Paseo de la Castellana street in Madrid, has become a special focus of international funds and Spanish companies.

BBVA’s 16-storey property is located in the downtown and within the Azca zone has 16.000 square meter area. It stands just next to the Torre Picasso tower, owned by Pontegadea, and the Torre BBVA, unit of Gmp. In fact, the two neighbors expressed their interest in buying the property, said sources close to the process.

When it comes to Gmp, the real estate firm and its partner Singapore Sovereign Fund (GIC) has recently presented its new strategic plan.

In turn, Pontegadea, owner of the abovementioned Torre Picasso and the 79 Castellana building, has been doing shopping in markets of London and New York. If the firm of Amancio Ortega purchases the property, it will be able to create synergies as ‘the current tenants of its units want to grow and have no available space for that’, the sources assure.

Other potential bidders for the Saint Gobain tower are insurers like Mapfre or Generali, unable to resist an office building on the Castellana street.

The Price

In 2003, BBVA acquired the unit for €87.5 million from Saint-Gobain that have been renting it until last year, when it moved to 4.300 square meter office space at 132 Principe de Vergara street.

It is expected the entity will ask for a similar amount, in spite of the need of an overall renovation of the property, estimated to require an up to €10 million expense. In any way, until now BBVA has preferred to see the bids before setting any price.

 

Original article: Expansión (by R. Ruiz)

Translation: AURA REE