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Axa Beats Records Offering €80 Mn For a Gran Via Building

13/11/2014 – Expansion

French insurance company Axa has just closed a record-price purchase in the Spanish real estate market. Namely, it bought the building found at number 37 of the Gran Via street in Madrid. The property, known as the old Avenida cinema, since 2009 till now is let to clothing brand H&M.

Of the total 4.000 square meter area, the flagship store occupies 2.300 square meters. Constructed in years 1927-1928 by architect Jose Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo Arrieta-Mascarua, the building housed the old Pasapoga banquet hall, too.

The transaction price means that one square meter of the property has been valued at €20.000, a record price in this prime area. In the last months, the Gran Via vicinity revived with new commercial and hotel projects.

Lawyers office Hervert Smith and Deloitte Real Estate advised Axa, and Renta Corporación assisted the vendor, whose name has not been disclosed.

The Fashionable Street

The abovementioned deal takes place in a great moment for this famous Madrid artery, seeing tenant changes and arrivals of textile and hotel giants, such as Indigo, InterContinental, Ibis Styles (Accor), as well as Spanish NH Collection, Innside and Only You.

A little bit more than 100 meters away, at the number 32, there stands another building for sale. It is currently undergoing a thorough remodelation, preparing it to welcome a Primark store. Bought in 2008 by Drago Capital from Prisa, now it is listed for €400 million. At the moment, German fund Deka leads at the bidding offering around €350 million.

This building has 36.376 square meters, so selling it at the price set by Drago would mean a cost of 11.000 euros per square meter, and 9.622 euros if Deka’s bid wins. However, best shops on the Gran Via, crowded both with tourists and local consumers, have seen prices ranging from 30.000 to 40.000 euros a square meter, JLL assures.

In summer, the property at the number 20 of the popular street was sold by the Community of Madrid for €19.96 million (4.443 €/sq m) and the authority stayed in it as a tenant.

 

Original article: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: AURA REE