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Santander & Costain End Their RE Partnership In Sotogrande

2 July 2015 – Expansión

The Spanish bank and the British company are sharing out Alcaidesa’s assets – the development is worth around €90 million.

According to the agreement reached between the two partners, Santander will retain the majority of the land owned by Alcaidesa Holding for residential development, whilst Costain will keep two small plots of land and the operational management of golf courses and the marina, which are already in operation.

To complete the transaction, Costain will pay Santander €37.3 million for its 50% stake in Alcaidesa and will take on €8.5 million of the debt that the property developer owes to the bank. The bank, through its subsidiary Altamira, will hold onto the majority of the property developer’s land, worth €45.8 million.

Santander inherited its stake in Alcaidesa from Banesto, which in turn formed an alliance with Costain in the 1990s, to undertake this residential and leisure project in the Cadiz town of La Línea, near Sotogrande. The crisis that began in 2008 caused a slow down in the construction of more homes in Alcaidesa, which left several unbuilt plots of land that will now pass into Santander’s hands.

The parties expect to complete the transaction in September, once all of the administrative and tax formalities have been completed.

At the end of 2014, the funds Cerberus and Orion Capital paid NH Hotels Group €225 million for the assets (for development), golf course and hotels in Sotogrande.

Original story: Expansión (by Roberto Casado)

Translation: Carmel Drake