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Vocento Finalises Sale Of Its Madrid HQ To Axiare

15 December 2016 – Cinco Días

Axiare has put its foot down on the accelerator to complete several purchases during the final month of the year. In addition to its acquisition of the headquarters of Cuatrecasas and McKinsey in Madrid, the Socimi is now finalising the purchase of the building from where Vocento operates its business in Madrid. The operation will be closed imminently, for around €35 million, according to several sources familiar with the operation.

Vocento is following the strategy of moving from being the owner of the property to becoming the tenant, in exchange for making some money. Currently, the group has debt amounting to €128.5 million, according to data submitted to the CNMV relating to the third quarter.

The building, located on Calle Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena (the historical director of the ABC newspaper and member of its founding family) has been home to the newspaper since 1989, when it abandoned its headquarters on Paseo de la Castellana, where the ABC Serrano shopping centre is now located.

The holding company has negotiated a rental contract with the Socimi, which allows its companies to continue to occupy the headquarters in Luca de Tena for five years. In addition to ABC, Vocento has several online businesses, such as Infoempleo; several influential regional newspapers resulting from the merger of Prensa Española with Grupo Correo; a number of magazines; and the Colpisa agency, amongst others.

The building is located at exit Km 7 on the A-2 motorway. This area of the capital has been enjoying a busy few months, with Popular constructing its new corporate headquarters on the adjoining plot of land, and the University Clinic of Navarra building its first major hospital in Madrid just a few metres away, which is expected to open next year.

Through this acquisition, Axiare Patrimonio adds another new building to its growing portfolio, which comprises offices, retail and logistics assets. The Socimi, which debuted on the stock market in 2014, has now accumulated assets worth €1,230 million in just over two years. These types of listed real estate investment company have beneficial tax regimes, whereby they do not pay corporation tax, but they are obliged to distribute dividends on an annual basis. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake