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Distrito Castellana Norte Considers Becoming Socimi for Stock Market Listing

23 March 2018 – EjePrime

Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN), the developer and owner of much of Operación Chamartín’s lands, in Madrid, is not ruling out the possibility of a stock market listing, using its large portfolio of rental properties.

The company has the rights to the lands managed by Adif in the area surrounding the Chamartín railway station, and where an entirely new neighbourhood will be built. The municipal plan, called Madrid Nuevo Norte, which the company and the City Council are still working on, foresees the development of up to 11,000 homes on the land, as well as a business centre composed of several office towers.

This last area may be the focus of a new line of business for DCN. The Madrid-based company, run by Antonio Béjar, does not rule out the possibility of converting itself into a socimi and taking advantage of the portfolio of rental office assets that the company will have at the end of the project, according to Cinco Días.

Currently, DCN is unable to convert itself into a socimi. The company plans to invest up to 6 billion euros to purchase land (of which, 1.2 billion will go to Adif), buildings, developments and infrastructure.

Distrito Castellana Norte is 75% owned by BBVA, while the remaining 25% belongs to Grupo San José. “Spain’s regulatory framework limits the capacity for intense capital growth in socimis, so I believe that for the moment, such a conversion will be difficult, but in the future it is possible that at some point we may become a socimi,” Mr Béjar acknowledged Thursday during a conference on the real estate sector that was organized by Iberian Property and the European Public Real Estate Association (Epra).

Original Story: EjePrime

Translation: Richard Turner