Nuveen Acquires a Commercial Premise in Canalejas for €30 Million to House a Branch of Santander

The investment manager has purchased one of the commercial premises in the emblematic Canalejas Complex for around 30 million euros to house a Banco Santander branch.

The investment manager Nuveen Real Estate, with USD 125 billion in assets under management, has purchased one of the commercial premises in the Canalejas Complex, located in the central square of the same name in Madrid, for 30 million euros.

The space will be occupied by a branch of Banco Santander, the entity that sold the seven buildings that make up the project to the Villar Mir family in 2012. The Complex will include the first Four Seasons Hotel in Spain, along with twenty luxury homes and a large shopping arcade, according to reports from El Confidencial.

Read the full article in Spanish.

Orion & Wizink Abandon Their Plans to Build a Macro Shopping Centre in Sevilla

Although the project received the green light in January, the opening of the Lagoh shopping centre in 2019 and the rise of e-commerce have forced a rethink.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on retail has led to the definitive abandonment of the plans by the investment fund Orion and Wizink to build the Sevilla Park macro-shopping centre. The firms had been planning a large investment in the project, of up to €300 million, according to ABC Sevilla.

The idea to build this 150,000-square-metre shopping centre was originally conceived by the French fund Orion – Neinor’s largest shareholder – and the cultural promoter Octagon – which manages the former Palacio de Deportes in Madrid (currently the Wizink Center) – back in 2014. It was called Sevilla Park and was going to house a large auditorium with capacity for 20,000 people on a site owned by the port of Sevilla and the CLH group.

Tomás Olivo Increases his Stake in Unicaja to 4.55%

The shopping centre developer, Tomás Olivo, has strengthened his position in Unicaja after buying 24 million new shares in the financial entity.

The Murcian property developer Tomás Olivo, owner of the largest Socimi on the MAB, General de Galerías Comerciales (GGC), has increased his stake in the share capital of Unicaja after buying 24 million new shares in the entity, according to the records of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

In May, Olivo entered the share capital of Unicaja by acquiring a 3.064% stake. Now, the businessman, who owns nine large shopping centres in Spain, has strengthened his position in the entity to control 4.55% of its shares.

LCN Capital Partners Signs an Agreement with Mercadona to Buy 36 of its Supermarkets

The fund specialising in the purchase and subsequent rental of assets has signed an agreement with Mercadona to acquire the 36 supermarkets that the retailer has on the market.

An international fund has closed its first operation in the Spanish real estate market, which is still suffering from the hangover caused by the effects of Covid-19. The fund LCN Capital Partners has signed a pre-agreement with Mercadona to acquire a portfolio of 36 supermarkets, which the company led by Juan Roig put on the market in March, according to sources close to the operation speaking to Brainsre.news.

As this newspaper reported, Mercadona had reached an agreement with an international fund to exclusively negotiate the sale of this portfolio of 36 commercial establishments, spread across 13 autonomous regions, after ruling out various offers from other domestic and international investors.

Record Corporate Property Sales were Registered in Spain Before Covid

2019 was a record year in terms of corporate property sales in Europe, with a 33% increase to reach €23.1 billion. Spain established itself as the fourth most active country on the continent.

Real estate sales in Europe registered a record figure last year, reaching 23.1 billion euros, according to data from the consultancy JLL.

This volume was 33% higher than in 2018, a growing trend that the experts at the consulting firm expect will continue in 2020, due to the need that some companies will have for liquidity following the Covid-19 crisis.

In the case of Spain, companies completed 37 sales operations involving real estate assets worth €1.5 billion during 2019. Those figures represented an increase of 10% in terms of transacted volume and 48% in terms of the number of transactions, since, although the number of corporate sales increased, they were smaller deals than in 2018. This figure consolidates Spain’s position as the fourth largest market in Europe, after the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Moody’s Confirms Merlin’s Investment Grade Rating with Possible Revisions

The ratings agency has confirmed Merlin’s Baa2 ‘investment grade’ rating, but has assigned it a negative outlook, due to its exposure to shopping centres.

The ratings agency Moody’s has confirmed the investment grade (‘Baa2’) rating of the Spanish Socimi Merlin Properties two months after the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis in Spain. However, Moody’s has assigned the company a “negative outlook”, whereby leaving the door open for possible revisions, given the Socimi’s exposure to the shopping centre segment, the properties, together with hotels, most affected by the crisis .

The ratings agency also points to the stronger impact that Covid is having in Spain compared to other European countries and, specifically, in the real estate sector. Regarding commercial assets, Moody’s believes that they will be affected by a decrease in investment and occupancy ratios. However, the ratings agency considers that Merlin will be capable of facing the challenges brought by operating restrictions and lower income.

Merlin’s Profits Fall by 36% in Q1 as it Extends the Rent Subsidies for its Tenants

The Socimi earned €38.6 million in the first quarter, down by 36%, due to the sale of assets and its provisions for Covid that will have a lesser-than-expected impact on its commercial policy.

New measures, provisions and a lower impact on its commercial policy. That is how Merlin Properties is facing the crisis generated by Covid-19, which has seen the majority of its commercial tenants having to close their premises.

Despite this, Merlin generated revenues of €131.8 million euros during the 3 months to March, down by 0.6%, whilst gross rents after incentives stood at €123.3 million, equivalent to 2.6% less.

Intu Obtains the Green Light for the Sale of 50% of Puerto Venecia for €475M

The operation, which was signed in December last year, was pending approval by the competent European authorities.

The company sold its 50% stake to Generali Real Estate and Union Investment for €475 million. The operation, which was signed in December last year, was pending approval by the competent European authorities.

The other owner of Puerto Venecia is the Canadian pension fund, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

Madrid’s Gran Vía Retains its Appeal During the State of Emergency

Number 52 of the Madrilenian street is going to house the first establishment of an international Asian operator, in a space spanning 620 square metres. This operation has been signed during the State of Emergency.

Madrid’s Gran Vía is retaining its appeal to international operators during the State of Emergency. The property at number 52 of the famous thoroughfare is going to house the first establishment of an international Asian operator, in a space spanning 620 square metres.

The property, which previously housed the first McDonald’s in Spain, has now been leased, in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, by the Chinese restaurant operator Haidilao.

Sales at Shopping Centres Fell by More than 61% in March

The businesses most affected by Covid-19 in the shopping centres managed by CBRE were fashion retailers, whose sales plummeted by 70.6%; and leisure and sports retailers. Meanwhile, food sales fell by 9.3% in March.

After six consecutive years of growth, the declaration of the State of Emergency resulted in a change in trend for the revenues of shopping centres in Spain.

In this way, during the first quarter of 2020, retail sales in shopping centres fell by 15.1% in inter-annual terms and, specifically, in March – the State of Emergency came into effect on 14 March – they decreased by 61.6% compared to the same month in 2019, according to data from the real estate consultancy CBRE.