Tag: Adidas

WeWork to Launch its ‘Custom Buildout’ Business in Spain

28 March 2019 – Idealista

The US co-working company WeWork is studying the rental of entire buildings in Spain to dedicate to its custom buildout business. The service offers large corporations assets fitted out and managed by the brand. The company is already looking at potential properties in Barcelona.

WeWork now has ten co-working office spaces in Madrid and Barcelona (5 in each city), but its plan is to offer large corporations a new service that would house their headquarters and manage all of their needs, leveraging the firm’s know-how in the office management segment.

According to its business model, WeWork speaks to its clients first to understand their needs and desires. It then searches for the best offers, assumes the risks of a long-term contract and the capital investment, and manages the property for the company on an on-going basis, offering services such as fresh fruit, water and security, as well as events for employees.

In this way, the firm would start to compete directly with stalwarts of the sector such as CBRE, JLL, Savills Aguirre Newman and Cushman&Wakefield.

WeWork already offers this service to several corporates around the world, including Starbucks, Facebook, Adidas, Salesforce, Blackrock and Citi, amongst others.

Original story: Idealista (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

WeWork Doubled its Losses in 2018 Due to Global Property Purchases

27 March 2019 – Eje Prime

The US co-working company WeWork doubled its losses in 2018 to USD 1.9 billion (€1.7 billion), due to the huge outlay it made expanding its business around the world. Nevertheless, it did also double its revenues to USD 1.8 billion (€1.6 billion).

The company founded by Adam Neumann in 2010 closed 2018 with shared offices in more than 100 countries as well as rental contracts with several major corporates, such as Microsoft, Adidas and Citigroup, which account for one third of its tenants.

The valuation of the company, which leases space to 401,000 people globally, amounts to USD 47 billion. In Spain, the company has five spaces in Barcelona and four in Madrid, with new openings imminent.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Triuva Wants to Spend €100M in Spain Following Its Integration into Patrizia

3 April 2018 – Eje Prime

The German fund Triuva is looking for opportunities in Spain. The company, which has just completed its integration into another German real estate company, Patrizia, is going to allocate around €100 million to the acquisition of new assets in the Spanish market. The group is currently finalising the renovation of a building on Calle Serrano, 90 in Madrid, and has already leased the 6,300 m2 of retail and office space to Maisons du Monde and Natixis, respectively.

The fund is still hungry for new assets in Spain, and so it is considering the acquisition of office buildings, commercial assets and even hotels. Currently, the Spanish arm of Triuva is fully integrated into the Spanish business of Patrizia, which has its offices on the Madrilenian street Calle Génova.

Patrizia purchased the entire Triuva business in November last year, whereby creating a real estate giant of more than €30 billion. Triuva manages some forty funds around the world and has teamed up with more than eighty institutional investors in recent years.

Triuva has around 270 assets under management, worth €9.7 billion. In Spain, the fund owns three properties in prime locations. The first, acquired during the first quarter of 2015 for €70 million, is located on Calle Preciados, 4, and is leased to the fashion chain Sfera, itself owned by the Madrid-based department store group El Corte Inglés.

Last year, the fund acquired the Adidas flagship store located on Gran Vía, 21, also in Madrid, which had been owned until then by Iberfin Capital, which is in turn, owned by Medcap Real Estate. The consideration paid for that operation was not disclosed (…).

Serrano 90, its latest project 

The Serrano 90 building, also owned by Triuva, is located in the heart of Madrid’s golden mile. 70% of its total available space is allocated to offices and the remaining 30% to commercial use; the property also has a parking lot on its lower floors. According to sources in the sector, the fund has spent around €10 million on the renovation of the asset.

At the beginning of this year, Triuva closed the rental of 6,300 m2 of retail and office space. The retail premises have been leased to the French firm Maisons du Monde, which is going to open its first flagship high street store in Madrid, to accompany the store it already has in central Barcelona.

The household furniture and accessories firm is going to lease 1,860 m2 of space in the building spread over three floors (…). Similarly, the property is going to house the headquarters of Natixis, a French corporate and investment bank, whose offices are currently located in Recoletos. Triuva and the banking institution have signed a rental agreement for 2,940 m2 of office space, as well as the terrace and 34 parking spaces in the Serrano 90 building.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Duro Felguera Sells 2 Madrid Office Buildings to Signal Capital

14 March 2018 – Property Funds World

Signal Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of two office buildings in Madrid from Duro Felguera. Optimus Global Investors acted as sole advisor instructed by the vendor.

The largest building is the corporate headquarters of Duro Felguera in Madrid, which is located at Via de los Poblados 7, in the consolidated Campo de las Naciones Business Park. The freestanding office building comprises an area of almost 14,000 sqm GLA, set over five floors, as well as two basements with 228 car parking spaces. Duro Felguera has entered into a new lease over part of this building.

The Campo de las Naciones office market is considered to be one of Madrid’s most established and attractive office markets outside the CBD, strategically located midway between the Barajas airport and the CBD and near Madrid’s exhibition centre. The building benefits from both high visibility from the main ring road (M-40) and large open plan floor layouts. It is also next to the Cristalia Business Park, comprising almost 100,000 sqm of office accommodation, a modern hotel and amenities such as a nursery and several restaurants.

The second property is a vacant office building located at Calle Jacinto Benavente 4 in Las Rozas, Madrid. That property comprises an area of 2,600 sqm GLA, set over three floors and with 133 car parking places. The property, next to Tripark, is located in the Las Rozas Business Park, a consolidated office area in the northwest of Madrid in which well-known multinationals such as HP, Bankia, Oracle, Día, Santander, Adidas, ING and Triodos, amongst others, are located. It has a high occupancy rate, is easily accessible by car from the main highways of Madrid (A-6, M-40 and M-50) and enjoys amenities such as restaurants, gyms, shopping centres (Las Rozas Village and Heron City) and leisure activities.

Kris Van Lancker, Managing Director at Optimus Global Investors, says: “This has been one of the most complex transactions in which Optimus has successfully advised. The difficulty lay in finding the fine balance between the financial and office space needs of Duro Felguera in the scope of its global refinancing program and the investment requirements of Signal Capital Partners. It allows Duro Felguera to divest its non-strategic assets and at the same time helps Signal meet its risk-adjusted return targets.”

Original story: Property Funds World

Edited by: Carmel Drake

Compagnie Secures Financing for Spain’s Largest New Shopping Centre

28 November 2017 – Expansión

Yesterday, the French group Compagnie de Phalsbourg managed to close financing, amounting to €157 million, for its first shopping centre in Spain: the Open Sky centre in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), according to Expansión.

The establishment will have a gross leasable area of 85,000 m2, will house 100 stores, 3,500 parking spaces and a large garden area with a central lake.

To obtain the necessary resources for its project, Compagnie de Phalsbourg has resorted to non-bank financing through a competitive process. Sources close to the operation maintain that a single fund has subscribed 100% of the financing. According to the same sources, it is a fund based in the City of London, specialising in the real estate sector.

“This process is a boost for Spain because it shows that international investors, in this case, French and British players, see potential in Spain”, say financial sources. The crisis in Cataluña has not affected the process in this case, whose negotiations started long before the tension escalated in that regard.

The French group expects that Open Sky will be inaugurated by the end of next year. In fact, the first earth movement work has now begun and the land that Compagnie acquired for €110 million from the Town Hall of Torrejón in 2015 is being prepared (…).

The company has already signed agreements with around twenty fashion labels, accessories brands and service providers, including with many high-profile names such as Adidas, Reebok, Decimas, OVS, Okaidi, Merkal, Kiwoko, Orchestra, RKS, Celio, Encuentro Moda and Druni, amongst others. Moreover, the shopping centre will have 11 Cinesa cinema screens with capacity for 1,200 people and it has already signed agreements with restaurant groups such as the Vips group, with its five brands (Vips, Fridays, Ginos, Wagamama and Starbucks); the Zena group (Fosters and Cañas y Tapas) and the Restalia group (100 Montaditos and La Sureña).

Once Open Sky is fully operational, it is expected to generate approximately 1,000 new jobs in the region.

The Spanish investment boutique Alantra has served as the sole advisor to the operation for the French group. In addition, Alantra has advised the firm on three other projects in Spain. Meanwhile, Clifford Chance and Uría have been responsible for providing legal advice (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Andrés Stumpf)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona’s Vía Portaferrissa Looks To Reposition Itself As Prime Real Estate

27 November 2017 – Eje Prime

Portaferrissa is claiming its place amongst the prime shopping streets of Barcelona once again. The road has a privileged location, between Portal de l’Àngel and Las Ramblas, receives local and tourist traffic and has several available retail spaces, but its prices are not competitive and only a handful of operations have been closed in recent times. Now, two historical properties are making a move to put Portaferrissa back on the prime map.

One of them is at number 25, so-called Casa Gralla, which until just a few months ago was occupied by Pepe Jeans. The property is owned by the Casacuberta family, which also controls the building that houses the Decathlon store on Calle Canuda, as part of a portfolio containing more than twenty assets.

During the 1990s, the ground floor premises of number 25 housed shopping arcades, Gralla Hall, but that closed at the beginning of the 2000s, when the model showed its first signs of weakness.

Pepe Jeans then took over the lease of the premises and sub-leased part of the space to Quiksilver, which remained for years. Nevertheless, that company did not invest in creating a retail store, other than eliminating the separation of the former arcade.

The Casacuberta family has now begun to renovate the property to merge the two spaces, which will span 1,900 m2 after the renovation. The most recent significant negotiations (held with a view to finding a tenant) were with Adidas, with which a pre-agreement was reached, although the operation did not end up going ahead.

Now, the property is facing its third year on the market, although its prices, which are well above market rates, may still be a barrier.

Another one of the premises on the market on Portaferrissa is Palau Castanyer, which currently houses the Art Montfalcó souvenir shop. That property was sold to KKH Capital group in November for €24 million.

Falling prices 

Portaferrissa begins at La Rambla dels Estudis and ends at La Plaça de la Cucurulla, just stone’s throw from the very busy Portal de l’Àngel. Prices on the street reached their peaks before the crisis, with an average of €1,808/m2 per year in 2005, although the prices of stores measuring less than 100 m2 ended up exceeding €2,500/m2.

However, since then, prices have plummeted, by around 30%, according to sources in the sector. “In 2007, River Island rented the store at number 13 for €970,000, and a few years later, it was leased for €600,000”, say the same sources.

According to the recent report Main Streets Across the World, compiled by the consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield, the average rental price per square metre per year on Portaferrissa amounted to €1,980 in 2016, in line with the previous year.

Original story: Eje Prime (by I. P. Gestal)

Translation: Carmel Drake

French Guru To Build Giant Shopping Centre In Torrejón

25 April 2017 – El Confidencial

After four years of negotiations, the French multinational Compagnie de Phalsbourg has received the definitive green light to launch its first project in Spain. And it’s going to be a giant, with a gross leasable area of more than 100,000 m2, which promises to revolutionise the nature of shopping centres in the country.

The project will comprise an Open Sky complex and The Village outlet, two concepts that the French group has decided to combine in the same space for the first time in their history. Last week, the Town Hall of Torrejón de Ardoz granted the construction licence for the former, which had already received its urbanisation permit and, just three weeks ago, ING sold the French company the adjoining plot for the development of the outlet.

With these two milestones under its belt, Compagnie de Phalsbourg has put its foot down on the accelerator to begin construction of Open Sky next month and has already started marketing The Village. The aim of these two parallel lines of action is to inaugurate the complex in time for Christmas 2018 and to bring a new shopping centre concept to Spain, with the architecture taking on a starring role, including vast green spaces and water games.

The project presents a real challenge for this area in the northeast of Madrid, which just a few weeks ago saw the rejection of another major investment that had planned for this area, Cordish’s new Eurovegas, by the President of the Community, Cristina Cifuentes. The French group’s project, on the other hand, has already received the blessing of the local administration, which will allows it to enter and compete at the height of a period of transformation in the sector, following changes of ownership and the relaunch of Plenilunio, Cuadernillos and Alcalá Magna, as well as the upcoming sale of Parque Corredor.

The new Open Sky, designed by the architect Gianni Ranaulo, will be an outdoor shopping centre, with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 80,000 m2, containing 100 stores and 3,500 parking spaces, where numerous fashion houses will sell their wares along a walkway measuring more than 1.5 km The site will also have a navigable central lake, where light and water games will be held.

New giant

50% of the retail space has already been leased to firms such as Merkal, Adidas, Reebok, Soloptical, Kiwoko, Orchestra, Druni and Movistar, and an agreement with the Inditex giant is pending confirmation. (…).

Meanwhile, The Village, an outlet designed in the style of a villa by Philippe Starck, will cover a surface area of 22,000 m2 and will house 120 stores and restaurants, and 1,500 parking spaces. (…).

With these two developments, in which Compagnie de Phalsbourg plans to invest more than €100 million, the French group is beginning its expansion plan in Spain, where it plans to spend more than €500 million launching around half a dozen new projects over the next few years.

Founded in 1989 by Philippe Journo, the French group owns assets amounting to €1,240 million, as well as shopping centres (in operation) covering 600,000 m2, and shopping centres under construction covering 350,000 m2 in France. With rental income of €72 million per year, the company focuses its activity on the development, management and sale of both shopping centres and residential complexes (…).

Original story: El Confidencial

Translation: Carmel Drake

VIA Outlets Buys 4 European Outlet Centres, Including 1 In Sevilla

25 November 2016 – Real Estate Press

VIA Outlets, the joint venture formed by APG, Hammerson Plc, Meyer Bergman and Value Retail, has signed an agreement to acquire four outlet centres, with a total value of €587 million and an initial yield of 5.5%, in a deal that is pending authorisation by the regulators.

The outlets are located close to major cities in Germany, Portugal, Spain and Poland. This purchase increases the value of VIA Outlets’ portfolio, which comprises ten assets, to €1,100 million, in which Hammerson owns a 47% stake.

Timon Drakesmith, CFO of Hammerson Plc and Chairman of VIA Outlets’ Advisory Committee, said: “This is a rare opportunity to acquire these four outlet centres in an off-market operation”.

“The European markets are very well positioned and are continuing to experience strong sales growth, supported by improved supply and an increase in the number of tourists across Europe”.

VIA Outlets has identified opportunities to boost sales growth and revenues from the operation, through a change in the commercial mix and the implementation of various marketing and tourism initiatives.

To support the portfolio increase, the organisational structure of VIA Outlets has been improved through external hires to expand the asset management, marketing and finance teams. The estimated IRR for the assets acquired is 11% over five years. (…).

In Spain, the JV has acquired the outlet located in the north east of Sevilla, which attracts a growing number of tourists visiting Andalucía. The outlet has a surface area of 16,400 m2, and is home to 65 brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, Mango, Polo Ralph Lauren and Adidas. Its annual sales amount to €3,600 per m2. (…).

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Gran Vía: The New Showcase For Flagship Fashion Stores

5 September 2016 – Expansión

Along the one-hundred year old Gran Vía, fashion houses and hotels are now competing with restaurants, cafes, theatres and cinemas to occupy space on the sought-after street in Madrid. The thoroughfare was known as the Madrilenian Broadway in its heyday, thanks to the profusion of cinemas and theatres that it housed and which, to a lesser extent, still remain today.

In the race to set up shop on the busiest thoroughfare in Madrid, the largest brands and more contemporary designer hotels now occupy buildings that were formerly inhabited by banks, insurance companies and large cinemas.

In this sense, the size of the buildings on Gran Vía, makes them more attractive assets for fashion chains to house their large flagship stores than, for example, the properties on Calle Preciados. According to a calculation by the consultancy firm CBRE, in 2014 and 2015, real estate investment on the street amounted to €1,100 million.

Undoubtedly, the most significant operation in recent years was Pontegadea’s purchase of the property at Gran Vía, 32 in January 2015. The investment arm of Amancio Ortega, the founder and majority shareholder of the retail giant Inditex, paid €400 million for the asset. And that is the building that Primark chose to locate its flagship store, which occupies five storeys over 12,400 sqm. The megastore has become a tourist attraction in itself and there were traffic jams and queues at its doors during the first few months after its opening.

Following this example, other brands have opened stores on Gran Vía in the last year. For example, the fashion accessory chain Parfois and the Spanish jewellery firm Tous, have taken up residence at numbers 42 and 38, respectively. In addition, the cosmetics firm Nyx and the sports brand Adidas both opened new stores at numbers 21 and 36 of the Madrilenian street in the spring of 2016.

Moreover, the stretch of Gran Vía that runs from Plaza de Callao to Plaza de España has been revitalised in recent months, with the arrival of the gift and accessories chain Ale-hop at number 74, the perfume store Druni, at number 61 and Axa’s purchase of the Rex cinema building.

The future renovation of that building, alongside the refurbishment of the controversial Edificio España, which has changed hands several times in the last two years, will also help to reactivate this final stretch of the street.

Other important transactions on Gran Vía have involved the premises at number 44, measuring 500 sqm. That property, which used to house a branch of Bankia, was acquired by Hines at the beginning of the year from the Baraka group – the current owner of Edificio España – for almost €40 million. Meanwhile, the Socimi Saint Croix acquired another property on Gran Vía – specifically the building located at number 55 – for €13 million in March this year.

The size of the buildings on Gran Vía makes them ideal properties for flagship stores.

Original story: Expansión (by R.Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake