ZAV to Receive €15.9M from the Sale of an Intermodal Plot for 198 Homes

11 April 2019 – El Periódico 

The company Zaragoza Alta Velocidad is going to receive at least €15,972,060 from the sale of a plot of land in the future AVE neighbourhood. That is the highest price offered in the auction for the plot, known as block 6, which is located next to the Delicias intermodal station in Zaragoza.

Assuming no last minute surprises, the winner of the auction will be the company SPV Reoco 1, which is the firm behind which one of the giants of the residential property sector in Spain likes to hide, namely Aedas Homes. It will be the listed company’s first venture into Zaragoza, although it already has a presence in Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia, amongst others.

Nevertheless, according to sources close to the operation, the auction has not been closed yet, and the other two competing firms Refacleta S.L. and Innovación and Desarrollo Asistencial (de Logroño) are still in with a real chance.

The plot measures 5,821.2 m2 and has a buildability of 27,956 m2, with capacity for 198 flats. Construction on the site, the second real estate development to be built in the AVE neighbourhood, is expected to begin later this year.

Original story: El Periódico (by D. López)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Industrialised Construction: Vía Célere Follows in Aedas’s Footsteps

13 March 2019 – Merca2

Vía Célere is going to be the first property developer to build an industrialised development of multi-family homes. Aedas has already paved the way with the model, but in its case, the properties were single-family homes.

The company led by Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado is going to launch its first project of this kind in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) and expects to finish the work within seven months. That would represent a time saving of one year compared to the normal construction period for such a development, thanks to the employment of industrialised systems.

Specifically, whilst the underground work is going on at the site of the new development (which is expected to take three or four months), the 50 modules that will comprise the first 17-home building will be manufactured off-site, in parallel. It will take just three weeks to install those modules and the last two months will be spent joining the facilities and the façades so that the homes are ready for delivery at the end of month seven.

Moreover, the firm is planning to build a 26-home development using the same industrialised system, also in Boadilla. In the future, Vía Célere aims to industrialise 30% of its future developments.

Original story: Merca2 (by Carlos Lospitao)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Habitat’s Land Portfolio Now Spans 1 million m2 with Capacity to Build 10,000 Homes

9 March 2019 – Expansión

The property developer Habitat now owns more than 1 million m2 of land after investing €121 million last year to expand its portfolio. As such, the firm led by José Carlos Saz (pictured below) has the capacity to build around 10,000 homes. Specifically, the firm backed by Bain Capital acquired 27 plots last year on which to build around 2,500 homes. 5% of those plots were non-buildable (in the process of being approved for construction).

The company expects to reach cruising speed with the delivery of 2,000 homes per year from 2021 onwards. Last year, it handed over 270 homes across 4 developments in Barcelona, Málaga and Madrid, to generate turnover of €89 million, EBITDA of €1.83 million and a net profit of €250,000. The company plans to invest €500 million in land purchases until 2021, financed by Bain.

Moreover, like its competitors Neinor, Aedas and Metrovacesa, Habitat is also considering entering the rental home sector and may even begin to build developments for Socimis.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aedas Negotiates the Construction of 500 Rental Homes in Madrid

1 March 2019 – Expansión

Aedas wants to benefit from the investor appetite for residential rental assets as an alternative source of income and cash generation. The property developer is negotiating the construction and delivery of four turnkey developments comprising 500 homes for an institutional investor.

The homes, which are going to be constructed in Madrid and two adjoining municipalities will be dedicated to rental housing. “We are assessing the possibility of doing the same in Barcelona, Sevilla and Alicante”, explained David Martínez, CEO of Aedas Homes (pictured above), speaking to Expansión (…).

In 2018, the company invested €112 million in land on which to build 2,600 homes; and it also has options to purchase more land for an additional 400 units.

“The plan for this year involves buying land for at least 1,000 homes (an investment of around €50 million), but we do not rule out increasing that target if opportunities present themselves”, he said (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aedas Homes Unveils 100-Home Development in Aljarafe (Sevilla)

27 February 2019 – Eje Prime

Aedas Homes has taken another step in its expansion in Aljarafe (Sevilla). The real estate developer has just launched its Tovar development, a housing project aimed at people looking to reposition on the housing market and young people looking to rent. The development will comprise one hundred homes in total, which will be constructed in two blocks of 28 homes and 72 homes, respectively. The project has already been granted its building permit and the first homes will be available at the end of 2020.

This development is the company’s seventh in Sevilla and its second in Aljarafe. The homes are priced from €151,437 and have a shared common room, outdoor swimming pool, padel court, games room for children and green spaces.

The project comprises two, three and four-bedroom homes, including penthouses with terraces and surface areas of up to 70 m2 and ground floors with gardens measuring up to 170 m2 (…).

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Metrovacesa Explores Entering the Rental Home Sector

21 February 2019 – El Confidencial

Selling new build homes is still proving to be too much of a challenge for the times that are approaching. As such, another of the listed property developers, Metrovacesa, is evaluating its entry into the rental home sector, an option that its competitor Neinor (advised by Goldman Sachs) also has on the table. According to market sources, it is the first of the large players determined to take that step to fulfil its business plans.

Since the end of last year, the large owners of residential land have acknowledged that they are open to entering the rental market, either as owners or as turnkey suppliers for investors. The challenge, nevertheless, is disembarking in this segment without their margins being affected and therefore being forced to revise their business plans, like Juan Velayos already had to do with Neinor.

For the time being, the real estate company controlled by Santander (49%) and BBVA (21%) has recognised that it is considering rental housing as “a valid strategic option”, although it has not made any firm decisions in this regard, according to public declarations made by the property developer’s Head of Corporate Development. In its case, it will always be as a business to sell to a specialist third party operating in the residential property business.

This strategic reflection affects everyone, although the speeds of adoption will vary. In the case of Aedas, it has been working for some time on different scenarios that may open the door following the end of the current cycle, in which property developers with large land portfolios have been constituted, boosted by investment funds, because its not all about land in the main markets, nor are there infinite buyers for flats costing more than €400,000.

In the case of Metrovacesa, its numbers are the most chunky, since it has the largest liquid land portfolio in Spain, worth almost €2.7 billion, on which it estimates that around 38,000 homes could be built, according to official data. In its case, like with the rest of the listed firms, the largest volume of homes will be handed over in 2020, a short-term horizon, for which conservative estimates are beginning to be made.

The lower economic growth in Spain (2.8% in 2018 and 2.2% in 2019, according to the Bank of Spain) is another indicator of the macro-economic environment that is looming. In this situation, the potential impact that it may have on sales forecasts means that “many value alternative (rental) products as options for offsetting a likely slowdown in sales”, say sources at one of the large real estate consultancy firms.

Original story: El Confidencial (by C. H.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aedas, Neinor & Merlin Properties Put €1bn on the Table for Sabadell’s Land

29 January 2019 – OK Diario

Banco Sabadell has now opened the sales process for Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, its real estate developer, for which the entity expects to obtain €1 billion. To date, the entity chaired by Josep Oliu has already sent the teaser to almost 30 interested parties. But there has been an important development, and that is that it is not only the typical funds that tend to participate in these types of auctions that are interested in the company, property developers are also keen, including Neinor, Aedas and Merlin Properties.

It is worth remembering that when Sabadell decided to sell Solvia, it separated the house-sale business and the real estate development business into two different companies with the aim of achieving a better offer. The land, which is owned by the second firm, forms part of the bank’s balance sheet and that is what is now up for sale.

According to sources speaking to OK Diario, the deadline for non-binding offers will finish in March; it will be after that when Banco Sabadell will start to receive binding offers. Sources in the know indicate that the operation will be closed in the second quarter. And, moreover, in addition to the aforementioned property developers, funds such as Cerberus, De Shaw, Blackstone, Värde, Apollo and Oaktree have also received the teaser (…).

The main plots of land owned by Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios are in Madrid, Barcelona and several places along the Mediterranean Coast. The portfolio includes plots that the buyer will have to reclassify in order to be able to sell, resell or transform them, as well as plots that are ready for development. It is precisely in those assets that so many property developers have expressed their interest.

Banco Sabadell obtained a profit of €138 million from the sale of 80% of Solvia, its real estate subsidiary, to Lindorff, a company that belongs to the Intrum AB group, for €300 million. With that operation, Sabadell, which has retained ownership of the remaining 20% stake in Solvia, achieved a positive impact on its Common Equity Tier 1 (“fully loaded”) capital ratio of 15 basis points.

The completion of that operation, which is subject to obtaining the corresponding authorisations, is also scheduled for the second quarter of 2019 (…).

Original story: OK Diario (by Borja Jiménez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Neinor & Vía Célere Lead the Ranking of Forecast House Deliveries for 2019

28 January 2019 – Cinco Días

Year after year, the new major players in the house construction sector are seeing the numbers in their growth plans increase. During 2019, the largest property developers created since 2015, and some of those reborn from the ashes during this latest upwards cycle, are expected to approach their cruising speed, above all, the listed companies Neinor, Aedas and Metrovacesa, which have been called to lead the residential construction sector together with Vía Célere. Even so, the sector is still very fragmented with lots of small companies.

Neinor Homes and Vía Célere have become the two entities with the largest number of home deliveries this year. In both cases, 2,000 clients will receive the keys to their homes, according to figures provided to Cinco Días by around twenty property developers. In these forecasts, the companies have detailed three concepts for their plans for 2019: homes that they will launch onto the market, homes that they will start work on and forecast deliveries.

Neinor Homes, created in 2015, and led by Juan Velayos (…) expects to start work on 3,000 homes this year, coming close to the cruising speed that it defined during its IPO, and it will start to market another 2,000 units.

Meanwhile, Vía Célere, controlled by the US fund Värde Partners, is in the middle of integrating the assets of Aelca, the other property developer owned by Värde, which has now emptied its portfolio (…). It is the only one of the large players that is not yet listed on the stock market; its plans in that regard were postponed last year.

The listed firm Aedas, also created in 2017 with land from another US fund, in that case, Castlelake, is also perceiving an upwards turn in its numbers. This year, it will hand over 1,055 homes, start marketing 2,500 homes and start building 3,000 homes, just two years after first appearing on the stage, with David Martínez as its CEO.

Meanwhile, Metrovacesa, the other large listed company, controlled by Santander (and in which BBVA holds a minority stake), clearly leads the business plans, with up to 4,500 homes to be newly marketed and whose construction will be launched. This one-hundred-year-old real estate company, which was cleaned up by the banks following the crisis, launched its new project in 2017 with Jorge Pérez de Leza, from Grupo Lar, as the CEO.

In terms of those entities backed by funds, the rescued firm Habitat also stands out, reactivated last year by Bain Capital, and which is planning to market 3,000 homes this year. Similarly, Cerberus took control of Inmoglacier in 2017 (…). That firm declined to provide its forecasts to this newspaper, but it is also set to play a significant role, given that it has become one of the real estate arms of the US fund, one of the most active in the purchase of assets from the banks and which also owns Haya Real Estate as its servicer.

The group of twenty-odd companies consulted will hand over almost 16,000 homes this year, will start work on 34,000 units and will begin marketing another 30,000 properties. These figures reflect the enormous fragmentation in the sector, which in the last 12 months has started 103,000 homes in total, according to figures from the Ministry of Development as at October 2018.

Small specialist property developers still carry a lot of weight, unlike in other countries where large players exist. Moreover, even though the rate of residential construction has taken off since 2014, it is still well below the peak of 2006 when 865,000 building permits were granted.

In terms of the new players also boosted by the international funds, they include other developers with a high rate of house sales: AQ Acentor (owned by the German fund Aquila), which is going to put 1,700 homes up for sale; Kronos Homes (backed by several European and US investors), which will market another 1,600 homes; and ASG Homes (backed by the British firm ActivumSG), which plans to add another 1,000 homes.

In terms of the survivors of the crisis, Amenabar stands out, the Gipuzkoan company, which expects to start work on 3,608 homes next year and to hand over 1,245 units. Another of the stalwarts is the Madrilenian firm Pryconsa, owned by the Colomer family, which has already reached a high number in terms of house starts: 1,285. In more modest terms, other important firms include the Basque entity Inbisa and the new entity Áurea Homes, the residential subsidiary of the Navarran construction group ACR (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Málaga Captures the Attention of Neinor, Aedas & Quabit, Amongst Others

20 January 2019 – La Información

The real estate sector is certain. After Madrid and Barcelona, the city where the property business is going to grow by the most is Málaga. The capital of the Costa del Sol is on everyone’s lips and is forming the focus of the real estate investments being made by many of the leading firms in the sector. Aedas, Neinor and Quabit are just a handful of the property developers that have decided to set up cranes in the Andalucían city, which is seeing how more and more people are choosing to live and spend their summers there.

The experts are not hesitating to point to the capital of the Costa del Sol as the third city in the shadow of the real estate market, behind only Madrid and Barcelona (…).

The attraction of foreign investment is another of the most important factors in Málaga. In this sense, Fernando Ferrero, Director of Merlin Properties, said that in the office sector, there is still “a lot of potential in Madrid” (…), but he highlights Málaga and Palma de Mallorca as the two cities where foreign investment is proving to be very important (…).

The property developers have been wise to it and so, in recent months, have started to launch promotions in Málaga. That is what Neinor Homes has done, which is offering several urbanisations in the capital, as well as some in nearby areas, such as Marbella and Estepona. In the same way, Quabit (…), has launched itself in the province with both single-family homes, and blocks of flats. Aedas Homes is not being left behind and is going to build Vanian Green Village, a housing complex in Estepona, another town that is growing in the capital’s shadow.

The boom in residential properties, both primary residences and holiday homes, has turned Málaga into a reference for the future of real estate. So much so that the data for the granting of new building permits soared in the province by 56.85% in 2018. In total, 7,678 permits were granted compared with 4,895 in 2017, according to data from the Official Architects College of Málaga (…).

Original story: La Información (by Lucía Gómez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sabadell Puts ‘Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios’ Up for Sale

19 January 2019 – El Periódico 

Banco Sabadell has launched the sales process of Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (SDIN), the company that owns the bank’s land and which carries out its real estate development projects in Spain. On Friday, the entity placed the sales brochure for the firm in the hands of possible buyers, including international real estate funds, such as Cerberus, Blackstone, Värde and Oaktree, amongst others, according to confirmation provided by real estate sources. The process, regarding which the bank itself has declined to comment, could go on until April. The time necessary for buyers to express their interest and conduct analysis of the company for sale.

The process to sell the development company is beginning just a month after the bank chaired by Josep Oliu completed the sale of 80% of its servicer – real estate manager – to Lindorff Holding Spain, a company that belongs to the Swedish fund Intrum, after it fought off competition from the funds Cerberus and Centricus, which were also bidding for the real estate subsidiary. In that operation, Solvia was valued at €300 million. The price corresponded to 80% of the stake in the company, which could be increased by a maximum amount of €40 million if certain conditions, relating to the performance of some of Solvia’s lines of business, are met. The completion of the operation is scheduled for the second half of 2019.

Maturity period

SDIN is in the maturity period for its sale, according to sources familiar with the operation. The firm has a stock of more than 300 buildable plots, which are worth around €1.2 billion and has almost 130 developments underway across different parts of Spain, with more than 5,000 homes under construction. The size of the portfolio of SDIN, which is led by Francisco Pérez (pictured above), places it in the second league in the sector ranking, just behind the listed property developers, led by Metrovacesa, Neinor, Aedas and Vía Célere. Only Sareb has more assets (…).

Original story: El Periódico (by Max Jiménez)

Translation: Carmel Drake