Persán’s Owners Acquire 40% of Río 55 Business Park in Madrid for €70M

25 June 2018 – Eje Prime

A new business saga is investing in the Spanish real estate sector. The Moya Yoldi family, owners of the detergent manufacturer Persán, have invested €70 million in the purchase of 40% of the Río 55 Business Park in Madrid. For this operation, the Andalucían family has joined forces with Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur), the office property developer, with which it has also signed a second agreement involving a prime residential project in Marbella (Málaga).

The owners of Persán, an integrated supplier of the supermarket giant Mercadona, has increased its commitment to the real estate sector through Concha Yoldi, the co-owner of the company together with her husband, José Moya, and the couple’s children: Juan, José and Francisco Javier, according to El Confidencial.

The saga has acquired a significant stake in Río 55, which already signed the sale of one of its two buildings to the fund manager AEW Europe in March. Insur forecasts that it will hand over the keys to the first tenants of the business complex next year. The two properties will span a surface area of 14,000 m2 each.

Likewise, the Andalucían family is also going to invest in its own region in partnership with Insur. Gestafin Global Investment, another of the real estate companies owned by the Moya Yoldi family, has acquired 40% of the luxury development that the real estate firm is constructing in Marbella. In total, 53 luxury apartments will comprise this project in the sought-after Costa del Sol, whose first phase has been underway since 2017. A third plan in the Sevilla residential market, where Insur is building 238 homes, completes the alliances that the family office has with the group.

A Socimi with the owners of Silestone and the founders of Goldcar

The presence of the owners of Persán in the property sector does not end with their individual investments. The Andalucían saga also shares ownership of a Socimi with other entrepreneurial families such as the Cosentinos, owners of Silestone, and the brothers Juan and Pedro Alcaraz, founders of the vehicle renting company Goldcar, now part of the giant Europcar.

Moreover, through Trajano Iberia, of which José Moya is president, the family owners a share of the Madrilenian Alcalá Magna shopping centre, for which the company paid €100 million last year, and a second in Portugal; an office building in the Spanish capital, in the Manoteras area, to be precise; a mixed-used property, for offices and shops in Bilbao; and a logistics asset in Zaragoza (…).

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

AEW Acquires Office Building On C/Francisco Silvela 106

22 September 2017 – El Confidencial

The fund AEW Europe has recently joined the growing number of investors who are backing the Madrilenian street Principe de Vergara, one of the main thoroughfares in the Chamartín neighbourhood. The road has witnessed a proliferation in the volume of important real estate operations involving corporate headquarters in recent years.

And it is on the corner of that street, at its intersection with Francisco Silvela, at number 106 on the street that bears the name of the historical Spanish politician, that a private investor, advised by Aguirre Newman, has sold a building with a surface area of 6,300 m2 to AEW for €30 million, according to sources familiar with the transaction.

This operation follows several other important transactions that have been closed recently in the area, whose proximity to the Avenida de America transport hub, makes for easy access to the airport and whose proximity to both the Salamanca neighbourhood and the Paseo de la Castellana business district, have caused interest from owners and tenants to soar.

One example is the recent sale of the building at number 42 Calle Suero de Quiñones, the new headquarters of the law firm Uría y Mendéndez, which Hispania sold to the businessman José Lladó, owner of Técnicas Reunidas. The Socimi agreed that sale in the spring, a few months before the construction work was due to finish. The doors of that office are expected to open in November, whereby enabling the law firm to expand the headquarters that it already has nearby at number 187, Principe de Vergara.

Meanwhile, the property at number 108 on the same street, right next door to the building that AEW has just acquired, is also owned by Hispania, which purchased it just over two years ago for €25 million. The next one along, number 112, is owned by Colonial, which bought the whole building two years ago; it has since invested €45 million in the complete renovation of the 11,400 m2 property.

Opposite, at number 125 Principe de Vergara, the insurance company Reale purchased the entire building from Banco Sabadell two years ago and has now installed its new headquarters there. Acciona also expressed interest in that property at the time, as it had wanted to move its headquarters there, just a few metres away from the central offices of its rival, Ferrovial.

With this operation, AEW completes its seventh investment in Spain in two years. The fund has made a strong commitment to the country, where it has just acquired the historical Mercado de Fuencarral, which it has already leased in its entirety to Decathlon. It also opened an office in Madrid in January, which is being led by Carsten Czarnetzki.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

AEW Europe Buys Mercado Fuencarral For €50M

15 August 2017 – Mis Locales

The real estate asset manager, AEW, has purchased the property from the fund ASG for €50 million. It is the company’s fourth operation in Madrid after it purchased commercial premises and offices on Calle Serrano. It closed the other operation in Alcobendas, with the purchase of the Amura building.

The operation has been advised by ASG Iberia Advisors, CBRE and Uría Menéndez on the sell-side, whilst Herbert Smith Freehills has advised AEW Europe.

The company says that its strategy is focused on creating a portfolio of high-quality, profitable retail assets, which are well-located within Europe’s main urban centres.

The property in question will have a new tenant, the sports clothing and accessories firm Decathlon. As such, Decathlon will have two stores on Calle Fuencarral, given that last year, it opened a shop at number 147, near Quevedo, with a surface area of 145 m2.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake

 

AEW Europe Opens Office In Madrid

30 January 2017 – Investment Europe

Property manager AEW Europe has opened an office in Madrid following its acquisition of four assets in Spain for €153m over the last couple of years.

AEW Europe has made these acquisitions for several core and value add funds and mandates. The real estate manager’s assets under management in Spain have reached €343m and the firm has set itself an AUM target of around €500m over the next few years.

AEW Europe has appointed Carsten Czarnetzki as Head of Spain. In this role, he will oversee the company’s investments and asset management in the country. He will retain his role of portfolio manager of the Europe Value Investors fund.

Based in Madrid, Czarnetzki will report to Russell Jewell, Head of Private Equity Funds at AEW Europe.

Original story: Investment Europe (by Adrien Paredes-Vanheule)

Edited by: Carmel Drake

AEW Purchases An Office Building In Madrid For €26M

23 February 2016 – Expansión

The real estate management company AEW Europe has acquired an office building in Madrid for around €26 million. The property is located at number 240 on Calle Serrano and was owned until now by a private investor.

The building has a surface area of 7,550 m2 and an occupancy rate of 83%, according to the consultancy firm Savills, which has advised the purchaser. The property has seven floors and contains several commercial outlets, as well as an underground car park with 70 parking spaces, a restaurant and gym.

AEW Europe intends to renovate the offices and restaurant area and incorporate new facilities. The group, which is a subsidiary of Natixis, held assets under management amounting to €18,200 million at the end of September 2015. AEW Europe employs 280 people and has nine offices throughout Europe.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ingria Investment Sells Commercial Premises On c/Serrano To AEW

2 February 2016 – Mislocales.es

Cushman & Wakefield has advised the investor group in the sale of the property, located at number 7, Calle Serrano in Madrid.

Ingria Investment, an investment fund mainly constituted by Rockspring, has sold a commercial premises to the German company AEW Europe in the heart of Salamanca district of Madrid, precisely in Calle de Serrano, No. 7. The space is part of a building being fully restored, whose works are planned to be finished by the first quarter of 2017.

The commercial premises has a total of 750 m² distributed over two floors, one at street level and one on the first floor. It features a clear area, plus large shop windows and eight balconies, which allow plenty of natural light.

Marc Langenbach, Fund Manager of AEW Europe commented: “As the first investment fund in Spain, this operation is a welcome addition to our portfolio. Our intention is to rent the place to an international retailer during the construction period and we have already detected a strong interest. During the coming months we will continue expanding our portfolio in the main streets of the major cities in Europe”.

According to Beatriz Lopez Cid, Retail Associate in Cushman & Wakefield Spain, “the premium brands are increasingly moving to the Puerta de Alcalá, due to the limited availability of premises. This requires for buildings to be remodeled and adapted to new needs. The closing of this transaction confirms the confidence of investors in HS assets  in Spain, and  indeed, the premises purchased by AEW Europe go in this direction. “

Calle Serrano is considered the most emblematic of the Spanish capital, located in the famous Golden Mile of Madrid, and hosts luxury brands like Prada, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Versace, and Adolfo Dominguez, among others.

Original story: Mislocales.es

Translation: Aura Ree

AEW Europe Buys Amura Building In Madrid For €37M

4 February 2016 – Expansión

The real estate investment manager AEW Europe has acquired the Amura office building, in the Arroyo de la Vega de Alcobendas area of Madrid, for €37 million. The asset has been purchased for the Europe Value Investors (EVI) fund from Union Investment Real Estate, which is headquartered in Hamburg and which has owned the building for twelve years. The operation has been advised by Cushman & Wakefield.

The building was constructed in 2002 and contains five floors of offices, plus two underground floors for parking. In total, it has a surface area of 18,178 m2 and its occupancy rate is currently 67%. The property’s tenants include Euronet Negocios and GEA Process Engineering.

AEW Europe is one of the largest real estate investment managers in Europe, with nine offices and more than 280 employees. It manages assets with a value of €18,200 million.

Meanwhile, the Europe Value Investors fund focuses on the office segment in cities all over Europe and until now, has invested €375 million in a total of 12 assets.

According to the director of EVI, Carsten Czarnetzki, “Amura is a well-located, high quality asset, which provides us with the opportunity to add value and increase revenues by leasing out the empty space”. And he added: “There is a shortage of high quality office space in the market in Madrid and therefore, this acquisition gives us the potential to increase the asset’s value as the recovery of the Spanish economy continues.

Two investments per month

This is the second operation completed by AEW Europe in Madrid this year. The German investment manager made its debut in the Spanish market recently with the purchase of a retail outlet on Calle Serrano, in an operation that was also advised by Cushman & Wakefield. In that case, the firm made the purchase through its City Retail fund, which has an investment budget of €400 million.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Kennedy Wilson Buys ‘Moraleja Green’ From ING

2 November 2015 – Expansión

Another shopping centre is changing hands barely a year after it was last sold. Later this week, the Moraleja Green shopping centre in Madrid, will have a new owner, twelve months after being acquired by the Dutch bank ING.

The financial institution, which purchased the property through one of its real estate funds, has decided to transfer ownership of the building to the US fund Kennedy Wilson. According to sources in the sector, ING will receive between €70 million and €75 million for the Madrilenian centre, which it acquired for €68 million in November 2014. This increase reflects the on-going appreciation in real estate assets in Spain, particularly for offices and shopping centres.

Cushman & Wakefield and Dentons have advised the buyer in the operation, whilst Deloitte and DLA Piper have advised on the sell-side. The agreement between both parties is absolute and will be announced officially this week.

The shopping centre is located in the northeast of Madrid, next to the exclusive La Moraleja urbanisation. It occupies a surface area of 76,763 m2 and 29,600 m2 is used for retail space. The centre’s main tenants include the supermarket chain Sánchez Romero, Inditex – with its brands Zara, Massimo Dutti and Oysho – and H&M.

The Moraleja Green centre was inaugurated in April 1995. Its developers were the real estate companies Metrovacesa and BBV Inmobiliario. It was expanded in 2001 and receives 3.38 million visitors (per year), according to the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres.

The new owner is the US fund Kennedy Wilson. The North American firm has been one of the most active players in Spain the most in recent months. Its latest operations include the purchase of 16 retail spaces, nine supermarkets and seven shops, leased to Carrefour and Día. It paid the fund AEW Europe and a French institutional investor €85.5 million for that portfolio.

The wider market

As a result of this deal, Moraleja Green will join the list of shopping centres that have changed hands during 2015, which also includes Plenilunio, acquired by Klépierre for €375 million, and Zielo Shopping, bought by UBS for €70 million.

Another shopping centre that has changed hands twice in just over a year is Parque Ceuta. A few months ago, the Brazilian group Hemisferio bought the Ceuta-based centre from the fund HIG for €26 million. The US fund had acquired it in January 2014 for €18 million.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake