Tag: AEW

AEW Acquires Four Office Buildings in Madrid and Barcelona

15 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

AEW acquired four office buildings in Madrid and Barcelona from Inmobiliaria Norte Sur. The assets have a total area of ​​25,000 square meters. Two are located in the two cities’ prime business districts, at  Calle Claudio Coello 124 in Madrid and Calle Comte d’Urgell 143 in Barcelona. These assets have an occupancy rate of 87%. The other two are in the Mas Blau shopping centre, in Prat de Llobregat, and in Sant Joan Despí, both in Barcelona.

Original Story: EjePrime

AEW Invests in Residential Rental Market in Barcelona

10 July 2019

The flood of money that led to a spike in prices for rental housing in Madrid has now reached Barcelona. The German firm AEW has just purchased a building at Via Augusta 59 in Barcelona for an undisclosed amount. The company previously announced that it was looking to begin operations in Spain’s residential housing market.

The property is mixed-use, residential and commercial, and is located in the district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, just 500 meters from Avinguda Diagonal, Barcelona’s main thoroughfare. The building is located next to the Gràcia metro stop, in a sought-after area.

The Edificio Mercurio, as it is known, has about 11,500 square meters of surface area. Eurostone, which had acquired the asset two years before, had begun major renovations which will result in a total of 91 flats on nine floors, along with three commercial premises.

Original Story: El Confidencial – E. Sanz

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

AEW Buys an Office Building in Barcelona from Lar for €28.8M

31 January 2019 – Eje Prime

The German company AEW has completed the purchase of a building in Barcelona from Lar. The real estate fund manager has completed the acquisition of a building from the Socimi, which is on a mission to divest its non-strategic assets.

The purchase of the building, which is located on Calle Joan Miró in the Catalan capital, has been closed for €28.8 million. The property, which has an approximate surface area of 10,500 m2, will be subjected to a comprehensive renovation for the construction of offices.

“The strong labour market and the limited available supply has convinced us to enter the office market in Barcelona for the first time”, explained Carsten Czarnetzk, Head of Operations at AEW in Spain.

AEW is one of the largest administrators of real estate assets in the world, with assets worth €63.5 billion. AEW has more than 600 employees, and its main offices are located in Boston, London, Paris and Hong Kong. The group opened its office in Spain in January 2017 and has completed more than €400 million in transactions since then.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Investors Unleash a Buying Frenzy on Madrid & Barcelona’s High Streets

28 August 2018 – Cinco Días

E-commerce is having an unexpected effect in that it is boosting the main high streets of Madrid and Barcelona. A number of operators are opening flagship stores to compete with online sales, whilst at the same time, there is a great deal of interest from investors wanting to acquire these types of properties since they represent assets with high returns.

During the first six months of the year, the main high streets of Madrid and Barcelona sparked a buying frenzy amongst real estate investors. They spent €700 million on the purchase of stores during H1 – that figure was 44% higher than they spent during the whole of 2017, according to the High Street report published by the consultancy firm Savills Aguirre Newman.

In an environment of low returns on other investment alternatives, given the context of low interest rates and enormous liquidity in the market, significant capital flows are being channelled towards property. Within the sector, the high street segment (stores on the most commercial streets) of Madrid and Barcelona are attracting investors.

The yield or return in the best commercial neighbourhoods of Madrid and Barcelona amounts to 3.25%, and in secondary areas, that figure rises to between 4.5% and 4.75% (the better the area, the higher the cost of operations and so the lower the returns). In large towns, the yield on prime stores reaches 4%.

Institutional investors (large real estate and pension funds) have been the most active players, accounting for 76% of all operations, according to Savills Aguirre Newman, with the remaining 24% involving insurance companies, private firms, family offices and Socimis (…).

“Institutional investors continue to focus on the best commercial thoroughfares of the large cities, where the purchase tickets typically exceed €20 million”, says the study. Meanwhile, private investors are more active in opportunities in the cities in which they reside, where they are local experts.

Madrid has accounted for a large number of the operations seen in recent months, with the acquisition by the fund Hines of Preciados 13 (..) and Redevco’s purchase of the Mercado de San Miguel. Meanwhile, AEW bought the Mercado de Fuencarral; Generali acquired Preciados 9; Thor Equities snapped up Gran Vía 30, and M&G Real Estate purchased 68 on the same street. Nevertheless, a lot of the investment this year has been due to one transaction involving a portfolio of Inditex stores, which were acquired by the German fund Deka for €400 million.

For investors, another attractive feature of the Spanish market is the improvement in the rents that tenants are paying, which have clearly risen in recent years since the crisis. Prices on Calle Preciados, for example, have risen from €270/sqm/month two years ago to €277/sqm/month in 2018. Gran Vía has also seen a €10/sqm/month increase to €240/sqm/month, according to data from the consultancy firm.

In Barcelona, prices on the most expensive street in Spain, Portal de L’Angel, have grown by 5.5% during the same period to €285/sqm/month. Nevertheless, prices on Paseo de Gracia are rising the fastest, by 15%, to reach €260/sqm/month (…).

One of the major changes that is being seen is the concentration and opening of large flagship stores in the centre of the two cities through which the operators are seeking to counter the strength of online shopping, by offering what they call a shopping experience (…).

In this vein, as Cinco Días revealed last week, the Chinese technology firm Huawei is going to open a flagship store on Gran Vía 48 in Madrid, in the former C&A store. On the other hand, the Sfera brand, owned by El Corte Inglés, is leaving Gran Vía 30, given that it has recently reorganised its business in the centre of the city to focus on its larger and recently renovated megastore on Calle Preciados.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE: Investor Interest in High Street Stores Skyrockets

5 July 2018 – Cinco Días

Stores on the most commercial streets of Spain have become an object of desire for investors in the real estate market. Large funds and insurance companies alike are investing in these types of assets and experts predict that a new record is going to be set in the segment this year.

Investors are expected to spend around €1.1 billion on these types of commercial premises in 2018, according to forecasts from the consultancy CBRE. That figure would exceed the amount invested in high street stores in 2017 by €300 million, equivalent to a growth rate of 36.9%. Of interest are shops on commercial thoroughfares such as c/Preciados and c/Serrano in Madrid and Paseo de Gracia and Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona. In fact, those two cities accounted for 79% of total investment last year. “Nevertheless, other cities in Spain are on the rise and there is growing demand for investment products in cities such as Bilbao, Valencia, Sevilla and Málaga”, according to the report “The Keys to Retail in Spain”, published by CBRE yesterday.

Investors regard these types of well-located assets as a good option for placing their money, a solid alternative in the context of low-interest rates and because these high street stores perform better (than other commercial assets) in the face of competition from online retailers. Currently, according to CBRE; the returns on these properties amount to 3.5% in Barcelona and to 3.25% in Madrid; in other cities (with more risk), the returns are greater.

The stars of these acquisitions are mainly the large funds. Hines, M&G, AEW, Thor, Union Investment, CBRE GI and Deka. “In 2017, in addition, an insurance company entered the high street sector for the first time: Generali acquired the Pull & Bear store on Calle Preciados in Madrid”, according to the report. Other active players include the Socimis, such as Tander, Ores, and Silicius, which have started to express interest.

In terms of large operations so far this year, in January, the German fund Deka acquired 16 Inditex stores for €400 million. Another significant operation was the acquisition of Mercado de San Miguel by the Dutch fund Redevco, for €70 million.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Catella Acquires 3 Residential Assets in Pamplona for €26M

7 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Catella Asset Management Iberia (Cami) is on a roll in Spain. The Swedish fund has taken another step forward in its strategy to grow its residential business in Spain with the purchase of three buildings in Pamplona for €26 million, according to explanations provided by sources at the company speaking to Eje Prime.

The latest operation signed by the fund in Spain is the acquisition from a local property developer of three residential buildings for their operation as long-term rental properties. “The vendor is going to continue to take care of the day-to-day management of the buildings”, explain the sources.

Two of the three assets are located in Plaza Puerta de Badostain, in the town of Sarrigueren, located to the west of Pamplona. Those two assets contain 168 homes, 187 parking spaces and 173 storerooms, covering a total constructed surface area of 15,080 m2.

The third building is located on Calle Paseo de los Donantes de Sangre, in the neighbourhood of Ezcaba, in the north of Pamplona. This residence has 67 homes, 69 parking spaces and 67 storerooms, which together span a constructed surface area of 7,100 m2.  The operation has been brokered by the real estate consultancy JLL.

Moreover, Catella has recently signed agreements with developers for the construction of two developments in Madrid containing 362 homes and which will form part of its portfolio in operation in the next 18 months.

The first development, whose delivery is scheduled for December 2018, is located in the expansion area of Villaverde in Madrid. It is a development with 171 homes, garages and storerooms, with a combined constructed surface area of 13,035 m2.

Meanwhile, the second development comprises 191 homes, garages and storerooms, spanning a constructed surface area of 13,800 m2 and located in the south of Madrid, which will be handed over at the beginning of 2020. With these acquisitions, Catella Asset Management Iberia has four residential assets: four in Madrid, one in Barcelona and three in Pamplona.

Roadmap in Spain

This operation forms part of the new roadmap that Catella is going to follow in the Spanish market. The Swedish manager, which is going to focus on its objective of growing its asset portfolio in the residential and office sectors, plans to own up to 1,000 flats for rental by the end of this year, doubling its current figure, which stands at around 400 homes.

Present in Spain since 2015, Catella has signed five purchases in recent years in the residential segment, where it has spent around €85 million. The group has €300 million more to spend to continue growing through purchases in the country.

In addition to the residential business, Catella is also very present in the retail sector, where it has recently undertaken operations, such as the purchase from Axiare of the Planetocio shopping centre in Madrid, alongside AEW. The company closed 2017 with a portfolio of assets under management in Spain worth €200 million.

In addition, through its fund specialising in student housing, Catella European Student Housing Fund, the investment company is backing the star alternative asset in the real estate at the moment.

In 2017, it purchased the La Campana hall of residence in Pamplona and, this year, it is analysing possible new acquisitions in the large capitals such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla, but also in another city with a notable presence of university students: Granada.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

AEW Buys Building in Madrid’s Río 55 Complex

24 March 2018 – ProOrbyt Expansion

Insur, a subsidiary of the French corporate investment company Natixis, acquired one of the properties under construction in the Rio 55 complex, in Madrid.

The fund manager AEW, which manages Natixis’ real estate investments, has concluded a new acquisition in Spain. Through its AEW Europe Value Investors Fund, the investment manager purchased one of the two buildings that make up the Rio 55 complex, the office project that Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur) is developing in Virgen del Puerto, alongside the Madrid Río area, in Spain’s capital.

The property, called Edificio Sur, is part of an approximately 28,000-square-meter complex that is under construction by Inmobiliaria del Sur. In September 2016, Insur, through a partnership with other minority shareholders, agreed to purchase the site in the southeast of the city from Sareb. After a year of negotiations, the 14,000-square-meter property was sold for 20 million euros. In total, the investment in the project will amount to €59 million.

The sale of the Edifício Sur, which has about 13,000 square meters of offices and another 1,000 of retail space, and more than 200 parking spaces, will bring in €43 million to Insur’s coffers. AEW acquired the property through its AEW Europe Value Investors (EVI) fund, which specialises in assets where the current profile or positioning can be enhanced through active asset management strategies. The fund raised €410 million, of which 93% has already been invested throughout Europe, and now the firm is working on the launch of EVI 2. “This acquisition of Rio 55 is completely in line with the strategy of the AEW Europe Value Investors fund. This high-quality development is in a strong location where the outlook for rental growth continues to strengthen,” Carsten Czarnetzki, Country Head for Spain, stated.

AEW first arrived in Spain in 2002. Three years ago, it returned to the market to pursue “strategic purchases” and, in 2017, opened an office in Madrid in one of the buildings it had already acquired: Serrano 240. It also has another office building, on Francisco Silvela, which was the firm’s last purchase in Spain before the current acquisition: ” We continue to explore opportunities to grow our investment in Spain, which is experiencing strong economic growth prospects.”

On the other hand, Inmobiliaria del Sur plans to introduce a motion at its shareholders’ meeting, scheduled for April 27, to vote on the creation of a new company, wholly owned by Insur. The company would transfer part of its portfolio of buildings for rent to a new company called Insur Patrimonial.

The company has a portfolio valued at €424 million, as of December 2017, of which €297.2 million correspond to its real estate business. Within this portfolio, the company owns 118,240 square meters of offices and commercial premises, and more than 2,500 parking spaces. Seville is the location of 84% of the company’s portfolio, while Madrid accounts for 2%.

Original Story: ProOrbyt Expansion – Rocío Ruiz

Translation: Richard Turner

JLL: Retail Inv’t Will Soar To €4,000M+ In 2017

6 November 2017 – Eje Prime

The retail segment is attracting the attention of investment funds and is set a register a new record in 2017. Investment in retail assets is expected to soar by the end of this year to exceed €4,000 million, according to estimates from the real estate consultancy firm JLL. Operations such as the sale of the Mercado de San Miguel and the Mercado de Fuencarral, both in Madrid, will help this segment of the Spanish real estate sector record a new milestone this year.

So far this year, the commercial premises business has already broken all the records and registered the highest level of investment for the last fourteen years. During the nine months to September, the volume of investment in the retail sector amounted to almost €3,488 million, according to the Market Fundamentals report for Q3, compiled by the consultancy firm.

“The inter-annual footfall index in Spain rose by 1.7% in September and retail sales rose by 0.9% with respect to the previous month”, explain professionals in the retail business. This fact, together with the reality that prime rents are continuing to grow at a good pace, means that funds are looking very closely at retail premises.

The large operations involving portfolios of hypermarkets located across Spain stand out, as do the sales of the Mercado de San Miguel and the Gran Vía Alicante shopping centre. Other operations, such as the sale of Mercado de Fuencarral by Activum to AEW for €50 million have also helped to boost business in this segment in Spain.

“In terms of trends in the retail sector, over the last few months, we have seen how the traditional large format retailers are continuing to move into the city centres, convinced that their proximity to consumers will generate greater sales opportunities for them”, explain sources at JLL. Examples include Decathlon’s arrival on Calle Fuencarral and the opening of a Leroy Merlin store in the heart of Barcelona.

Another example is the case of Ikea on Calle Serrano. The Swedish group has just debuted its “test” of its new format, known as Ikea Temporary; it opened the doors of its first establishment in the centre of Madrid, in a building owned by the Loncito family office.

Moreover, last month, Media Markt opened its third urban store in Madrid, in the central Plaza del Carmen, close to the Preciados shopping street. In this way, Media Markt Preciados became the company’s 81st store in Spain and its 11th in Madrid.

Although the brand dedicated to the distribution of consumer electronics has now opened several stores under this “proximity format” in Valencia (Calle de Colón), Madrid (Calle de Alcalá and Paseo de la Castellana) and Barcelona (Plaza Cataluña and the Digital Store on Avenida Diagonal), the company is looking to further consolidate its arrival in Spain’s city centres with this latest opening.

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

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