Tag: approval

Madrid’s New Town Hall Approves a 400-Home Residential Complex in Cuatro Caminos

20 June 2019 – Somos Chamberí

During its first week in office, the newly elected Town Hall of Madrid has approved plans for the construction of more than 400 homes above the old train depots in Cuatro Caminos.

The previous municipal government had prepared all of the necessary paperwork but its legislature ended before the plans could be presented for approval.

Now, the Community of Madrid must give the green light to the project, known as Residencial Metropolitan, which will include six buildings, including a 31-storey tower that will change the skyline of Chamberí forever.

Original story: Somos Chamberí (by Diego Casado)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

La Finca Global Assets Approves its MAB Debut for July

12 June 2019 – El Confidencial

On Wednesday, the General Shareholders’ Meeting of La Finca Global Assets approved the company’s debut on the stock market, which will take place during the first week of July.

The decision was supported by Susana García Cereceda, President of the company and owner of 50% of the share capital, and Värde Partners, which holds a 39% stake. It was opposed by the President’s sister, Yolanda, who owns a 10.99% stake, but she was outvoted.

La Finca owns 220,000 m2 of office space worth €725 million as at 31 December 2018, all of which is located in Madrid and Pozuelo de Alarcón. Nevertheless, the company has debt amounting to almost €400 million, and has to cover the costs of managing its business parks, and so, its final valuation is expected to range between €156 million and €170 million.

At its meeting, the General Shareholders also approved the company’s accounts for the year ending 31 December 2018, which reported operating profits of €45.9 million, mainly from rental income and a result for the year of €9.73 million, up from €4.6 million in 2017.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Agustín Marco & Ruth Ugalde)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Congress Approves the New Rental Act

3 April 2019 – Eje Prime

On Wednesday, Congress approved the decree law containing the latest measures to regulate the rental market. The PSOE, Unidos Podemos, Esquerra Republicana, PDeCat, PNV, Compromís and EH-Bildu all voted in favour of the law; the PP and Ciudadanos voted against it; and the UPN abstained.

The decree containing the urgent rental measures entered into force on 6 March after being approved by the Council of Ministers. The law limits increases in rental prices to the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and extends the duration of contracts from three to five years, amongst other measures.

The bill also grants town halls and autonomous communities the power to decide their own housing policies in accordance with their respective fiscal frameworks.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Town Hall of Madrid Approves Legislation to Close 10,000+ VUTs

27 March 2019 – El País

On Wednesday, the Town Hall of Madrid approved a special plan to regulate the licences required to operate tourist apartments (“viviendas de uso turístico” or VUTs).

To obtain a licence, a VUT must now have a separate access from the other homes in the building, which means, in practice, that 95% of the establishments of this kind in Madrid will have to close. More than 10,000 VUTs will be affected, according to municipal calculations. The legislation applies to those properties defined as VUT by the Community of Madrid, which are effectively those that are leased for 90 days or more per year.

The new legislation, which was supported by Ahora Madrid and the PSOE, will enter into force within the next few days. Non-compliance will trigger a process to cease the activity in that property, like in the case of a bar operating without a licence, rather than the imposition of a fine.

It was in January 2018 that the Town Hall of Madrid established that VUTs – homes that are leased for three months or more – represent an economic activity and, therefore, require a licence. At the same time, a moratorium was declared on the granting of licences whilst the new legislation was drafted, which has now been approved.

The impact on the more than 40,000 reservations that have been made in accommodation of this kind for the Gay Pride celebrations in July 2019 is far from clear.

Original story: El País (by Gloria Rodríguez-Pina)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

The Government’s New Rental Act Limits Annual Price Increases to CPI

1 March 2019 – Eje Prime

On Friday, the Government approved a new Rental Act containing urgent measures for the rental sector, including a limit on annual price rises for new contracts to CPI. However, in the end, no IBI rebate incentive was included to reward landlords for maintaining rental prices below the reference price index.

The measure to limit rental price increases will take effect for new contracts signed from the date that the law enters into force.  Moreover, the law provides for the preparation of a state-managed house price reference index within eight months, which will be updated annually.

In addition, the law extends the period for extending rental contracts to five years, from the current term of three years.

Original story: Eje Prime

Summary/Translation: Carmel Drake

Blackstone May Cease Investing in Spain if the Rental Legislation Changes

27 February 2019 – Idealista

The senior director of Blackstone’s real estate division, James Seppala, has indicated at a meeting that his firm will continue investing in the Spanish real estate sector, but only provided that the regulatory framework for the rental sector remains stable. The declarations come at a time when the Spanish government is negotiating approval, with support from Podemos in extremis, for a royal decree that seeks to modify the Urban Rental Act (LAU) and to limit rental prices.

At a meeting organised by Bloomberg (…), Seppala added that his firm will continue to back the real estate sector, especially in Madrid, Barcelona and their metropolitan areas, which offer returns of between 6% and 7%. He is convinced that there is no risk of prices overheating in those areas (…).

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sabadell Delays Completion of ‘Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios’ Sale until May

28 February 2019 – El Confidencial

Banco Sabadell is finalising the sale of land from Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (SDIn) to complete its real estate divestment process with prices of between €900 million and €1.1 billion. The process began with more than 20 funds and property developers expressing interest. Analysts forecast that the Catalan entity will record gains of more than €200 million.

To this end, the bank chaired by Josep Oliu (pictured above, left), has already prepared a timetable. The entity has delayed the deadlines because it has taken longer than expected to receive some of the signed confidentiality agreements (NDAs). Now, the interested parties will have until 30 March to analyse SDIn and submit non-binding offers. The deadline for the subsequent period for the submission of binding offers will be 17 May.

In this way, Sabadell will have the second half of May to accept the winning bid, and then receive the corresponding authorisations to complete the divestment before July (…).

Analysts expect that the operation will be executed in the region of €1 billion, with a discount of 30% on the net asset value. Even so, that would result in capital gains from profits of more than €200 million, according to a report by Alantra, to which this newspaper has had access. In this way, the maximum quality capital ratio (CET1 fully loaded) would move towards 12%, approaching the 12.5% that the bank has set itself as a target for 2020 in its strategic plan. In December, the ratio amounted to 11.1%, well below the 12.8% from the previous year following the sale of toxic property and the problems with the integration with TSB.

The land has been valued at €1.3 billion by Savills Aguirre Newman and by the property developer SDIn itself (…).

Candidates include funds and property developers. Market sources point to Cerberus, Oaktree and Neinor homes as some of the leading contenders. The operation will require the buyer to become one of the largest real estate players in Spain (…).

In December, Banco Sabadell agreed the sale of its property developer Solvia to the Nordic fund Intrum for €300 million. Intrum is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange and is the owner of Lindorff and Aktua in Spain (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Óscar Giménez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona Reserves 8 Plots on which to Build 512 Social Housing Units

17 January 2019 – La Vanguardia

Barcelona is going to reserve eight plots on which to build around 512 social housing units for young people, the elderly and other groups with social needs, together with public facilities, through a Modification of the General Metropolitan Plan (MPGM).

The Town Hall of Barcelona’s Commission for Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility approved the revised MPGM to incorporate those 8 plots into the social housing system yesterday, with votes in favour from the municipal government, the Demòcrata, ERC and CUP groups, and the unassigned councillors Gerard Ardanuy and Joanjo Puigcorbé. There were abstentions from Cs, PSC and PP.

According to a statement from the town hall, the plots are located in Gràcia (2), Ciutat Vella (2), Eixample (2), Sants-Montjuïc (1) and Horta-Guinardó (1).

Four of the plots are owned in their entirety by the municipality, whilst the town hall will acquire the two that are completely private as well as the private plot of another site of which it is only part owner.

The eighth plot is on Via Laietana, 8-10, and currently houses the headquarters of the National Institute of Statistics and the Electoral Census Office, which is owned by the Town Hall of Barcelona and several other public administrations.

Specifically, this new plan proposes incorporating the plots into the housing system, which also includes plans for facilities on the ground floors.

The procedure is based on the fact that the law allows a maximum of 5% of land classified as local public facilities to be dedicated to social housing.

On the basis of the land that this MPGM is activating, the actions carried out and/or forecast in the current plan represent approximately 2.81% of the plots only, according to reports from the Town Hall.

This MPGM now enters a period of public consultation for one month and so its provisional approval in the Plenary of the Municipal Council and definitive approval by the Sub-Committee for Urban Planning in Barcelona, a body of La Generalitat, could be completed before the end of the mandate of the mayor Ada Colau.

This is the second MPGM that the municipal government has carried out in the current mandate to activate plots to build social housing.

In December 2016, the Town Hall approved a first plan that reserved six plots for the development of 519 homes. Specifically, two of those were located in Gràcia, two in Sant Martí, one in Sants-Montjuïc and another in Horta-Guinardó.

Original story: La Vanguardia 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Permira Buys Laureate Education’s Portfolio of Universities in Spain & Portugal for €770M

12 December 2018 – El Confidencial

The fund Permira has purchased a portfolio of institutions in Spain and Portugal from the company Laureate Education, which owns the Universidad Europea de Madrid and is a specialist in the university sector, for €770 million.

In a statement, both parties detailed that, in addition to the Madrilenian branch, the transaction includes the campus of the Universidad Europea in Valencia and the Universidad Europa de Canarias, both in Spain, as well as the Portuguese Universidade Europeia in Portugal and the Portuguese Institute of Marketing Administration.

The most senior executive of Laureate, Eilif Serck-Hanssen, said that he feels “very proud of our institutions in Spain and Portugal and of what they have achieved”. Moreover, he considers that under the umbrella of the fund Permira “they will be well positioned and supported” to continue offering high satisfaction to students.

The head of Permira in Spain, Pedro López, said in a statement that these schools “will maintain their focus on high-quality education and on offering new and innovative educational experiences”.

The transaction is expected to be completed during the first half of 2019, although it is subject to approval by the competition authorities and educational agencies.

Original story: El Confidencial 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Zambal Approves Merger with Iberia Nora & Completes €80M Capital Increase

12 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Zambal has approved its merger with Iberia Nora and has given the green light to its capital increase. Following the General Shareholders’ Meeting, the company managed by IBA Capital has notified the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) that it is going to carry out its integration with the other Socimi, which specialises in the rental of real estate assets.

In addition, Zambal has confirmed the €80 million capital increase that it announced in July. It will conduct it through the issue of 80 million shares with a nominal value of €1 and an issue premium of €0.25, which “will be fully subscribed and paid up through the compensation of loans”.

The capital increase has been fully subscribed by the Socimi’s majority shareholder, Altaya, headquartered in Singapore, which owns 95.21% of the share capital. Of the remaining 4.79%, 4.40% corresponds to Loire Investments Pte. Ltd, also domiciled in Singapore and 0.39% is treasury stock.

The Socimi, which started life in 2013, is an investment vehicle managed externally by IBA Capital Partners. The company specialises in the investment, and subsequent management, of offices and retail assets in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, although the company also considers other assets such as nursing homes for the elderly, hospitals, retail parks and logistics platforms.

In a recent operation, Zambal purchased two office buildings on Calle Albarracín in Madrid, leased to the French multi-national firm Atos. That operation involved an investment of €38 million.

Without resorting to bank financing, Zambal has constructed a portfolio worth more than €730 million. Some of the company’s other main assets include, for example, the property at number 77 Avenida San Luis (which is home to Gas Natural’s headquarters in Madrid); the Edificio Vodafone, on Avenida de América; and the building at number 118 Avenida Burgos, which is leased in its entirety to BMW.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake