Tag: Arcano

Arcano Buys EFE’s Former HQ in Chamberí to Build Luxury Homes

1 April 2019 – El Confidencial

Arcano has just acquired the property at number 32 Calle Espronceda in Madrid, which previously housed the EFE Agency for several decades.

The firm’s new real estate fund has just purchased the building, which spans 8,000 m2, for more than €40 million from the fund Eurostone, where it plans to promote 50 luxury homes. The property is distributed over seven floors and has more than 200 parking spaces. Moreover, it has already been granted all of the licences necessary for the redevelopment work.

The operation has been advised by Colliers, Doble Dígito and TC Gabinete Inmobiliario and partially financed by CaixaBank.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Arcano Sells 2 Buildings in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat to a Family Office for €40M

17 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Arcano is divesting two of its assets. The real estate fund Asoref has sold two buildings in Plaza de Europa, in the Barcelona municipality of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat to a family office for €40 million, according to Expansión.

In the case of the first asset, located at numbers 22 and 24 Plaza de Europa, it is an office building spanning 7,3000 m2, which was acquired by Arcano two years ago and which has been completely renovated and repositioned. The offices, distributed over four above-ground floors, have an occupancy rate of 100%. The tenants of the property include companies such as Aide, Zurich and Vanity Fair.

In the case of the second building, located at number 10 Plaza de Europa, it is a project that is still under construction. The building work is expected to be finished this year at which point the building will have a gross leasable area (GLA) of 5,000 m2.

The two buildings were acquired with Arcano’s first real estate investment fund, which was launched in the summer of 2015 and which had €100 million of capital. Currently, the company is in the process of raising capital for its second fund, Arcano Value Added II. The investment vehicle will amount to between €150 million and €200 million, and €70 million has already been committed.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ibosa Offers €33.5M to Acquire Most Sought-After Plot in Madrid

20 November 2018 – El Confidencial

The cooperative managed by Grupo Ibosa, Residencial Shaula Sociedad Cooperativa, has fought off competition from 16 other contenders in the auction for the most sought-after plot of land in Madrid. On the table: €33,510,000, an amount that almost doubles the minimum price of €17 million that the Treasury had set for it.

The cooperative has fought off competition in a tight bid from Desarrollos Los Astros, constituted at the beginning of November, and backed by Grupo Nozar, which placed €32 million on the table, and Arcano, which bid €31.2 million. Nevertheless, those two high offers were unable to compete with Grupo Ibosa, which has a lot of experience in this type of auction.

Expectations were high at Calle Guzmán el Bueno 139, the headquarters of the Special Delegation of the Economy and Finance in Madrid, where the auction was held. At 10am, in a room full with more than 100 people, 17 envelopes were opened containing 17 bids for the most sought-after plot of the year in Madrid. The land was owned by the National Currency and Stamp Factory (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre), which entrusted its sale to the Heritage Service. The cooperative members will have to make the first disbursement within the next few days, equivalent to 25% of the amount offered, in other words, almost €8.4 million, and then pay the remaining 75% over the coming months, after deducting the deposit paid in order to be able to bid, which amounts to €850,000.

Vía Célere also submitted an offer (€23.7 million), exactly two years after submitting the only offer for another plot of land owned by the Treasury, in the same place, on Avenida Santo Ángel de la Guarda. The company chaired by Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado is a familiar face in this type of action. In fact, just a few days after that auction, it was awarded the Adif and Repsol plots in Méndez Álvaro. On that occasion, its bid was also the only one.

In terms of the other names called out in the room, they included traditional property developers such as Ebrosa (€20.53 million), which submitted the most conservative bid; Grupo Premier, which put €25.16 million on the table through the company Cajandral; and Grupo Lar, which bid €30.13 million through Desarrollos Residenciales Madrid Norte. Pryconsa, another of the real estate firms that typically participates in these types of procedures, offered €23.1 million through Cogein, and Renta Corporación, with €22.15 million.

The surprise bidders included Inmo Frieria, a company backed by Manuel Jove, the former President of Fadesa, with a bid amounting to €24.7 million. And the listed company Aedas Homes, which offered €25 million through the company SPV Reoco 1, in its first major auction in Madrid. The long list of interested parties was completed by Global Nostromo (€28.5 million), Golego ITG (€22.12 million), Taz Real Estate (owned by Alza Real Estate, €24 million), Misodi Rent (owned by the Huguet family, with €23.2 million), Torre Rioja Madrid (€25.1 million) and Denoti Investment, a company owned by Irvine Alan Stewart Laidlaw, a British businessman and one of the richest people in the United Kingdom, whose bid amounted to €31 million.

A cooperative wins again

Like happened exactly four years ago, in November 2014, with the auctions of the plots on Raimundo Fernández Villaverde (owned by the Ministry of Defence) and the former metro depots in Cuatro Caminos (owned by Metro de Madrid), it is a cooperative – which saves on the property developer margin – that has managed to put the most competitive offer on the table, to fight off seasoned property developers such as Premier, Pryconsa, Ebrosa and Aedas Homes in a bid that the experts are describing as the auction of the year in Madrid. Not because of its size or its features, but because of its location, just 500m from the Retiro Park, this was one of the most sought-after plots in the capital, and its new owner may build up to 100 homes on its 4,500 m2 – 9,000 m2 of buildable space (…).

The cooperative managed by Grupo Ibosa currently comprises 60 cooperative members and its plans involve the construction of 94 homes. The 4 bedroom homes with two parking spaces and a storeroom will cost between €806,000 and €1,175,000, whilst the 3-bedroom homes will cost between €670,000 and €688,000 (…). The 2-bedroom homes will cost between €490,000 and €498,000, and the 1-bedroom homes will cost between €309,000 and €354,000. The complex will also have a swimming pool, a padel court, a gastroteque, a mini-crossfit studio, a sports pitch, a gym, changing rooms, a spa, a sauna and a jacuzzi.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Arcano Advises on the Sale of One of the Largest Resorts in Andalusia: the Islantilla Golf Resort

31 August 2018

The shareholders have sold 100% of the Resort to a vehicle managed by Alantra REIM, in a transaction advised by Arcano.

The Resort will be operated by GAT (Gestión de Activos Turísticos), and comprehensive renovations are planned.

The integral plan to reform the Resort will boost the forthcoming urban development of “Islantilla Norte,” which has more than 160,000 m2 in area.

The Islantilla Golf Resort, which was inaugurated in 1992, is a Resort with a 4-star hotel, located between Isla Cristina and the marshes of the Piedras River (Costa de la Luz).

The Resort counts with a 4-star hotel with 204 rooms, a spa with thermal baths, gym, a large outdoor pool and an indoor pool, a 27-hole golf course, the “Beach Club Islantilla”, 2 tennis courts, a paddle court, 3 football fields with natural grass and FIFA measurements, facilities for events, and special bird watching routes in southern Andalusia. It also has a school for nautical activities such as windsurfing, kite surfing, surfing, catamarans and sailing.

The Resorts has a total of 5 restaurants: the Las Carabelas Buffet Restaurant, Colon Bar, La Ola Grill Restaurant, Beach Club Restaurant, and an Italian restaurant in the golf clubhouse.

The Resort has a national clientele, but more than 50% of its clients are international (mainly from the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland, Portugal and Germany) who can enjoy the Resort during its 365 day-year.

The new owner of the asset is a vehicle managed by Alantra REIM. Investors have opted for the hotel as an investment and development opportunity, which will be exploited on a rental basis by GAT, and where an investment to reposition the establishment is planned.

The selling shareholders are also the owners of 1.4 million square meters of adjacent land, called “Islantilla Norte” with more than 160,000 buildable square meters for the development of a hotel, golf course, commercial area, as well as a 120,000-m2 residential area.

According to the selling shareholders: “The complete reform of the hotel will increase occupancy and variety of the current Islantilla Golf Resort clientele, which will benefit the residential, commercial and leisure development of Islantilla Norte, which we will undertake during the coming years.”

According to Luis Iglesias, Partner at Alantra REIM: “With this second hotel investment in 2018, we continue to build a quality hotel portfolio in a sector with a great capacity.”

Arcano, a leading independent financial advisor, has been the exclusive financial advisor to the sellers.

About ARCANO PARTNERS

Founded in 2003, Arcano is a leading independent financial advisory alternative management firm. With offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon and New York, it has a team of more than 155 professionals. Within the Investment Banking team, Arcano has more than 55 professionals in Spain, with previous experience in some of the largest investment banks in the world.

The team has successfully closed 56 transactions since 2016. Arcano has a strategic alliance with the investment bank Jeffries, which has a presence in more than 34 cities around the world and a team of 3,800 people, which provides a global platform for execution and distribution.

Original Story: Arcano Press Release

Translation: Richard Turner

 

Bankia Puts Branch in Barcelona’s Plaza Cataluña Up For Sale for €28M

5 July 2018 – Idealista News

Bankia is replicating in Barcelona what it has already done in Madrid with c/Alcalá 1. The bank has put up for sale the commercial premises in the building that it owns at number 9 Plaza Cataluña, in the centre of Barcelona, for €28 million.

The entity opened the bidding last week and will start to receive offers for the premises, which have a surface area of 1,000 m2, from Friday 6 July onwards. The asset, located between the Apple and Desigual flagship stores, has already attracted several suitors, including retail operators and international investment funds, according to Idealista.

The premises, which Bankia debating whether to put up for sale or lease, was the object of desire of the Japanese fashion giant Uniqlo for its arrival plan in Barcelona. In the end, that firm opened its flagship store close to Plaza Cataluña, at the intersection of Gran Vía and Paseo de Gracia.

This operation follows the deal that Bankia already initiated in March involving c/Alcalá 1 in Madrid, as revealed by Eje Prime. For that central property in the Spanish capital, two real estate funds, Renta Corporación and Arcano, are still the favourites to acquire the asset, which, nevertheless, has not yet been sold for its minimum asking price of €20 million.

Original story: Idealista News

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bankia Relaunches Sale of c/Alcalá 1 With Asking Price of €20M

16 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Bankia can’t make up its mind about c/Alcalá 1, one of its star assets in the centre of Madrid. The Spanish bank has put paid to the first process that it opened at the beginning of the year and is now launching a new round with a minimum sales price of €20 million, according to sources in the sector.

In the previous bid, which several investment funds participated in, the finalists were Arcano and Renta, after both submitted offers amounting to around €18 million, as revealed by Eje Prime.

Despite the offers, Bankia has now decided to seek refuge in a clause that allows it to exit the process if none of the bids proved attractive and has opted to launch a new tender with a higher minimum asking price, whereby taking advantage of the boom in the market.

The asset, which due to its façade would interest restaurant operators more than fashion retailers, has two floors: the first spans 458 m2, whilst the basement measures 405 m2.

The building, constructed in 1880, has a total surface area of 3,209 m2 and has housed the offices of the Community of Madrid’s Ministry of Finance and the Economy. Although it currently houses offices, compatible uses also include a hotel, commercial, administrative, healthcare, education and even residential (…).

Bankia’s other prime assets

In addition to the property on Calle Alcalá, Bankia’s asset portfolio contains a second property located in a prime enclave in the centre of the Catalan capital. That building is the former headquarters of Bankia in Barcelona, located at number 9 Plaza Cataluña. The property has a surface area of 1,000 m2 and has attracted attention from a large number of operators.

Although the objective with the branch in Madrid was to sell it, the strategy with the property in Barcelona is not so clear. According to explanations provided by the entity to Eje Prime, there are several options on the table, including a sale, but also the rental of the building to an operator or even investing in the property to renovate it (…).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Family Office Puts Tesla’s Store on c/Serrano Up For Sale for €7M

18 April 2018 – Eje Prime

The retail sector is hotting up in Madrid. A Spanish family office has put up for sale the store at number 3 Calle Serrano, which is occupied by Tesla, the company specialising in electric cars and led by Elon Musk. Although sources close to the operation have explained to Eje Prime that the process to receive offers has already begun, the estimated price of the asset is around €7 million.

This store has been occupied by Tesla since last September after it signed a lease contract that will continue in force following the sale. The asset has a retail surface area of 247 m2 spread over two floors. There, Tesla has a showroom, a warehouse and the group’s offices in Spain. According to real estate market sources, the consultancy firm CBRE is exclusively leading the sales process.

In recent months, the retail sector has been reactivated in the Spanish capital, with both the placing of premises on the market and the renovation of assets for their subsequent rental. The latest to be added to the portfolio of establishments for sale was the branch that Bankia owns at number 1 Calle Alcalá.

Although the bank already initiated an auction, which was attended by funds such as Arcano and real estate groups such as Renta, who were offering approximately €18 million for the premises, Bankia has decided to wipe the slate clean and launch a new auction process, through which it hopes to raise at least €20 million.

The asset, which, given its façade appeals more to restaurant operators than fashion retailers, is spread over two floors: the first floor spans 458 m2, whilst the basement measures 405 m2.

And from premises for sale to premises sold. In March, the fund manager IBA Capital, together with CBRE Global Investment, finally completed the sale of number 9 Calle Preciados, in Madrid, to the real estate investment vehicle of the insurance company Generali, Generali Real Estate. The Italian group paid €100 million for the asset, which is going to house Pull&Bear’s future flagship store on this high street, one of the most expensive in Spain for opening a store (…).

Investor appetite in 2018 

After closing 2017 with a total investment of €3.5 billion, the sector started 2018 with retail assets up for sale worth €2.5 billion. Moreover, during the course of this year, the volume of retail space on the national map is forecast to increase by 500,000 m2.

At the moment, shopping centres worth €2 billion are up for sale, along with high street products worth another €500 million. This situation guarantees a high degree of product availability for the segment, which is ideal at a time when Spain is very much in the firing line of international investors.

The influence of the retail market on the tertiary sector in 2017 is evidenced by the statistic that 38% of all transactions completed in this market involved retail assets, allowing retail assets to exceed office buildings for the first time ever.

With a volume increase of 36% over the last year, several large shopping centre openings are scheduled for 2018 including Open Sky in Madrid, which will see the arrival of Compagnie de Phalsbourg in Spain, after investing €160 million in the complex.

Similarly, in the Community of Madrid, the shutters will be lifted on X-Madrid, owned by Merlin, and in Málaga, McArthurGlen and Sonae Sierra will inaugurate a new designer outlet centre in the capital of the Costa del Sol. The stock of retail surface area in Spain amounts to 16.5 million m2, up by 1.4% YoY.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Renta & Arcano Bid for Bankia’s Former Branch on c/Alcalá (Madrid)

5 April 2018 – Eje Prime

The number of parties interested in one of Bankia’s star commercial assets in Madrid is being whittled down little by little. As Eje Prime revealed, last month, the entity opened an auction for its branch located at number 1 Calle Alcalá. After a period receiving offers, Arcano and Renta have been chosen to participate in the final round. Within the coming days, a decision will be taken as to who will end up acquiring the asset, according to sources close to the auction, who indicate that Arcano is currently best positioned in the race.

According to the same sources, a third group reached the final round but then withdrew due to the value that the asset may reach in the last round of offers. Arcano is one of the best-positioned players given the type of property up for sale; in recent months, it has acquired a handful of other assets with similar characteristics, such as the store at number 202 Calle Bravo Murillo that it purchased from Redevco for €12 million.

The highest offers submitted to Bankia for this latest asset amount to around €18 million, with those presented by Arcano and Renta Corporación proving most attractive to the banking institution (amounting to €18.3 million and €18.2 million, respectively, according to sources close to the operation). The asset, which is likely to interest restaurant operators rather than fashion firms given its (limited window) façade, comprises two floors: the first spans 458 m2, whilst the basement measures 405 m2.

In the event that Renta Corporación’s bid proves successful, something that is unlikely according to market sources, it could be the first move in a larger deal to acquire the whole building. Renta Corporación does not specialise in commercial assets but is an expert in the acquisition of entire buildings for their subsequent renovation. Moreover, the building did go up for sale in 2014.

Indeed, following the success of the sale of several assets, such as those located at numbers 18 and 3 Gran Vía for more than €26 million, and at number 8 Plaza Chamberí for more than €40 million, the Community of Madrid decided to try its luck with this property, located on Calle Alcalá, for which it was asking €10.7 million at the time.

The asset, constructed in 1880, has a total surface area of 3,209 m2 and used to house the offices of the Community of Madrid’s Ministry of Economics and Finance. Although nowadays it is used as offices, and its compatible uses include hotel, commercial, administrative, healthcare, education and even residential. Nevertheless, the Community of Madrid pulled out in the end and did not end up selling the building.

Bankia’s other prime assets

In addition to the premises on Calle Alcalá, Bankia’s portfolio of assets contains a second branch located in a prime enclave in the Catalan capital. It is the former headquarters of Bankia in Barcelona, located at number 9 Plaza Cataluña. That property has a surface area of 1,000 m2 and has received attention from a large number of operators.

Sources are Bankia have explained to Eje Prime that whilst the aim with the branch in Madrid was to sell it, the plans for the property in the Catalan capital are not as clear. According to the entity, it is considering several options, including a sale, but it may also lease the property to an operator and even invest in generating value from the asset by undertaking a renovation (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Arcano Will Invest €200M with its Second Real Estate Fund: Ava II

19 February 2018 – El Economista

Arcano Asset Management, the asset management arm of the Arcano Group, is redoubling its commitment to the Spanish real estate market with the launch of its second fund specialising in property.

Known as AVA II, the new vehicle will have a target size of between €150 million and €200 million and will replace its first real estate fund, Asoref, by raising and investing its funds over a period of 18 months.

AVA II is going to focus on value-added operations and will complete its first close at the end of March, although it already has €40 million of funding committed, from domestic and international investors.

The fund, which is going to be open to new investors for the next 15 months, has a target net rate of return (IRR) of 15% and is going to invest in operations involving all types of real estate assets, with a clear focus on residential assets and offices in Spain’s main cities.

In addition, and in an opportunistic way, Arcano’s new fund is also going to have the option of exploring beyond Spain’s borders and investing in real estate assets in Portugal and Italy, although under no circumstances shall its investments in those countries exceed 20% of the fund’s total value.

Eduardo Fernández-Cuesta, Partner at Arcano Real Estate; José Luis del Río, CEO of Arcano Asset Management; and Pablo Gómez-Almansa, Director of Investments at Arcano Real Estate, are going to be responsible for leading this new vehicle, supported by a team of six professionals, including the recent new recruit Diego Vizcaíno, as Development Director.

Operations in Madrid

Asoref, Arcano’s first real estate fund, which has just completed its investment process, has disbursed or committed more than €170 million in total, focusing primarily on office assets and residential properties. Its most recent operation involved the purchase of Hotel La Moreleja in Madrid, for approximately €12 million, which it is going to convert into a state-of-the-art office building, designed by the architecture studio Rafael de la Hoz. The firm is going to spend around €14.5 million on the construction of that project.

That acquisition follows the purchase of another office building for corporate headquarters in Madrid at number 24 Calle Ríos Rosas, in the heart of the Chamberí neighbourhood, which has an above ground surface area of 3,517 m2.

Likewise, through this fund, Arcano has entered the residential market, closing the acquisition of a plot with a buildable surface area of 6,029 m2 in the north of Madrid, in Las Rozas, for the construction of high-end housing.

It also completed the purchase of a residential plot in the centre of Madrid, on Calle Divino Pastor 5, in the Malasaña neighbourhood, for the construction of 30 homes. Beyond Madrid, the fund closed the acquisition of a plot of land on the seafront in Benalmádena, with a buildable surface area of 12,000 m2.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Arcano Acquires Hotel La Moreleja In Madrid For €12.5M

20 November 2017 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

Arcano’s real estate fund, the Arcano Spanish Opportunity Real Estate Fund (ASOREF), has announced a new operation to purchase two assets in Madrid with a combined value of €12.15 million, which will be used as office space. With this acquisition, the fund is advancing with its strategy of investing in real estate value-added operations in the main cities in Spain.

The objective of the fund is to demolish the existing hotel and construct a state-of-the-art office building on the site, to be designed by the architecture studio Rafael de La-Hoz. The property will have an above ground gross leasable area of 8,100 m2. The new building will be very flexible in its design and will have very high efficiency ratios, as well as a Leed Gold certification to accredit its energy efficiency and construction quality.

The properties acquired in this operation, located on Avenida de Europa, in the La Moreleja Business Park, comprise an attractive real estate complex in a sub-market where several large corporations, such as Pfizer, Acciona and Telefónica have their main headquarters. It is one of the most important business centres in Madrid and one of the most sought-after for office space outside the M-30.

“This is a very significant operation within the capital’s real estate market given the scarcity of land and new build offices in Madrid and, more specifically, in the surrounding area. Meanwhile, the operation will allow us to provide new high-quality spaces at a time of intense demand”, said Pablo Gómez-Almansa, Director of Investments at ASOREF.

Arcano already has committed investments amounting to €173 million for its first real estate fund.

This operation follows the purchase of an office building for its corporate headquarters in Madrid on Calle Ríos Rosas, with an above ground buildable surface area of 3,517 m2; the acquisition of a plot of land with a buildable surface area of 6,029 m2 in Las Rozas (Madrid) for the development of high-end homes; the purchase of a residential building on Calle Divino Pastor, 5 in Madrid, for the construction of 28 new build homes; and the acquisition of a beachfront plot of land in Benalmádena, with a buildable surface area of 12,000 m² , amongst others.

The fund invests in value-added operations across all kinds of properties, with a clear focus towards residential assets in the main Spanish cities and also along the Costa del Sol, without forgetting other assets, including office buildings, logistics assets, retail premises and shopping centres, whenever they represent opportunities to generate value as part of the fund’s investment philosophy. Arcano whereby covers a gap in the real estate sector in Spain by targeting medium-sized value-added operations (between €5 million and €25 million in equity), with a clear local focus.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake