Tag: Área Sur shopping centre

Union Investment Puts Marsans’ Former HQ up for Sale

16 January 2018 – Expansión

The fund Union Investment, which is headquartered in Frankfurt, has decided to cash in one of its most high profile real estate assets in Spain.

The firm has put the Edificio Pórtico in Madrid up for sale. Designed by the architecture studios SOM and Rafael de La-Hoz, this office building is leased in its entirety to several companies including Pullmantur, Redexis Gas, Nautalia, Beam España and Pepsico, amongst others. Nevertheless, it is well-known because it housed the headquarters of the tourist group Marsans for several years. The company created by Gerardo Díaz and Gonzalo Pascual purchased the property in 2009 from Hines and Monthisa for an amount that was never disclosed. Years later, Marsans reached an agreement with Union Investment to sell the building for €115 million through a sale & leaseback contract, whereby the tourist group remained as the tenant paying a monthly rent of more than €700,000.

A year later, Marsans received an eviction notice due to the non-payment of the rent, and it abandoned the property in 2011 once it had filed for liquidation. The departure of its main tenant did not represent a problem for Union Investment, which soon found replacements.

Currently, the building, which has a gross leaseable area (GLA) of 27,000 m2 spread over eight floors, is leased in its entirety. That, together with the quality of the property and the stamp of two recognised architecture studios, raises its appeal in the market.

For the sale, the German fund has engaged the real estate consultancy CBRE, which has already started to reach out to the usual investors in the office market in Madrid. The sales price amounts to around €130 million, say sources in the know, and the operation is expected to be closed during the first half of this year.

Investment in offices in Spain amounted to €2.21 billion in 2017, according to JLL, down by 20% compared to the previous year.

Lack of supply

That decrease was much more marked in Madrid, which although continued to lead the investment market in Spain, with investment of €1.374 billion, suffered a decrease of 38% in 2017 with respect to the previous year.

“Nevertheless, that reduction was not due to a decrease in investor interest, but rather a lack of supply, given that the two previous years saw record figures”, explains Borja Ortega, Director of Capital Markets at JLL (…).

Meanwhile, Union Investment is one of the largest investment fund managers in Germany. In Spain, its recent operations include the sale of the Área Sur shopping centre, located in the Cadiz town of Jerez, which it sold last year to a joint venture controlled by Axa IM-Real Assets and the Portuguese real estate company Sonae Sierra for €110 million. At the global level, the German firm manages assets worth more than €250 billion.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axa & Sonae Sierra Team Up To Buy Área Sur Shopping Centre

16 June 2017 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

Axa Investment Managers – Real Assets and Sonae Sierra have announced the completion of their purchase of the Área Sur shopping centre (in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz) from its owner until now, Union Investment Real Estate. For the time being, the amount paid for the operation has not been disclosed, but sources consulted by Observatorio estimate that it must have gone for more than €100 million. To carry out the acquisition operation, the buyers have constituted a joint venture, in which Axa IM – Real Assets will be the majority shareholder (with 85% of the capital), whilst Sonae Sierra will hold the remaining 15% and will be the Operating Partner.

Inaugurated in September 2007, Área Sur has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 47,000 m2, spread over three floors, as well as 2,344 parking spaces. The first floor, measuring more than 23,400 m2, is home to fashion brands such as Zara, Primark, Massimo Dutti, Cortefiel, Sfera, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Springfield, Stradivarius and Okeysi, amongst others. The top floor houses a large leisure and restaurant space, spanning 10,000 m2, as well as an 11-screen Yelmo cinema, whilst the ground floor, measuring 14,200 m2, has a Mercadona and an El Corte Inglés store.

The Área Sur shopping centre, which receives almost 7 million visitors per year, has a privileged location in one of the areas of Spain that receives the most tourists. The centre has an area of influence of almost 450,000 inhabitants, and it is one of the largest shopping centres in Andalucía.

Nathalie Charles, Regional Head of Asset Management & Transactions for Southern Europe at Axa IM – Real Estates, said that “this is our first operation in collaboration with Sonae Sierra, one of the most important professionals in the retail real estate sector in Europe and with whom we hope to have the opportunity to work on other projects in Europe in the future”.

Pedro Caupers, Chief Investment Officer at Sonae Sierra, added that “we will pour all of the experience and knowledge that we have accumulated over more than twenty-five years, to improve the returns on the asset and contribute added value to Área Sur, to turn it into one of the iconic centres in the south of Andalucía. Sources at Sonae Sierra confirm that they are continually looking for new and innovative asset management initiatives, with the aim of achieving a higher return on investment for our shareholders. Similarly, we are very happy to be carrying out this project with Axa IM – Real Assets, in accordance with our model to co-invest with other partners, assuming responsibility for the management in order to achieve the objectives set by both parties”.

Cushman & Wakefield advised Union Investment on the sell-side.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axa & Sonae Finalise Purchase Of Área Sur

10 May 2017 – Expansión

Axa Real Estate, the real estate arm of the French insurance company, and Sonae Sierra, are emerging as the likely new owners of the Área Sur shopping centre. The companies are negotiating with Union Investment Real Estate GMBH – the current owner of the asset – to acquire this shopping centre, which is located in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz).

Market sources have indicated to Expansión that the transaction may be closed soon for a price of around €110 million.

Following the operation, Sonae Sierra – which specialises in the investment, development and management of shopping centres – will manage the shopping centre.

Área Sur was inaugurated in November 2007 and has a gross leasable area of 47,607 m2. Moreover, the shopping centre has around 2,300 parking spaces.

Investment record

The operation, which has been advised by the consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield, is another example of the interest in the market for shopping centres. Following a record-breaking year in 2016, investments during the first quarter of this year have exceeded €1,000 million, boosted by deals such as Intu’s acquisition of Xanadú for €530 million.

The shopping centre receives 6.6 million visitors per year, which represents an average annual growth rate of 5% since it opened. The shopping centre’s gross revenues amounted to €7.8 million in 2016.

Área Sur is located near to Luz Shopping, which was inaugurated in October 2010 and which has a total surface area of 174,000 m2. That shopping area is home to stores such as Ikea, Decathlon and Worten.

The Área Sur property, which has been managed by Auxideico since 2011, has three storeys. The first floor, which has a surface area of more than 23,400 m2, is home to numerous fashion brands and its tenants include Zara, Primark, H&M, Massimo Dutti, Cortefiel, Sfera, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Springfield, Stradivarius and Okeysi.

The top floor, which spans almost 10,000 m2, houses leisure and restaurant brands, as well as an 11-screen Yelmo cinema. Meanwhile, the ground floor, measuring 14,200 m2, is leased to Mercadona, Primark and El Corte Inglés.

In its area of influence, Área Sur competes with the Las Dunas shopping centre, in Sanlucar de Barrameda, with a gross leasable area of 75,000 m2; El Paseo, located in Puerto de Santa María, with a gross leasable area of 33,000 m2; and Bahía Sur, in San Fernando, with a gross leasable area of 59,000 m2.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake