Tag: asset rotation policy

UOC Buys its Home in 22@ from Invesco for €30.6M

7 November 2018 – Eje Prime

The Universidad Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has acquired Can Jaumandreu. The entity has purchased the iconic office complex, located in the 22@ district of Barcelona from Invesco Real Estate for €30.6 million.

The university institution, which has occupied the property on a rental basis since 2005, together with the public institution of the Town Hall of Barcelona Bagursa, has obtained ownership of the property on a concession basis until 2078. The purchase has been made as a result of the growth of the entity, the consolidation of the district and, above all, the rationalisation of the spaces that it has in Barcelona into a single complex, reported the UOC in a statement.

Can Jaumandreu is one of the most iconic office complexes in the 22@ district. With a surface area measuring 12,284 m2, the property comprises two buildings and has a 7@ certification, which means that only public companies or outreach or training firms may occupy the space.

Alejandro Monge, Director of Invesco Real Estate in Spain, highlighted that “the divestment forms part of the fund’s usual asset rotation policy, given that the complex has been in the portfolio for more than ten years”. Nevertheless, for the company, which has recently acquired three logistics assets in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain is still a priority investment area”, said the executive. “We are still looking for opportunities to invest in high-quality assets and increase our presence in this market”, said the Director.

The 22@ district – all the rage in Barcelona 

The office district of the moment in Barcelona is registering record figures for another year. According to the Marketshot report compiled by Cushman&Wakefield, the consultancy firm that has advised the operation, 86 rental operations were closed in the 22@ district in 2017spanning 101,000 m2, which represents the highest figure in the last ten years and 34% more than in the previous two years (…).

The investment volume, which amounted to €161 million in the 22@ district in 2017, more than tripled the €51 million figure recorded in 2016. In metres squared, the investment volume corresponded to a surface area of 173,000 m2, well above the figure recorded in 2016, of 33,000 m2.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Blackstone Buys Lar’s Logistics Portfolio for €120M

18 July 2018 – Expansión

Blackstone has purchased the Socimi Lar España’s logistics portfolio, comprising five warehouses and a plot of land for development, for €119.7 million. That sum represents an appreciation of 83% with respect to the purchase price of €65.6 million.

Specifically, four of the warehouses acquired are located in Alovera (Guadalajara), one is located on the Juan Carlos I Industrial Park in Almussafes (Valencia), whilst the land to be developed for logistics use is located in Cheste (Valencia).

The five logistics warehouses span a combined surface area of 162,000 m2 and have an occupancy rate of 100% – all of them have stable rental contracts. Meanwhile, the surface area in Cheste spans 182,000 m2.

The warehouses in Alovera were acquired between August 2014 and May 2015 and the property in Almussafes was purchased in May 2015. The advisors to Lar España on the operation have been CBRE, Pérez Llorca and Hill International.

Asset rotation

This operation forms part of the asset rotation process that the company launched last year. Specifically, the Socimi’s first divestment came in September 2017, with the sale of an office building in Arturo Soria, and since then, it has carried out two other sales.

Together, the divestments carried out by Lar España to date amount to €265 million, more than half the €470 million in divestments forecast in the business plan to 2021.

The President of Lar España, José Luis del Valle, said that the company’s plan involves selling those assets that are not strategic to focus on the retail portfolio.

In addition to the asset sales, the company’s business plan involves investing €220 million in shopping centres and retail parks. Within the context of that plan, Lar purchased the Rivas Futura shopping centre for €62 million and the Abadía shopping arcade for €14 million.

In parallel, the Socimi plans to invest €247 million in commercial developments and €49 million to improve its retail assets.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE To Invest €600M In The Spanish Market In 2015

16 March 2015 – Expansión

Real estate assets / The former subsidiary of ING is looking to improve its portfolio through refurbishments and asset purchases.

After more than two decades in the market, the fund manager CBRE Global Investors has become a major player in the Spanish real estate sector thanks to its intense asset rotation policy.

The company, which manages property in this market (primarily shopping centres) worth €2,000 million, closed the sale of various assets last year: Urbil, in Guipúzcoa, which it sold to Axa Reim for €60 million; Alcalá Magna, in Madrid, which it sold to Incus Capital for €85 million; Gran Vía de Vigo, which it sold to the US fund Oaktree for €100 million and Modoo, in Asturias, which it sold for €45 million.

In 2013, CBRE Global Investors was involved in the first major sale of a shopping centre following the outbreak of the crisis, when it sold Parque Principado in Asturias for €141.5 million to the British real estate company Intu Properties. “Between 2008 and 2014, we rotated the portfolio we had created during the previous two decades. Thus, we sold Parque Principado, which was a mature asset, but we purchased other assets. In total, we bought and sold assets worth €1,000 million last year”, explains José Antonio Martin-Borregón, CEO at CBRE Global Investors in Spain and Portugal.

The (property) management company made its first investments in Spain between 1992 and 1993 and three years later, it opened its first offices. Through its five funds, it currently manages 19 shopping centres, including Bilbondo in Bilbao; Vallereal in Maliaño (Cantabria) and Parc Central, in Tarragona. “We started out as the investment vehicle for National Nederlanden, which wanted to invest in properties outside of Holland that were not for its own use. We have maintained this philosophy for 20 years. Our traditional clients are institutional investors”. The latest addition to the portfolio was La Zenia in Alicante, which was acquired using money from the Alaska pension fund.

Advantages

The goal of the Head of CBRE Global Investors is to repeat the transaction volume (recorded last year) during 2015 but with a greater focus on purchases. “We would like to close transactions amounting to €1,000 million this year with a 60:40 split in terms of purchases and sales”, he says. “We have a portfolio of mature assets and therefore we are interested in buying properties that we can add value to”.

In total, the (property) manager expects to invest €930 million in Spain and Portugal. “Demand exceeds supply, which means that prices have increased and new rules are in play. It is not going to be as easy (as it once was) to target successful investments”.

Nevertheless, the Head of CBRE GI does not fear competition from the multitude of investors and institutional funds that have arrived in the Spanish market attracted by the decrease in real estate prices and the expected economic recovery. “As a (property) manager, we try to maximise the opportunities that the market offers, leveraging on our competitive advantage, which is our local knowledge”, says Martín-Borregón. “As a (property) manager, we have more access to capital, which allows us to move (more) quickly to close transactions”, he adds.

The (property) manager is also considering investments in premises (shops/stores) on the street and in strengthening its logistics platforms (it already owns 15). “We will buy logistics assets in new areas and we will sell old warehouses”, he explains.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake