Tag: Atlético de Madrid

Atlético de Madrid Sells Last Plot of Land by Former Stadium

5 August 2019

Atlético de Madrid has finalised the sale of the last of the three plots of land it owned by its former stadium in the Mahou-Calderón area of Madrid. The football club chose to sell the land to Vivenio for approximately 75 million euros.

The 6,544-m2 plot of land, denominated RC4, has a residential building area of 27,000 square meters. Vivenio, a socimi controlled by the Dutch fund APG and Renta Corporación, intends to develop rental housing on the property.

Original Story: Expansión – Rocío Ruiz

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Pryconsa and SVPGlobal in Talks to Acquire Land from Atlético de Madrid

30 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Pryconsa, the Colomer family’s developer, and SVPGlobal, which owns the Benidorm highrise, are bidding to take the last of the three plots being sold by Atlético de Madrid’s Operación Calderón. The first two plots of land went to a joint venture by Azora and CBRE GI, in a deal worth just over 100 millions of euros.

Stoneweg’s partnership with Hines had been seen as likely to win the bidding for the last plot of land, but an unexpected offer from Vivenio and the Dutch fund APG surpassed their bid at the last moment. Talks with Vivenio subsequently broke down when the firm was unable to secure the necessary financing.

Somewhat late to the party, Strategic Value Partners (SVPGlobal) and Pryconsa have both also now also expressed interest in submitting bids. The firms are analysing the asset, which Atlético de Madrid is selling for €3,150/m2. Bids are expected this week.

If neither of the two manages to reach an agreement with the football club, Atlético de Madrid is expected to go back to Stoneweg-Hines and Vivenio for final proposals, looking to finalise a deal shortly.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Ruth Ugalde / Elena Sanz

Atlético de Madrid Sells Land By Former Stadium to Azora and CBRE GIP

20 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Azora has entered a partnership with CBRE Global Investment to acquire two plots of land from the Atlético de Madrid football club for approximately 100 million euros. The two firms plan to build a 340-home development on the site in Mahou Calderón.

The area formerly housed the Vicente Calderón stadium and a brewery. In 2008, both companies reached an agreement with the Madrid City Council to transform the area into a new 2,000-home residential development. A decade later, and after a series of changes, Atlético de Madrid sold two of the three plots it owns, where plans exist for a total of 129,000 square meters of residences, 79,900 m2 of parks and gardens and 12,800 m2 of facilities and public spaces.

Azora and CBBRE will now develop two residential complexes with a total of 340 homes, involving an additional investment of 11 million euros in basic infrastructure costs. Gestilar will act as project manager and marketing agent.

Original Story: Expansión – Rocío Ruiz

Operation Mahou-Calderón Draws Significant Interest

15 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Operation Mahou-Calderón, a portfolio of land owned by Atlético de Madrid and the Mahou brewery, is drawing significant interest from potential investors. The lands are around Atlético’s old football field and one of the brewery’s former factories. The two groups each have 50% of the portfolio, each with approximately 63,000 square meters of land. Four housing cooperatives have shown interest in one of Mahou’s plots of land, while Azora and Gestilar have already acquired two plots owned by the football club.

The housing cooperatives Core and Arjusa are already marketing a development called Madrid Río Living, to be built on Mahou’s plot RC5. Meanwhile, Ibosa, is also selling homes in a 196-home development from plot RC1, though both have yet to finalise their acquisition of the lands.

Atlético has already concluded the sale of two plots to Azora and Gestilar for 110 million euros. Vivenio is also looking to acquire Atlético’s final plot of land for approximately €88 million, where it would build rental properties.

Original Story: Idealista

Stoneweg is the Favourite to Acquire Atlético de Madrid’s 3rd Plot in Operación Calderón

31 May 2019 – El Economista

Earlier this week, it was announced that Azora, one of the largest rental home managers in the country, is set to buy two of the three plots that Atlético de Madrid has up for sale as part of Operación Calderón. Now, it has been revealed that the favourite in the running to acquire the third plot is the real estate firm Stoneweg, founded by Jaume Sabater and Joaquín Castellví.

Stoneweg will reportedly team up with a partner for the operation and will to dedicate the plot to rental homes. These types of projects are gaining weight in the capital in light of the high demand in the market, which has caused prices in some areas to soar. In fact, Azora is also planning to dedicate some of its two plots to rental housing.

Stoneweg is an expert in the rental home market with a portfolio of 10,000 rental units in the USA. In Spain, the firm operates through Stoneweg Living and has 10 developments in Barcelona, 9 in Madrid and 7 in various locations along the coast.

It is understood that Atlético de Madrid wants to complete the sale of all three plots before the end of June, as the club’s year-end is 30 June. The proceeds will represent a significant capital injection, which will allow AM to pay off some of its debt and buy more players over the summer.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Operación Calderón: Azora Set to Buy 2 of Atlético’s Plots for Rental Homes

23 May 2019 – El Confidencial

Azora, one of the largest rental home managers in the country, has made a surprise appearance in the home stretch of the process to sell the plots of land owned by Atlético de Madrid.

The company owned by Concha Osácar and Fernando Gumuzio has submitted a binding offer to the football club to buy two of the three plots that form part of Operación Calderón and, according to sources in the know, the bid fulfils all of the requirements of the team. As such, Azora looks set to take over the bulk of the land that the reds and whites are selling by the river.

The rental home specialist has declined to comment on the reports, but all indications are that it plans to build rental homes on the two plots, to boost the growing rental market in the Spanish capital. It would thereby follow in the footsteps on the fund Ares, which has just signed an agreement with Stoneweg to build a block of rental homes on a plot on Paseo de la Dirección, in the north of Madrid.

Indeed, the Spanish-Swiss firm is one of the favourites to acquire the third plot of land in Operación Calderón, which Azora did not bid for. The cooperative manager Concovi is also in the running for that site.

Atlético de Madrid expects to raise around €180 million from the sale of the three plots and 11% of the residential space will be dedicated to social housing properties.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

The Capriles Family will Set the Tone for Operación Calderón with Flats Priced from €5,700/m2

14 February 2019 – El Confidencial

It is a question of weeks. Gran Roque, the investment vehicle owned by the Venezuelans Miguel Ángel and Áxel Capriles, is going to start marketing homes in its most affordable development in Madrid within the next few weeks. The development comprises 105 homes and is located just 600 metres from the Vicente Calderón stadium. The properties are going to be put on the market for €5,700/m2. That price will, undoubtedly, serve as a reference for the potential buyers of the plots in the future Operación Mahou-Calderón, which is currently on standby until the plans for the urbanisation and Reparcelation of the area have been definitively approved.

As reported by El Confidencial, in October 2017, the Venezuelan clan purchased buildable land from Prosegur, just a few metres from where Operación Calderón is going to be built. For that plot, which has not required any type of urban development procedure and which is designated for residential use, as provided for in the General Urban Development Plan (PGOUM) for Madrid dated 1997, they paid around €25 million, approximately €2,900/m2. That price is close to those what is being considered for the plots owned by Atlético de Madrid.

According to explanations provided to El Confidencial by various sources, the development comprises five 5-storey buildings – except for one that has 4 storeys – and to optimise the price, Gran Roque has decided to start by marketing just two of the blocks, which contain 55 flats. In other words, like other property developers have been doing in Madrid, if the first homes maintain a high rate of sales, all indications are that the prices in the subsequent phases will be higher.

The construction permit will be ready by the end of April or the beginning of May, and so the marketing cannot officially begin until then. Nevertheless, 20% of the 55 units have already been reserved, according to assurances given by those same sources.

The project includes 2-, 3-, and 4-bedroom homes, all of which have a parking space and storeroom included in the price. The smallest units will go on the market from €450,000 plus VAT; the 3-bedroom homes will start at €550,000; and the largest homes will cost more than €600,000. That equates to a price of €5,700/m2, which is very high for many Madrilenians, but well below the prices typically charged for luxury developments.

Located just a few metres from Madrid Río and the Río Manzanares, the development will contain two swimming pools (one for children and one for adults), a gym, a children’s play area, a bicycle room and 24-hour surveillance, amongst other features. In total, it will have 1,719 m2 of common space (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Atlético de Madrid Expects to Close the Sale of the Calderón Plots in Early 2019

20 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Atlético de Madrid is proof of the importance that property can have when it comes to financing activity. The football club has decided to take out a mortgage backed by the Wanda Metropolitano stadium to secure its €200 million refinancing with Inbursa, the financial entity controlled by Carlos Slim, according to reports from Palco 23. The intention of the Board of Directors is to convert that debt into a long-term liability and obtain better conditions than those signed when the financing plan for the new stadium was modified. In parallel, the club is preparing the sale of the plots of land on the site of the Vicente Calderón, scheduled for the beginning of 2019.

The €200 million refinancing plan and the sale of the plots alongside the Manzanares River are closely linked. Two years ago, the Mexican bank offered the financing necessary to finish the building work at the Wanda Metropolitano, after FCC, the construction group that it also controls, refused to charge for its service through the delivery of units for urban development at the Vicente Calderón.

The contract allowed the parties to cancel the loan with the sale of the plot or with the payment of annual instalments for four seasons, which made the repayment of the loan very short term, in the middle of the expansion of the sports area. In the end, the club has committed to extend the term and so the liquidity injection that will result from the sale of the Calderón will not be used to repay the debt, but rather to make more resources available for the club’s daily operations, as well as for new projects and to access to the transfer market,  if necessary.

Sources at the club indicate that the second real estate operation will probably not be signed until next year, after the municipal government of Madrid failed to provide its definitive approval of the urban planning project until last week. “We think that the uses will be converted into plots and registered in the name of the club at the beginning of 2019, which is when we will proceed with the sale”, they said.

Obtaining all of the permits is the guarantee that the property developers will be able to undertake their projects without any problems. The definitive plan establishes 33,339 m2 for residential use, with a buildability of 132,344 m2; of that capacity, 13,234 m2 in total will be reserved for social housing properties. Tertiary use land will span 14,705 m2, with 13,893 m2 for public amenities and just over 73,000 m2 for green space and others.

The new owners will have to assume the urbanisation costs of €42.22 million, including the €22 million required for the demolition of the former Atléti stadium, without affecting the M-30 road, which passes under one of the stands. It is unknown whether the football club and the Mahou brewery or the future owners will assume that price, and what impact that will have on the final sales price (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by M. Menchen)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid’s Town Hall Definitively Approves the Mahou-Calderón Development

15 November 2018 – El Confidencial

The final piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. The Governing Board of the Town Hall of Madrid has definitively approved the urbanisation plans for the Mahou-Calderón project after the corresponding period of public consultation came to an end on Thursday. This means that the owners of the land can now start work. The plenary of the Town Hall will ratify the final project over the coming weeks, although the claims phase is not, in theory, expected to alter the plan initially approved in July: it involves a budget of €42.2 million, will see the transformation of 193,804 m2 of land in total and will be executed in three phases in just under three years. The first phase will involve the demolition of the stadium.

The demolition of the Atlético de Madrid’s temple, an operation that will cost €22.4 million, will be the first piece of work to be carried out, with the exception of the stand located above the M-30, which will remain in place to interfere as little as possible with the traffic on that road. Subsequently, the traffic from the motorway ring-road will be diverted so that the stand can be demolished. The first stage will also include the urbanisation of the roads between Paseo de los Pontones, Paseo Imperial and Paseo de los Melancólicos.

Once those first projects have been concluded, phase 2 will begin, which will see the reorganisation of Paseo de los Melancólicos and Calle Duque de Tovar, with a budget of €7.7 million. Finally, the third phase, with a final budget of more than €12 million, will include the creation of a new park by the river, which, in any case, will come after Calle-30 has been covered over, by the Town Hall. Specifically, the Town Hall has committed to providing €60 million to finance the work to cover over that road, a budget that is separate from the urbanisation project that has been approved today because it was agreed that it would be processed independently.

The Governing Board chaired by Manuela Carmena gave the final green light to this project today, which is going to be financed by the Compensation Board that comprises the landowners (Atlético and Mahou). The surface area of the space is broken down into two sections, one of which is dedicated to residential and tertiary use, and the other to roads, green areas and basic amenities.

The land dedicated to residential use occupies 33,339 m2 (with a buildability of 132,344 m2) of which 13,243 m2 will be for social housing properties, which represents more than 11% of the total. Meanwhile, tertiary use land will have a buildability of 14,705 m2. Finally, the land dedicated to social uses will span 13,893 m2 for public amenities. In addition, 73,099 m2 will be dedicated to green space and 73,469 m2 to roads .

In any case, this final procedure paves the way for the construction work to begin and for one of the major urban planning operations in the city to be unblocked. It has been in the hands of the Department for Sustainable Urban Development, led by José Manuel Calvo. As this newspaper published in the summer, the initial approval of the plan – which today received definitive approval – was a key step for the plans of Atlético de Madrid. The football club suspended the process to sell its urban planning rights in January, as it was waiting to be able to offer the three interested finalists – Solvia, Ibosa and Princeton – a series of guarantees, including the reparcelation and urbanisation project, amongst others.

With the sale of its urban planning rights, Atlético de Madrid is hoping to raise almost €200 million, an amount that it is hoping to use to repay the Mexican businessman Carlos Slim for the €160 million loan that he granted  to Enrique Cerezo’s club to finance the completion of the construction of the new stadium, the Wanda Metropolitano (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Paloma Esteban)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aelca, Ibosa, Amenabar, Pryconsa, Libra & Princeton Compete For Calderón Plots

18 November 2017 – El Economista

Atlético de Madrid has already received its first offers from investors interested in acquiring the plots of land adjacent to the Vicente Calderón stadium. The sale represents the largest land operation currently underway in the centre of Madrid and the football club is taking advantage of that fact to try to find a buyer willing to pay double the current prices in the area.

According to several sources in the sector, the companies that have bid to acquire these plots of land include the property developer Aelca, in which Värde holds a stake. It is the only one of the four large real estate companies still in the process, given that Neinor, Aedas and Vía Célere have all ruled out participating in the operation, due to its high price.

The same sources state that Grupo Ibosa is another one of the firms that is pushing ahead with the purchase process; and it is doing so with the backing of a fund. Similarly, the property developers Amenabar and Pryconsa have also submitted bids, as has the cooperative manager Libra Gestión.

The British family office Princeton is another name that appears on the list of investors interested in the Calderdón. That firm arrived in Spain at the beginning of 2015 and since then has closed several residential operations as well as a handful of others of a tertiary nature.

CBRE, which is advising the operation, will receive the binding offers at the end of November, with the aim of trying to close the sale before the end of the year. Atlético de Madrid wants to repay Carlos Slim on time for the more than €160 million that he loaned the Club, through the company Inbursa, to finance the works on the new stadium, Wanda Metropolitano.

The land up for sale is divided into three plots (RC-4, RC-7 and RC-8) and together cover more than 63,000 m2. The largest space corresponds to private residential use and the rest to tertiary use. The amount that Atlético de Madrid expects to receive for this operation, according to real estate sources in the know, comes to €200 million, which places the price per square metre in a very high range, of around €3,300/m2. In this way, the c. 480 homes that will be constructed on the site, will have to be sold for around €6,000/m2 if the operation is to be profitable for the buyer. It is precisely these figures that have deterred the large listed real estate companies, as well as those that have financial backing from funds, given that they must fulfil the returns they have promised to their shareholders and investors in every operation.

First obstacles

Although the project known as Mahou-Calderón, which encompasses the sale of these plots, has already received provisional approval from the Town Hall of Madrid, it is still awaiting definitive approval from the Community of Madrid’s Urban Planning Committee, which has four months to analyse the one-off amendment to the PGOU, and the Community of Madrid’s Governing Council, according to José Manuel Calvo, a Councillor for the Town Hall of Madrid, in an interview for the El Economista’s Inmobiliaria magazine.

Nevertheless, on Wednesday, it was revealed that the Ministry for the Environment and Land Planning had identified a “calculation error” in the buildability coefficients, and has urged the municipal technicians to correct the errors in order “to prevent the operation from being susceptible to being challenged in the courts in the future”, said sources from the Ministry to EP.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake