Tag: Axiare Patrimonio

Axiare Acquires Capgemini’s HQ In Madrid For €43.5M

1 February 2017 – Press Release

Axiare Patrimonio has closed two operations to further strengthen its business plan. On the one hand, it has completed the purchase of an office building and on the other hand, it has signed a financing agreement amounting to more than €34 million with Santander. It will reinvest the new funds into assets.

The Socimi led by Luis López de Herrera-Oria has formalised the acquisition of the Cedro Building in Madrid for €43.5 million. The property is a prime office block, with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 17,032m2 and 381 parking spaces and it is leased almost in its entirety to the consultancy firm Capgemini.

The operation will result in immediate revenues for Axiare Patrimonio, given that the asset has an occupancy rate of almost 90%. The property, constructed in the year 2000, is located on Calle Anabel Segura, in the Arroyo de la Vega area of the capital, where lots of large companies – such as ING, Toyota, Procter & Gamble, Indra, BP and Mercedes Benz – have their headquarters and next to an exclusive residential area. Moreover, this asset has direct access to the A-1 motorway and is well connected to the airport, the CBD and the main ring-roads in Madrid.

Luis López de Herrera-Oria, CEO at Axiare Patrimonio said (…) “The Cedro Building is a very institutional product thanks to its location, its main tenant and the quality of its construction. This operation involves the purchase of a strategic asset, which has great potential for capital appreciation”.

The valuation of Axiare Patrimonio’s asset portfolio currently stands at around €1,350 million. 74% of the Socimi’s assets are offices, of which almost half are strategically located in the CBDs of Madrid and Barcelona; 16% are logistics warehouses, located in key hubs for the distribution of goods throughout Spain; and the remaining 10% are retail parks, which receive large numbers of visitors.

For this acquisition, Axiare Patrimonio has been advised by EY on the legal, technical and commercial side. Meanwhile, the vendor has been advised by Garrigues on the legal side and by Aguirre Newman and JLL on the commercial side.

Moreover, the banks continue to maintain complete faith in Axiare Patrimonio. The new financing agreement that the Socimi has just signed with Santander is another example of this. Specifically, Axiare has signed two financing agreements with the financial institution, taking the total balance of funds that it has received from the banks since its debut on the stock market to €572 million.

The new loans with Santander have been signed with some very flexible conditions and at a very competitive interest rate, in line with the company’s financial strategy. The loans will result in a €34.2 million cash inflow for the company, which it will use to continue expanding and improving its existing portfolio.

Axiare Patrimonio’s CEO said: “The company’s financing structure is one of the most stable and competitive in the market” (…) “Since our debut on the stock market two and a half years ago, we have signed agreements with several banking institutions. Santander, ING and CaixaBank have been our largest lenders, which is proof of the confidence that they have in our portfolio and in our ability to manage the company.

For this operation, Axiare Patrimonio has received legal advice from Gómez-Acebo y Pombo, whilst Santander has been advised by Watson Farley & Williams.

Original story: Press Release

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare Buys Office Building In Madrid For €41.5M

24 January 2017 – Idealista

Axiare Patrimonio has completed its first purchase of the year: an office building, which is leased out to the Peugeot Citroën Group in Madrid, for €41.5 million. The automobile firm will continue as the tenant of the building until 2026. Axiare’s portfolio of properties is valued at more than €1,300 million.

This office building, which was completed in 2011, is located in Las Tablas, Madrid, close to properties such as the headquarters of BBVA, Telefónica, Philips and Renault. The building has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 9,280 m2 and 306 internal and 64 external parking spaces. It also has access to the A-1 motorway and links to the M-30 and M-40 ring roads.

For the operation, Axiare Patrimonio received legal advice from EY, technical advice from CBRE, and commercial advice from Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE.

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare Raises €144M In Financing To Fund New Acquisitions

23 December 2016 – Expansión

Axiare Patrimonio has closed four financing agreements, with ING, CaixaBank and BBVA, amounting to €144 million. The Socimi led by Luis López de Herrera-Oria has said that it will allocate these resources to new acquisitions and the active management of its real estate portfolio.

These loans have an average term of 7.3 years; an average total financing cost of 1.5%; and 95% of the principal will be repaid on maturity, according to the firm. Axiare also highlighted that the agreements do not stipulate any penalties in the event of early cancelation. They raise the company’s gross leverage ratio to 44%.

Since its creation in July 2014, the Socimi, which focuses on offices and logistics, has closed financing agreements amounting to €538 million.

For these operations, Axiare Patrimonio has been advised by Gómez-Acebo y Pombo.

ING Bank has been advised by Hogan Lovells; CaixaBank by Uría Menéndez; and BBVA has used its own internal legal experts.

The CEO of Axiare Patrimonio, Luis López de Herrera-Oria, has said that these financing agreements reflect “the quality of the current portfolio and the trust in our management team”. “These agreements are further proof that Axiare Patrimonio remains firmly committed to fulfilling its business plan. We are approaching the end of 2016 with a very good outlook”, said the director.

Axiare has been very active in recent months. The Socimi’s assets are worth around €1,230 million and it has invested €275 million in total during 2016.

Original story: Expansión (by R.Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Vocento Finalises Sale Of Its Madrid HQ To Axiare

15 December 2016 – Cinco Días

Axiare has put its foot down on the accelerator to complete several purchases during the final month of the year. In addition to its acquisition of the headquarters of Cuatrecasas and McKinsey in Madrid, the Socimi is now finalising the purchase of the building from where Vocento operates its business in Madrid. The operation will be closed imminently, for around €35 million, according to several sources familiar with the operation.

Vocento is following the strategy of moving from being the owner of the property to becoming the tenant, in exchange for making some money. Currently, the group has debt amounting to €128.5 million, according to data submitted to the CNMV relating to the third quarter.

The building, located on Calle Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena (the historical director of the ABC newspaper and member of its founding family) has been home to the newspaper since 1989, when it abandoned its headquarters on Paseo de la Castellana, where the ABC Serrano shopping centre is now located.

The holding company has negotiated a rental contract with the Socimi, which allows its companies to continue to occupy the headquarters in Luca de Tena for five years. In addition to ABC, Vocento has several online businesses, such as Infoempleo; several influential regional newspapers resulting from the merger of Prensa Española with Grupo Correo; a number of magazines; and the Colpisa agency, amongst others.

The building is located at exit Km 7 on the A-2 motorway. This area of the capital has been enjoying a busy few months, with Popular constructing its new corporate headquarters on the adjoining plot of land, and the University Clinic of Navarra building its first major hospital in Madrid just a few metres away, which is expected to open next year.

Through this acquisition, Axiare Patrimonio adds another new building to its growing portfolio, which comprises offices, retail and logistics assets. The Socimi, which debuted on the stock market in 2014, has now accumulated assets worth €1,230 million in just over two years. These types of listed real estate investment company have beneficial tax regimes, whereby they do not pay corporation tax, but they are obliged to distribute dividends on an annual basis. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare Buys Cuatrecasas’ HQ In Madrid For €124M

13 December 2016 – Expansión

After a record third quarter in terms of real estate investment, the Socimis and funds in Spain are facing a frenetic pace of work as we head into the last few weeks of the year.

That is the case of Axiare Patrimonio. Yesterday, the real estate company controlled by Luis López de Herrera Oria closed its largest acquisition so far in 2016. The Socimi has invested €124 million to acquire the headquarters of the law firm Cuatrecasas in Madrid.

The property is a modern office building, which was completely refurbished in 2012. It has a gross leasable area of 15,094 m2 and 201 parking spaces. Constructed in 1982, the building used to house the headquarters of Mutua Madrileña until 2006 when it was sold for €120 million to Reig Capital, the holding company owned by the Andorran Reig family, the former owners of Banca Reig and the tobacco firm Puritos Reig.

The complete refurbishment was performed especially for Cuatrecasas, which, following the change of owner, will not change the terms of its 18-year rental contact, say sources at the law firm.

As a result of this operation, Axiare has increased the value of its asset portfolio to €1,230 million, having invested €275 million this year. 71% of the assets in its portfolio are offices, whilst commercial assets account for 11% and logistics assets for 18%.

“This is our third operation in just three weeks and is further proof that Axiare Patrimonio remains firmly committed to fulfilling its business plan. We are approaching the end of 2016 with a very good outlook”, said Luis López de Herrera Oria, CEO at the Socimi. Prior to this purchase of Cuatrecasas’ offices, Axiare’s most recent operation involved the acquisition of two logistics warehouses for €14 million on 2 December. Moreover, in the office segment, the Socimi bought McKinsey’s headquarters on 23 November for €42 million.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare Buys McKinsey & Co’s HQ In Madrid For €41.8M

24 November 2016 – Inmodiario

The Socimi led by Luis López de Herrera-Oria has completed the acquisition of McKinsey & Co’s headquarters in Spain, involving an investment of €41.8 million. This is one of the properties that Axiare Patrimonio had included in its pipeline, according to an announcement made by the firm on 15 November. The acquisition has been completed in an off-market operation, in line with the Socimi’s strategy to purchase assets at competitive prices and with strong potential for appreciation in value.

The historical property, which has been converted into offices, has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 7,054 m2 and 93 parking spaces. It is located in the Calle Almagro area of Madrid, close to the offices of Cuatrecasa Gonçalves y Pereira, Ramón y Cajal, Linklaters and the headquarters of Innovación de BBVA.

Luis López de Herrera-Oria, CEO of Axiare Patrimonio, said: “With the purchase of this property, Axiare Patrimonio continues to push ahead with the fulfilment of its business plan and approaches the end of 2016 with a strong outlook”. López de Herrera-Oria added: “The unique building, located in the Plaza de Alonso Martínez, fulfils all of our pre-requisites: it is a prime product, located in the capital’s financial centre and it has great potential to create value. (…).

So far this year, Axiare Patrimonio has signed 24 lease contracts covering a GLA of more than 100,000 m2. (…). The Socimi now owns real estate assets worth €1,100 million, with great potential to generate value: it forecasts that its rental income will increase by 77% over the next year and a half, from its current level of €42 million per annum to €76 million by 2018. (…).

For this transaction, Axiare Patrimonio has been advised by EY (legal), PwC (technical) and Cushman & Wakefield (commercial). The seller has been advised by Tenigla Real Estate and Aiga Investments.

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare May Veto Colonial’s Purchase Of Its Share Capital

25 October 2016 – Cinco Días

The Board of Directors of Axiare Patrimonio has submitted a relevant fact to the National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV) in which it states that it has delegated to its CEO “the authority to select and engage the investment banks and legal advisors deemed necessary to analyse and study the possible effects of the recent entry of Inmobiliaria Colonial into its share capital”.

Colonial announced the acquisition of a 15.09% stake in Axiare on 17 October, as part of its strategy to strengthen its position in the area of rental properties in Madrid. It paid €135 million for its stake in the Socimi, which manages assets amounting to €1,050 million and which is obliged to distribute dividends each year. Those dividends will represents a steady cash flow for the Catalan company.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

Colonial Acquires 15% Of Socimi Axiare For €136M

19 October 2016 – Expansión

Colonial is continuing with its investment policy. After spending €446 million on various purchases so far in 2016, it announced a new operation on Monday, this time with a financial component. The real estate company, chaired by Juan José Brugera (pictured above), has completed the acquisition of 15.1% of the share capital of the Socimi Axiare Patrimonio.

The operation has been closed at a price of €12.50 per share, above Axiare’s latest share price of €11.18 at the end of trading on Friday. Yesterday, the share price of the real estate company soared by more than 7% to close at €6.34 per share.

In total, Colonial has invested €135.58 million to acquire this 15.09% stake, which was previously held by the fund manager Perry Partners. That firm, which acquired its stake in Axiare in July 2014 when the Socimi debuted on the stock market, was the largest shareholder until now, with 19.9% of the share capital. Perry’s decision to sell forms part of its strategy to close its fund and has allowed it to generate juicy profits, given that it acquired its stake for €10/share.

Sources close to Axiare described the purchase as “very positive” and said that it reflects “confidence in the future of the company” given that the purchase price was higher than the average trading price.

Assets

As a result of this operation, Colonial has become the largest shareholder of a real estate company that has a very similar portfolio of assets to its own and at a time when the supply of prime offices in the market is scarce.

As at 30 June 2016, Axiare held assets worth €1,049 million, of which 68% related to offices, 19% to logistics assets and 13% to properties for commercial use. At a presentation to investors and analysts, Colonial explained the details of the operation, which it described as an “attractive option in the market” to acquire shares in a company “that specialises in offices” and whose asset value is mainly concentrated in Madrid and Barcelona (85%). (…).

During the first half of 2016, Axiare generated profits of €83.8 million, up by 168% compared to 2015, after it increased revenues by 27.6%.

During the same period, Colonial generated revenues of €137 million and profits of €230 million. Its portfolio was worth €7,556 million as at 30 June 2016.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The 4 Largest Socimis Have Raised €3,000M In 1 Year

13 June 2016 – Cinco Días

George Soros has just endorsed his commitment to the Socimi Hispania. Soros Fund Management, managed by the US magnate, subscribed once again to his share of the Socimi’s second capital increase, in which he is the majority shareholder. It is the most visible example of how international investors are still interested in these specialist listed real estate investment vehicles.

Since their creation, the four largest Socimis have raised more than €5,350 million in own funds, primarily from institutional funds and investors. In their respective debuts on the stock market, which all took place in 2014, they raised €2,600 million. Since then, all of them have also raised additional resources through capital increases. In total, they have raised €2,746 million of new financing in this way in the last 12 months.

Hispania completed the most recent operation at the beginning of June amounting to €230.6 million, and Soros participated in order to maintain his 16.7% stake, which required an investment of around €38 million. It was the second operation of its kind, after the Socimi undertook an accelerated placement in 2015 to raise a further €337 million. Its main investors include the international funds Paulson&Co and FMR.

The special tax framework that applies to Socimis, which has revitalised these firms since 2014, establishes that they are exempt from Corporation Tax, although they are obliged to distribute an annual dividend, on which its shareholders are taxed. These structures, which already existed in the USA (known there as REITs), have attracted international funds, who are backing the recovery of the real estate sector in Spain. The assets of the large Socimis, worth €9,235 million at the end of 2015, are rented out and include office buildings, shopping centres, bank branches, other premises, hotels and logistics warehouses.

The largest Socimi Merlin Properties, which is listed on the Ibex 35, has also completed two capital increases to raise €1,650 million. It completed its second round in August 2015, to raise €1,034 million, the largest in this sector. Following its purchase of Testa from Sacyr, the company chaired by Ismael Clemente now owns assets worth more than €6,050 million. Its shareholder structure is very fragmented and includes fund such as Blackrock, Invesco and Principal Financial Group.

Axiare Patrimonio, led by Luis López de Herrera-Oria, also raised €395 million in a capital increase last June. Finally, Lar España – which specialises in shopping centres – issued new shares worth €135 million last summer.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Q1 2016: Axiare Increased Profit By 22% To €5.1M

12 May 2016 – El Economista

Axiare Patrimonio generated net profits of €5.1 million during the first quarter of the year, which represents an increase of 22% with respect to the same period last year, reported the Socimi.

The firm increased its revenues from the rental of its assets by 38%, to €10 million.

During the first three months of the year, Axiare purchased two new properties to incorporate into its portfolio, worth €33 million.

Following these acquisitions, Axiare Patrimono’s portfolio of assets amounts to €900 million, comprising offices (71%), logistics assets (15%) and retail premises (14%). 96% of its portfolio is located in Madrid and Barcelona.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake