Tag: Azca

Azca & Diagonal: The Most Sought-After Office Space In Spain

17 July 2015 – Expansión

According to the consultancy firm JLL, the scarce supply and improving economy will cause office rental prices in Madrid and Barcelona to rise by more than anywhere else in the EMEA region over the next five years.

Specifically, the consultancy expects that office rents will rise in Madrid by 6.2% each year on average, from €25/m2/month in 2014 to €34.5/m2/ month in 2019. Meanwhile, rents in Barcelona will increase by 5.3% per year, to €23/m2/ month by the end of 2019. The highest rents will be seen in the prime areas, i.e. in the central business districts: Azca in Madrid and Avenida Diagonal (between Francesc Macia and Maria Cristina) in Barcelona.

In fact (…) prices in Barcelona will not only rise on Diagonal, they will also increase on Paseo de Gracia. Overall, rents increased by 6% in Q2 2015 in Barcelona, to reach €19/m2/month on average in those two areas.

According to JLL, only 15,000 m2 of office space is currently available on the best section of Diagonal, out of a stock of around 275,000 m2 in that area, which represents an availability rate of around 5%, a figure not seen since 2008.

In fact, between 2010 and 2011, large companies such as Axa, Unilever and KPMG decided to leave the business district and move to more peripheral areas. Axa left ‘La Illa’ to move to WTC Almeda Park in Cornella, where it rents 9,000 m2; KPMG was the pioneer in moving to the new Plaza Europa business district in 2010, where it rents 6,000 m2 in Torre Realia BCN. And in 2011, Unilever moved to the Viladecans Business Park, where it rents 7,000 m2. (…).

More office space is available in Madrid: up to 46,458 m2. Moreover, that figure is expected to increase to almost 108,000 m2 in the next two years, as almost 23% of the total surface area of 475,784 m2 in the area becomes available. (…). This is partly due to BBVA’s upcoming move to its new headquarters in the neighbourhood of Las Tablas – the bank currently occupies the building at Castellana, 81, where it will leave a space measuring 24,000 m2, which is expected to become available in Spring 2016. Furthermore, KPMG is going to move from Torre Europa (pictured above) to Torre Cristal (in the Cuatro Torres complex) and will free up around 21,000 m2 of space at Castellana 89 from next year. Finally, space will become available in Torre Ederra (Castellana, 77), recently acquired by GMP, which is going to undertake a complete renovation of the property, to be completed at the beginning of 2017.

Until then, 9.9% of the total office space in Madrid is immediately available. Most is located in Torre Titania (on Calle Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, 65), which accounts for 34% of the available space. The remainder is spread across other office buildings in the area, including the Masters I and II buildings (Calle General Perón, 38), the Mapfre building (Calle General Perón, 40) and the Alfredo Mahou building (Plaza Manuel Gómez Moreno, 2). (…).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

The March Family & GreenOak Compete To Buy Ahorro Corp’s HQ

13 April 2015 – Expansión

The financial group has given investors two weeks to submit their final bids. The leading candidates are the March (family), GreenOak, Colonial and Infinorsa.

Ahorro Corporación has prompted a new battle for real estate in the business district of Madrid. And it is proving to be the winner. The financial group is now on the home stretch in the sale of its headquarters, located on Paseo de la Castellana, 89; and the offers received to date have far exceeded the company’s initial expectations. The bids received are approaching €140 million, almost 50% higher than the price offered two years ago (€90 million – €100 million).

Ahorro Corporación and its advisor Aguirre Newman, have now made a shortlist of three candidates to buy the property. According to sources consulted, the investors with the strongest bids are Corporación Financiera Alba, controlled by the March (family), the fund GreenOak, the investor group Infinorsa – which owns Torre Europa – and the real estate company Colonial.

The improved macroeconomic environment (in Spain) and the war waged by these investors to acquire the main properties in Azca, have led to the rise in property prices. The over-supply of funding has also led to greater competition.

The price offered (€140 million) is at the high end of the consideration sought by Ahorro Corporación. Nevertheless, market sources say that the price may decrease slightly – to around €130 million – once the binding offers, which must be submitted in a couple of weeks, have been finalised. Ahorro Corporación has extended the initial deadline due to a request for new information from the interested parties.

100% occupancy rate

The financial group purchased the property from Banco Zaragozano in 2003 for €93.5 million. The building has a surface area of 20,000 square metres, spread over 14 floors and 530 parking spaces. As well as Ahorro Corporación itself, the building’s tenants include Sareb, the French opticians Alain Afflelou and Deloitte. The ground floor of the building is leased to restaurant chains including Lateral, Maki, Wagaboo and New York Burger. The building was constructed in 1977 and refurbished in 2008.

This is not the first battle between real estate investors in recent months. In January, BBVA sold the Torre Ederra, on Paseo de la Castellana, 77 – also in the Azca financial district – for €87 million. On that occasion, the real estate company GMP beat Infinorsa in the final round.

The sale of its headquarters is just another one of a number of divestments undertaken by Ahorro during its redefinition process, which KPMG is advising.

Over the last year, the financial entity has carried out transactions such as the sale of its fund manager, ACGestión to Abanca; the transfer of its infrastructure funds to GEDCapital; and the sale of its securisation manager, Ahorro y Titulización (AyT) to Haya Real Estate, owned by Cerberus.

The group is continuing to focus on its strategic businesses, namely fixed income and equity brokerage and advisory services.

Ahorro is focused on the international diversification of its business in the face of the disappearance or absorption of its former shareholders and clients – the savings banks – by other financial groups.

This group will have to face the remodelling of its shareholder base in the short-medium term, given that some of its shareholders, such as Bankia, will be forced to exit. Other shareholders that holds stakes in the group include: Cecabank, CaixaBank, Kutxabank, Liberbank, BMN, Ibercaja, Unicaja, Abanca, BBVA, Sabadell, Ontinyent and Pollença.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

What Does The Future Hold For Azca?

16 March 2015 – El Confidencial

In Madrid, the ‘City’ is called Azca. It is the capital’s financial centre par excellence and, yet, a third of the office space in the area is empty. (According to sector experts), the time for change in upon us.

In Madrid, the ‘City’ is called Azca. It is the capital’s financial centre par excellence, home to iconic buildings such as Torre Picasso and many of the world’s leading companies own the properties, including Pontegadea (the real estate company owned by Amancio Ortega), GMP, Mutua Madrileña, El Corte Inglés, Metrovacesa, Testa and Infinorsa. The prime location, in the heart of the Paseo de la Castellana and next to one of the capital’s major transport hubs, Nuevos Ministerios, meant that until a few years ago, this area accounted for the majority of the capital’s prime office space. However, the opening of the Cuatro Torres, the arrival of the economic crisis, the departure of large companies to peripheral areas (of the city) and the lack of investment, both in the properties themselves as well as in the surrounding area, have dampened Azca’s appeal.

The combination of these elements has also had a significant affect on prices. Between 2008 and 2014, prime rents in the capital fell from €39/m2 to €25/m2 (per month), whilst in Barcelona, rents decreased from €22/m2 to almost €14/m2 (per month), according to a report called “Understanding the Office Market in 2014”, prepared by Deloitte Real Estate. The final nail in the coffin in terms of the pressure on the area came with the departure of KPMG, which (last month) decided to leave its headquarters in Torre Europa to move to the Torre de Cristal, at Real Madrid’s former Sports City (Ciudad Deportiva).

Furthermore, BBVA is set to leave its traditional black skyscraper to relocate to the suburb of Las Tablas, and the tenants of the Torre Saint Gobain and Torre Titania are planning to fully vacate; the latter was built by El Corte Inglés on the foundations of the former Windsor. In total, around 67,000 square metres of the 272,000 square metres of above-ground office space in the area is (currently) available to let, which gives rise to the question: is Azca doomed to reduce its prices further?

The answer is no, according to all of the experts, although they admit that the area is at a turning point. In their view, Azca is living through its own catharsis, which may be summarised by the classic phrase – adapt or die. And the widespread belief is that the former will happen. “Right now, Azca has an opportunity to reinvent itself as the ‘City’ of Madrid once more, but it must know how to seize it. In terms of its location, it has the right ingredients and moreover, the higher the vacancy rate, the easier it will be”, say the experts at Deloitte.

In Madrid, barely 2% of the office space in the high quality buildings inside the M-30 is vacant.

In this sense, a public-private initiative, known as the Azca Master Plan (Plan Director de Azca), is underway, which seeks to open up the area and facilitate access from El Coste Inglés in Nuevos Ministerios to the Bernabeu, through three targeted efforts: construction work to improve (the area in general), environmental initiatives and planning. This would mean, amongst other aspects, modifying some of the uses (of the area); the main challenge is to convert the area that is the capital’s business district during the week, into an area for families, shopping and leisure on the weekends, rather than leaving it half empty when the office lights are turned off (on Friday night), which is what happens at the moment.

“Azca must become a digital icon that adapts to incorporate technological developments, that uses the facades of the buildings (creatively), that puts up digital screens to attract young people (to the area) at the weekend, that organises initiatives for the neighbours (of the area) and the wider city, that becomes an icon of ‘digital Madrid’, in the style of New York’s Times Square”, says Ángel Serrano, Business Director at Aguirre Newman.

His company is managing the last major transaction in the area, the sale of Castellana, 89, in which a great deal of interest is being shown; the price may reach €140 million. The same interest was seen recently in the bid to acquire the Torre Saint Gobain, which GMP ended up purchasing for €90 million (with plans to spend a further €14 million on its refurbishment) and the land that El Corte Inglés purchased from Adif for €136 million, when the starting price was €40 million.

These transactions confirm the conviction that the major landlords in Madrid have that Azca is going to emerge stronger from the current situation, which means it will be able to increase its prices again in the medium term. Nevertheless, for the time being, it will have to endure a couple of years “crossing the desert”, during which time GMP, Infinorsa and whoever ends up winning the bid to acquire Castellana 89 will refurbish their buildings as well as the Torre BBVA (where the bank will continue to occupy the top five floors and display its logo on the outside), Torre Saint Gobain and, most likely, the Torre Europa.

It is expected that all of these construction works will be carried out in parallel to the aforementioned Master Plan to relaunch the area, which means that now is the perfect time (for tenants) to move to Azca before all of these improvements have been completed and prices increase. “We are currently experiencing a historic moment in terms of low prices, which provides the perfect opportunity for many of the companies that moved out of the centre and now want to move back. Moreover, this is supported by the gradual recovery of the economy and the privileged location of Azca, which I think will play an important role in its favour (in the future)”, says José Luis Guillermo, managing partner of Inmospace. Nevertheless, in his opinion, this metamorphism of the area will require support from the Public Administrations, not only in terms of the necessary changes to certain uses (of the area), but also in terms of the adoption of measures to promote the entry of multi-national companies into the capital’s ‘City’.

Experts consider that now is the time to move to Azca, before prices rise.

Madrid has some of the highest forecasts for (rental) income growth over the next five years of any city in Europe. Currently, according to data from Knight Frank, its vacancy rate amounts to 11.9%, although in the central business district, known as in the jargon of the trade as CBD, the figure decreases to 7.3%, and for Grade A buildings (highest quality) within the M-30, the vacancy rate is a low as 2%. This means that there are very few good buildings (available) in prime areas in Madrid.

In this context, a third of the leaseable office area in Azca is currently vacant and, despite that, both the experts and the large investors that are bidding to purchase buildings expect average rental income in the area to return to €30/m2 (per month), i.e. 20% more than now, over the next five to seven years. How come?

Patricio Palomar, Director of Alternative Investments at CBRE provides a good summary of where Azca is going and the price of its rentals: “To analyse the evolution, three points should be taken into account: the Master Plan for the area, which will favour (higher) prices; how Azca is going to change in terms of immediate availability, since various buildings are currently being refurbished, which will work in the area’s favour, but that will also mean there is more supply and therefore, tenants will have greater bargaining power, which may contain the increase to some extent. The third element is that there are few square metres concentrated in one area in Madrid and there are few high quality buildings for tenants looking to rent more than 10,000 m2 of space inside the M-30; a supply that Azca will indeed have (in the not too distant future). Add to that the fact that many tenants of this type, which moved to peripheral areas in the past, now want to return to locations such as this one, make me think that we will see price increases”.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ahorro Corporación Puts Its Azca Headquarters Up For Sale

13 February 2015 – Cinco Días

The sought after area of Azca in Madrid is preparing itself for the largest real estate transaction since 2011, when FCC sold Torre Picasso to the real estate company owned by Amancio Ortega.

The protagonist of this new activity is Ahorro Corporación, which has decided to put its headquarters, at number 89 Paseo de la Castellana, up for sale, which is located just fifty metres away from the Picasso building.

“Rising prices in the sector in recent months makes selling the building a more attractive prospect now”, said Enrique Sánchez del Villar in a press release. Sánchez recently joined Ahorro Corporación as CEO.

The building measures 20,000 square metres in total; 12 of its floors are let out as offices, another floor houses retail stores and there are also 530 parking spaces.

“Currently the building has an optimal occupancy level and high grade tenants, with Sareb, Deloitte and Alain Afflelou in the offices and Lateral, Maki, New York Burger, Via Birra and Dionisos in the retail and restaurant area”, said Ahorro Corporación.

The company acquired the building from Barclays in 2003 and plans to retain its corporate headquarters in the building once the sale has been completed. The real estate consultancy Aguirre Newman has been appointed as the sole advisor for the transaction.

“Castellana 89 represents an outstanding opportunity to invest in a prime real estate asset, with the potential to create significant value over the medium and long term given the building’s rental yields”, said Alejandro Campoy, Investment Director at Aguirre Newman.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

GMP Buys Torre Ederra From BBVA

27 January 2015 – Expansión

BBVA had acquired the building for €87.5 million in 2003 from the French group Saint Gobain Cristalería, which continued to occupy the premises under an agreement reached with the buyer.

The real estate group GMP has purchased the Torre Ederra, located in Madrid on Paseo de la Castellana, 77, following a sales process in which several investors participated, the company announced in a press release.

GMP says that it will now undertake a comprehensive renovation of the property with the aim of optimising its efficiency and sustainability, to convert it into an avant-garde building in a prime location.

In this way, GMP will promote Castellana 77 as a landmark building and will target companies looking for a prime location in Madrid.

The building covers 21,000 square metres in total, over 18 floors, which occupy 16,200 square metres. It also has five underground floors with 190 parking spaces.

BBVA appointed the property consultant CBRE to manage the sales process of the property. The real estate group, in which the sovereign fund Singapur CIG holds a 30% stake, already bought a building on Calle Eloy Gonzalo, 10 in mid-2014, whose lease ended in December, almost a year before the end of its renovation.

This transaction strengthens GMP’s presence in the AZCA financial centre, where the firm already owns a building designed by the architect Sáenz de Oiza, on the Paseo de la Castellana, 81.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

GMP Given Exclusive Negotiation Rights In Bidding For Saint Gobain Tower

9/01/2015 – El Confidencial

GMP outbid its rivals in the run for the Torre Saint Gobain skyscraper, the last jewel of the Azca complex for sale and the most elitist office building in Madrid. Sources from the market confirmed that the real estate firm led by family Montoro has been picked for exclusive negotiations which are expected to close within next days.

Situated at 77 Paseo de la Castellana avenue, the property belongs to BBVA Propiedad. The banking arm sold its famous Torre Negra (Black Tower), also a part of the Azca (circled in the picture), to GMP seven years ago, together with three other buildings in a €300 million deal.

The final bids for the Saint Gobain tower (marked by the smaller circle), reaching €90 million, were submitted at the end of December by GMP, fund GreekOak and Infinorsa, the owner of the Torre Europa.

The 18-storey property for sale is 70-meters tall and has a 16.000 square meter total area. Moreover, it has six stories underground, including parking lots, storage space, facilities and services. The most alluring aspect of the skyscraper is its location and its weakest point lays in the necessity of integral rehabilitation.

The Saint Gobain tower, officially called the Ederra Building, was bought by BBVA Propiedad in 2003 for €87.5 million. It owes its name to French insurer Saint Gobain which leased the property until it relocated in 2013.

Today’s Big-Fish: GMP

Presently, GMP is one of the most admired real estate firms. Not only has it survived the recession hit, but also it has taken the forefront position in the sector. Its excellent performance made the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Singapore buy 30% of its capital worth €200 million last September.

Thanks to the new stakeholder, the Montoros have funds for investments in prime assets, like the Saint Gobain Tower, at hand. The fruit of the partnership, a REIT vehicle known as a Socimi in Spain, is set to go public soon.

The purchase of the skyscraper, as well as the ownership of the majestic Black Tower, give the Socimi all the necessary arguments to convince potential investors.

 

Original article: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde & E. Sanz)

Translation: AURA REE

City Hall of Madrid & Five Investors to Renovate Azca

4/12/2014 – Inmodiario

The Azca complex is closer and closer to being rehabilitated. Yesterday, the Mayoress of Madrid, Ana Botellla (pictured), signed a covenant giving the green light to the first phase of the project embracing the Carlos Trias Beltran square. Five companies settled on the square, Mapfre, El Corte Inglés, Metrovacesa, Astaez 2011 and España S. A. Compañia Nacional de Seguros are going to take part in this venture.

Interventions in this area, where two-thirds of land belongs to public administrations and one-third to private owners, will result in joining the inside part of Azca with its surroundings. To achieve that, all physical obstacles and elements creating loopholes, hinder the view or could create a feeling of insecurity will be removed. ‘Summing up, it will be converted into a friendly, open area permitting free flow of people’, said Mrs Botella.

Building works are bound to start in spring. Budget intended for the investment totals at €1.9 million. Of this amount, the City Hall is going to put 26% (€496.650) and the five participating firms, the remaining 74%.

According to the Mayoress, ‘the project is not only a great example of public-private cooperation, but also it will return the entertainment and cultural attractiveness to the downtown complex’.

Besides, Azca was recently declared the Special Noise Protection Area and sidewalks along the Paseo de la Castellana avenue from the intersection with the Raimundo Fernandez Villaverde street until the Lima square were remodelled.

 

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: AURA REE