Bain Capital Hires JP Morgan and Deloitte to Securitise NPLs

18 December 2019 – Bain Capital has hired JP Morgan and Deloitte to sell off all of the non-performing loans it acquired in Spain during the crisis. The portfolio has a nominal value of approximately €4 billion, though it is likely to sell at a significant discount.

The firm is looking to securitise the portfolio of NPLs. The credits would remain in the same companies, but any new investors would assume the risks and the potential profits.

Market analysts believe that Bain’s decision is linked to two major factors. First, the entrance of Unidas Podemos into the governing coalition, together with the Socialists, an second the expected coming change in the economic cycle. Both have been roiling the market in the last few weeks.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Jorge Zuloaga

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Sabadell’s Board Evaluates 3 Offers Amounting to c. €850M For its Property Developer

28 May 2019 – El Confidencial

On Monday, Banco Sabadell received three binding offers for its property developer, Sabadell Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, from the funds Cerberus, Oaktree and a third unknown candidate, amounting to between €800 million and €900 million.

The board of directors of the Catalan entity chaired by Josep Oliu now needs to decide whether to accept one of them and thereby pave the way for the creation of a new major player in the Spanish property developer sector to compete alongside the likes of Neinor, Metrovacesa, Vía Célere and Aedas.

Oaktree has been the favourite in the bidding for the last few months given its good relationship with Sabadell and with the property developer itself, with which it already operates at least one joint venture. It would represent the US investor’s first operation of its kind in Spain, where it currently has a small platform with just 20 employees.

Nevertheless, Cerberus has been gaining ground. Unlike Oaktree, the US giant already has a property development platform in Spain, Inmoglacier, to which it wants to supply new land (which SDin owns). Cerberus could also benefit from synergies between the two firms.

Meanwhile, the identity of the third candidate remains confidential, but possible contenders include Habitat (Bain Capital), Aedas and the Canadian fund CPPIB, which were all reported to be evaluating the purchase during the preliminary phase.

Initially, Sabadell was hoping to receive more than €1 billion for its property developer, but following uncertainty in the sector in recent months and the sale of several assets, it will have to accept a more modest price if a sale is to be agreed.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Jorge Zuloaga)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Habitat to Invest €120M+ in More than 20 Developments in 2019

9 May 2019 – Eje Prime

Last year, Habitat Inmobiliaria, the property developer owned by Bain Capital invested €120 million in the purchase of 27 plots across Spain. The plan is to repeat that activity in 2019 with the launch of twenty developments and the commencement of building work at 25 sites.

So far this year, the firm has already purchased six plots for €52 million, has launched eleven developments comprising 1,207 homes. It has also started building work at 9 sites comprising 800 units.

The company’s medium-term plan is to invest €500 million in land purchases between 2018 and 2021 in order to achieve a cruising speed of 2,000 new home deliveries per year from 2021 onwards.

In parallel, the company is considering industrialising two of its developments, although its CEO, José Carlos Saz, is somewhat sceptical about the industrialisation of construction.

In total in 2019, Habitat expects to hand over around 300 homes in 2019, with that figure rising slightly in 2020. Such forecasts are now under the spotlight after Neinor disappointed the market by revising downwards its expected home deliveries in April.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Marta Casado Pla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

S&P Encourages Spain’s Banks to Divest More Property & NPLs

18 April 2019 – Ya Encontré

Spain’s banks got rid of €90 billion in foreclosed assets and doubtful loans last year, almost doubling the transaction volume recorded in 2017 (€52 billion) and setting a new annual record. But they still have a lot of homes left to sell and Standard&Poors is encouraging them to divest more of those properties, with a view to restoring their pre-crisis risk levels of 4% within two years.

According to the ratings agency, the banks still hold properties worth €80 billion, representing one of the highest stocks in Europe and accounting for 7% of the balance sheets of the domestic financial sector. In this context, S&P considers that the banks still need to get rid of another €30 billion in assets, at least, if they are to properly clean up their accounts.

The active buyside players in the market include many overseas investors and funds, such as Lone Star, TPG, Apollo, Blackstone, Bain Capital and Cerberus, which have played an important role in reducing the stock of major financial institutions, such as Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell.

S&P is not alone in its stance. Both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are also urging Spain’s banks to divest the last of their property portfolios as quickly as possible to ensure financial stability ahead of the next recession.

Original story: Ya Encontré

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Habitat Leaves its Losses Behind after €500M Capital Injection from Bain

2 April 2019 – Expansión

Habitat Inmobiliaria recorded revenues of €89 million in 2018, six times more than during the previous year. It also generated a profit, registering an EBITDA of €1.8 million, compared with losses of €9.86 million in 2017.

According to the company, this change in fortune has come about following its purchase by the US investment firm Bain Capital Credit at the end of 2017. Last year, Bain and Habitat’s new management team, launched a new strategic plan for the next three years, which included the contribution of €500 million for land purchases.

In 2018 alone, the property developer invested €121 million buying up land with a total buildability of 300,000 m2. As such, Habitat now owns a land bank spanning more than 1 million m2, which will allow it to build 10,000 new homes over the next few years. Currently, the property developer is working on the construction of 3,400 homes.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Habitat Acquires a Plot in Valencia for the Construction of 96 Homes

29 March 2019 – Levante EMV

The property developer Habitat has purchased a plot of land on Calle Bomber Ramón Duart in the Quatre Carreres neighbourhood of Valencia, for the construction a 96-home residential property. The company, which is backed by the US fund Bain Capital, is already building 600 homes in the Community of Valencia and plans to invest €500 million in land purchases across Spain between now and 2021.

In its latest operation, the real estate company has acquired a plot measuring more than 3,100 m2 with a buildability of 14,000 m2, which will involve a total investment, including the construction work, of €30 million. The operation forms part of the strategic and business plan that the company, chaired by Juan María Nin and led by José Carlos Saz, is carrying out.

Original story: Levante EMV (by Ramón Ferrando)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Property Developers are Building 18,000+ Homes in Andalucía

18 March 2019 – ABC Sevilla

The real estate market in Andalucía is booming, and in a good way. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Development, 12,363 permits were granted in 2017 for the construction of new homes, compared with the record before the burst of the bubble of 156,483 in 2006. Construction activity is responding to real demand in the market and is featuring some new players that are planning to build thousands of new homes in the region over the next three years.

Two markets

The investors, which include international funds and local property developers alike, differentiate between two markets – the eastern (Málaga) and the western (Sevilla) – the former accounts for 70% of new developments.

Aedas Homes currently leads the regional ranking by number of homes planned and investments forecast in the autonomous region. The property developer controlled by the US fund Castlelake plans to invest almost €1.3 billion in the region in the construction of 5,150 homes, primarily in the provinces of Málaga (2,600 homes) and Sevilla (1,800).

It is followed by Neinor Homes, which owns a portfolio of 29 plots for the construction of 3,628 homes; Metrovacesa, which has 2,300 homes in its Andalucían portfolio at various stages of completion; and Vía Célere, controlled by another US fund Värde, which is building 1,975 homes across 21 developments.

Meanwhile, ASG Homes has buildable land in Andalucía for the construction of 1,700 homes; Habitat Inmobiliaria, owned by the US investment fund Bain Capital, is working on the construction of 15 developments containing 1,621 homes; and the Sevillan property developer Insur is working on 17 residential developments comprising 1,136 homes at various stages of completion.

Finally, Q21 Real Estate, the property developer created from the alliance of the US fund Baupost and the owners of the former Pinar group, is also constructing almost 500 homes in the region, bringing the total number of homes under construction to more than 18,000.

Original story: ABC Sevilla (by Encarna Freire)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bain Capital Launches a €1.25bn Fund to Invest in Europe

10 March 2019 – Eje Prime

Bain Capital has created a fund to invest €1.25 billion in European real estate. The US investment group is expected to concentrate a large part of that investment in Spain, where it already controls the property developer Habitat.

The target of the new fund will be portfolios of non-performing loans and non-strategic assets, of which there are plenty in the Spanish market.

Bain Capital has acquired several portfolios from financial institutions in Spain in recent years with a gross value of €3.5 billion.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Habitat’s Land Portfolio Now Spans 1 million m2 with Capacity to Build 10,000 Homes

9 March 2019 – Expansión

The property developer Habitat now owns more than 1 million m2 of land after investing €121 million last year to expand its portfolio. As such, the firm led by José Carlos Saz (pictured below) has the capacity to build around 10,000 homes. Specifically, the firm backed by Bain Capital acquired 27 plots last year on which to build around 2,500 homes. 5% of those plots were non-buildable (in the process of being approved for construction).

The company expects to reach cruising speed with the delivery of 2,000 homes per year from 2021 onwards. Last year, it handed over 270 homes across 4 developments in Barcelona, Málaga and Madrid, to generate turnover of €89 million, EBITDA of €1.83 million and a net profit of €250,000. The company plans to invest €500 million in land purchases until 2021, financed by Bain.

Moreover, like its competitors Neinor, Aedas and Metrovacesa, Habitat is also considering entering the rental home sector and may even begin to build developments for Socimis.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Habitat Invests €10M to Build 40 Homes in Málaga

8 March 2019 – Eje Prime

Habitat, the property developer backed by Bain Capital, has acquired more than 11,000 m2 of land in the province of Málaga for €10 million on which it is going to develop 40 homes. Marketing of the properties will begin during the first half of 2019.

The urbanisation is going to be located on Calle Óscar Arias Sánchez, in Alhaurín de la Torre, and is located 20 minutes from Málaga-Costa del Sol airport and the beach.

Habitat already has 396 homes under construction in six developments across the province of Málaga and 1,621 homes under construction in 15 developments across the region of Andalucía.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake