Sabadell Evaluates the Sale of a Portfolio containing 1,000 Doubtful Loans

The Catalan bank is looking to sell a portfolio of problematic assets despite the market downturn and is evaluating the divestment of 1,000 delinquent SME loans.

Exxacon Acquires Plot of Land from Banco Sabadell in Debut in Valencia

14 October 2019 The Andalusian developer Exxacon has acquired an 18,123-square-meter plot of land in Valencia from Banco Sabadell. The firm will invest a total of €20 million in the new development, which will have 157 100-to-110 m2 flats. The acquisition is the Exxacon’s first in Valencia.

Currently, Exxacon has 19 ongoing projects, building a total of 1,200 homes at the cost of 400 million euros. This year, the firm expects to deliver one 23-home development in Malaga city. Next year, the developer will deliver another 130 homes in three different projects.

Original Story: Eje Prime – Marta Casado Pla

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

 

Banco Sabadell Sells Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios to Oaktree for €882 Million

5 August 2019

Banco Sabadell has agreed to sell its developer, Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (Sdin), to the US-fund Oaktree. The sale, which includes a significant stock of land holdings, closed for 882 million euros and will generate an accounting gain of 23 million euros.

Sabadell split Sdin Residencial from the larger Solvia Real Estate before its sale to the Swedish group Intrum.

With this deal, Sabadell has practically eliminated toxic assets from its balance sheet, selling more than €12.5 billion in non-performing assets over the last year.

Thanks to the sales, Sabadell will now have a Tier 1 Common Capital Ratio of 11.6%, up from 11.2% in June. The bank hopes to reach 12% in 2020.

Original Story: Expansión – Sergi Saborit

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Banco Sabadell Sells Real Estate Portfolio

5 August 2019

Banco Sabadell has sold a portfolio of real estate assets to a subsidiary of the US fund Cerberus Capital for 314 million euros. The portfolio, known as Rex, has assets with a net book value of approximately 342 million euros.

Original Story: Lne.es

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Azora Acquires 500 Homes in Madrid and Barcelona for €150 Million from Banco Sabadell

20 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Banco Sabadell has sold a portfolio of 500 houses in the metropolitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona for nearly 150 million euros to Azora. The bank took on the homes in the period between 2005 and 2012. The sale is part of the Spanish bank’s process of divestment of non-performing loans and foreclosed assets.

In recent months, Sabadell has made a series of sales, valued at some 600 million euros. The bank transferred a portfolio of eight residential buildings to Vivenio and sold a portfolio of logistic-industrial assets to Blackstone.

Original Story: Idealista

Cerberus Teams up with Kronos to Bid For Banco Sabadell’s Land Portfolio

19 June 2019 – Eje Prime

Cerberus and Kronos are joining forces in an attempt to acquire Banco Sabadell’s land. They are holding negotiations regarding how they would divide the plots, which are worth around €850 million in total, in the event that the US fund emerges victorious from the bid to acquire Sdin Residencial’s land portfolio.

In theory, Cerberus would hold onto the land that is ready for development as well as those plots already under construction (64% of the total). Meanwhile, Kronos would take ownership of the rest, including the reparcelled and sectorised plots, for which urban planning permission has been granted.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

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

Sabadell Revises Down its Price Expectations for the Sale of its Property Developer SDin

21 May 2019 – Cinco Días

Banco Sabadell put its property development arm Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (Sdin) up for sale several months ago. Initially, the bank was expecting to receive proceeds of around €1 billion for the company, its employees and land. However, in light of the current climate, it is now revising down its expectations.

Investment funds are starting to face problems when it comes to generating returns from their investments in land and property what with many of the large property developers, such as Neinor Homes, slashing their short-term forecasts, the political uncertainty following the recent general election and the general nervousness that the current boom cycle is coming to an end.

As a result, the bank chaired by Josep Oliu (pictured above) is now hoping to receive binding offers amounting to around €900 million, which would considerably reduce the entity’s expected gains from the sale. Nevertheless, SDin owns around 300 prime plots and 130 promotions under development, whose combined valuation amounts to €1.3 billion, according Savills Aguirre Newman.

For the time being, Sabadell has four offers on the table from investment funds, including from Cerberus and Oaktree. The fund Kronos is also still in the running although it is less likely to prove victorious.

Sabadell had initially planned to close this operation by the end of June, but may now wait a little longer.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Ángeles Gonzalo Alconada)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Sabadell Completes the Sale of its Platform Solvia to Intrum

24 April 2019 – Cinco Días

Banco Sabadell and Intrum have definitively closed the operation whereby the entity chaired by Josep Oliu has sold 80% of its real estate platform Solvia to the Swedish group, more than four months after it was initially announced, having obtained the corresponding approvals.

The operation values 100% of the company at €300 million and so Sabadell will receive €240 million for the 80% stake, an amount that may increase by another €40 million depending on the evolution of the business.

The bank will record a gain of €138 million as a result of the sale and its capital ratio will improve by 15 basis points.

The entity is also waiting to complete the sale of its property developer Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (SDIn) during the next quarter. The funds Cerberus and Oaktree have made it through to the final round of that operation, according to sources.

Original story: Cinco Días (by A. G.)

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