Pierre & Vacances keeps the aparthotel of the “bad bank”.

The French hotel group Pierre & Vacances will assume the management and commercial operation of the aparthotel Vida & Golf in Benidorm, built by Bankia Habitat in 2009 and in the hands of the bad bank since January this year.

The interest of the French multinational, European leader in the management and development of tourist apartments and resorts, for this apartment complex in Benidorm started as soon as the property was transferred to Sareb. Initially, the conversations between the bank and the French firm included two possibilities: the acquisition or the rental of the aparthotel Vida & Golf. Finally, and as confirmed by official sources of the company, Pierre & Vacances has decided to handle the management and commercial operation of the complex. “The acquisition of the property could be studied later”, they have pointed out.

The agreement for the incorporation of Vida & Golf to the portfolio of Pierre & Vacances is imminent, and most probably before the end of September. “We are on the verge of closing the operation”, these sources explain.

Pierre & Vacances has chosen this aparthotel because it is a complex in line with the ones managed by the group in the region of Marina Baixa, such as the hotel Altea Hills or the apartment tower Maeva, in Benidorm.

The problems with the rating of the land and the low occupation were the two reasons that forced Bankia Habitat to decide the closure of the complex a few months after being transferred to Sareb. This institution acquired the hotel as a consequence of the agreements between the Government and the European Union for the restructuring of the real estate financial assets of the nationalized financial institutions.

The change in the rating of the land was precisely one of the conditions put by the French group to enter the bid of the complex. The land where the project stands is rated as non-residential and therefore is incompatible with the operation of touristic apartments.

The town hall of Benidorm has received a request from Pierre & Vacances in this sense, and has already approved the change of rating of the land to tertiary-hotel.

The aparthotel, as well as a holiday resort, was oriented to customers older than 55 with health problems and offered different therapy treatments.

Vida & Golf opened its doors in March 2010. The complex has 78 apartments of 60 and 90 square meters and complements its offer with sanitary services. Vida & Golf also offers its customers the possibility of playing golf.

Bankia sells its real estate company to Cerberus for 90 million Euros.

Bankia gets rid of its excess baggage again. The bank announced yesterday the sale of the business of management and commercialization of real estate assets and developer credit to the U.S. fund Cerberus. The operation, channeled through its subsidiary Bankia Habitat has been closed for an amount between 40 and 90 million Euros, depending on the evolution of the business plan designed by the new owner without any earnings for Bankia.

The price is divided between a fixed part (40 million Euros) and another variable one that will depend on the volume of sales of assets achieved by Cerberus. If the business plan is complied with, it will be possible to attain the 90 million Euros. If the fund sells more assets than estimated in the project, it will pay Bankia an amount over 90 million Euros.

The operation is relevant for the bank presided over by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri as, even though there are no earnings, it will save labor costs and advanced in its restructuring plan.

Cerberus will keep the 457 employees assigned to this activity. The exit of these workers allows the Dismissal Program to be lower.

Cerberus has created the company Promontoria Plataforma, which acquires the assets and liabilities linked to the management of properties carried out by Bankia through Bankia Habitat, Gesnova and Reser Subastas, participated in 55% and 50%, respectively.

The ownership of the assets and the developer credit is still in the hands of Bankia. Cerberus will therefore manage the assets included in the balance sheet of Bankia-BFA for 12.200 million Euros during ten years. It will also acquire the management of the assets that Bankia has transferred to third parties (Sareb, the bad bank) for 36.600 million Euros.

Bankia has been advised by KPMG and Uría, while Cerberus has had Oliver Wyman and the firm Ashurst and Schulte Roth & Zabel.

Bankia sells the hotel Westin in Valencia to the German company Seaside.

One of the most luxurious hotels in Valencia, the Westin, which opened during the touristic development of the city for the hosting of the Americas Cup, has changed hands. Bankia has transferred Hotel Alameda, the company owning the rights to the concession during 75 years of an old modernist building, to the German hotel chain Seaside Hotels, in the hands of the Gerlach family.

The new owner of the Westin Valencia was already present in Spain, although in the sector of holiday hotels. The German group owns four tourist resorts on the Canary Islands with the hotels Grand Hotel, Palm Beach and Sandy Beach on Gran Canaria and Los Jameos Playa on Lanzarote. Also the chain has a line of business for urban hotels, which until now had concentrated in Germany with four establishments in emblematic buildings in Hamburg, Leipzig and Chemnitz.

The operation is included in the sale of participations by Bankia so as to comply with the conditions established by Brussels for its rescue. In the case of the Hotel Alameda, this ownership had been inherited from Bancaja. The former Valencian savings bank assumed the hotel in 2003 when it was still a project, after its initial awardee, a subsidiary of The Saudi European Projects, did not comply with the deadlines to start the works that would create a hotel full of glamour in the city.

The five star hotel and grand luxury qualification has 135 rooms and suites and employs 100 workers. It was opened in 2006 after an investment of 30 million Euros that allowed the conservation of the façade of the old factory La Lanera. Since its opening, the management has been in the hands of the chain Starwood, owner of some other brands such as Sheraton.

Source: Expansión

The sale of Bankia Habitat reaches its final stage.

Bankia continues getting rid of assets in order to comply with Brussels´ demands. The next operation could be the closure of the sale of Bankia Habitat, the real estate subsidiary. The institution presided over by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri started this process at the beginning of the year and has awoken the interest of more than twenty international funds. Financial sources explain that there remain only three candidates, among them Cerberus and Centerbridge.

The acquirer of Bankia Habitat will assume the company, their headquarters in Madrid and Valencia, the technological platform for the management of awarded assets and 500 employees. The properties and the credit for developers in the portfolio of Bankia Habitat (for 2900 and 2600 million Euros) will stay in the bank, which will sign a management agreement with the new owner. This should also take charge of the assets that Bankia transferred to Sareb.

 

Source: Expansión

Banks sell 80.000 properties in their web pages with great discounts.

The institutions decided to get rid of the real estate weight, reduce the price of their properties up to 78%. They offer favorable financing for more than 160.000 properties, half of which are homes. The shop windows of the real estate companies are constantly on sale, with products on clearance sale and discounts of nearly 80%.

Due to the summer season, most offers focus on holiday properties, mainly on the Mediterranean coast, where most of the stock of the banks is concentrated. The offer is not only limited to flats, but offers a whole range of assets. The web sites offer a wide selection of more than 160.000 properties, half of which are homes. The rest is divided between trade premises (9703), offices (1330), industrial units (2146) and garages and storage rooms (50650).

The arrival of the so called bad bank starts to show its effects: the institutions have granted more discounts, in view of the pressure of this competitor, which has more than 50.000 homes.

Apart from this, the great provisions carried out last year by the institutions have left some margin for maneuver to grant additional discounts on the starting prices.

Additionally, banks are offering mortgages with favorable conditions for those buying homes: financing of up to 100% of the value of the asset, payment terms of more than 40 years and moderate interest rates.

Santander

The real estate company of the first Spanish bank sells through its web page www.altamirasantander.com  properties located all around Spain. With the slogan Altamira, where your future lives, the institution promotes homes, but also trade premises, industrial units and even a hotel. Most of the assets are located in Andalusia, Valencia, Catalonia and Madrid. Among its wide offer there are homes in Tarragona for a little more than 50.000 Euros and homes in the exclusive Velazquez Street in Madrid for nearly two million Euros.

The institution offers special conditions for the sale of properties, such as financing of 100% of the value at 40 years with interest rates of Euribor plus 125 and 200 basic points, depending on the link with the customer.

Also, Santander Real Estate allocates a space for professional investors where it presents catalogues of properties (located in Andalusia) and developments under construction which have been paralyzed or are being commercialized. There are also catalogues for land, for individuals (single family plots) and for investors.

BBVA

Through the web site www.bbvavivienda.com, the institution puts within reach of potential buyers more than 35.000 properties. Most of the assets are in Catalonia, Up to the end of June, it maintains the campaign “Put a price on your house”, where it shows a selection of more than 2000 homes, with discounts of nearly 92% where the buyer has the last word.

At the same time, until September, it offers 700 holiday properties, with a mortgage of 108 Euros per month, and a discount of nearly 50%. The institution finances up to 100% of the buying price at 40 years. The interest rate depends on the customer. BBVA also offers a virtual shop window of its properties in Portugal, where it shows properties in Lisbon from 87.500 Euros

Bankia

Bankia Habitat, the real estate subsidiary of BFA, puts the “for sale” sign on more than 13.000 properties. In order to boost its sales, it is now carrying out open house days so as to show its properties in Castellón, Valencia, Cuenca, Valladolid, Málaga, La Rioja, Gerona, Zaragoza and Lerida. Apart from this there are also online bids, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with properties in Alicante from 73.000 Euros and row houses in the mountains in Madrid for around 100.000 Euros. It also offers homes Km zero (brand new, but with a second hand price) with discounts of up to 28%. Its web, also has an outlet corner, where it is possible to buy a homes from 9500 Euros.

CaixaBank

The web site of the Catalan group Servihabitat.com shows 25.647 properties, half of which are homes, with a wide offer in Barcelona, Valencia and Seville. Through the campaign “Homes for all budgets”, the institution proposes that the buyer decides how much it wants to pay. The online real estate company also gives out an Ipad2 to those users that recommend properties to friends, if finally the operation is closed. Also, the customers linked to CaixaBank in some of its programs have an additional discount of 5% on the selling price.

The web of ServiHabitat is one of the most visited real estate sites in Spain. It now has a specific section of rental homes, www.servihabitat.com/alquilafacil.

Source: Expansión

Bankia returns 127 million Euros to Sareb after adjusting the perimeter of the transfer of assets.

The group BFA Bankia has modified the deed of the transfer of assets to the bad bank, reducing the final volume to 22.190,7 million Euros. Bankia and its parent company, Banco Financiero y de Ahorros, have informed the National Share Market Commision about the adjustment made between the institution and Sareb, in order to adjust the deed to the effective volume of the transfer.

The nationalized group, transferred real estate assets to the bad bank for 22.190,7 million Euros, that is, 126,9 million Euros less than initially planned. In fact, Bankia has informed that it has already returned the difference, returning to Sareb bonds received for the corresponding amount.

 

Source: Expansión

Bankia will offer more than 2000 properties from Sareb with discounts of more than 32%.

More than 300 of these 2000 properties are located in the region of Madrid, more than 800 in the Valencian region and more than 200 in Andalusia.

This commercial initiative, the first one Bankia is carrying out jointly with the properties within Sareb, will take place in the office of the real estate company Roan, with whom Bankia has signed an agreement. Within this selection of assets there are properties for principal residences as well as on the coastline from 45000 Euros, as well as newly built properties.

The institution will offer, for example, properties in the Carabanchel area in Madrid from 92000 Euros, or in the Vallecas neighborhood from 69000 Euros, with up to 25% discount. In Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) it is possible to find properties from 105.500 Euros, with a discount of up to 25% and in Getafe (Madrid), from 181000 Euros, with 14% discount.

As for the ones located on the coastline, in Oropesa (Castellón) there are properties from 48500 Euros, with a discount of up to 25%. In Moncofar (Castellón), 250 meters away from the beach, there are two and three bedroom properties from 53400 Euros, with a discount of up to 25%.

In some properties there are discount of up to 150.000 Euros on the initial selling price, as in a house at Villaviciosa de Odon (Madrid) for 187.000 Euros. There is also the offer on a house in Punta Umbría (Huelva) for 357000 Euros, a price 100.000 Euros lower than the initial one.

In order to make sales easier, Bankia is also offering financing to buyers through a mortgage for up to 100% of the investment, with a limit of 80% of the valuaton.

Bankia Habitat sold more than 5600 awarded assets in 2012, 23,6% more than the previous year. The bank has perceived 500 million Euros, which is an increase of 18,9%. (…)

Source: Expansión

Bankia finalizes the sale of its real estate subsidiary Bankia Habitat.

Nationalized banks continue getting rid of any business related to the construction sector. Bankia prepares the sale of its real estate subsidiary, Bankia Habitat. The operation, named Project Platform and launched at the beginning of this year, awoke the interest of more than twenty international funds and asset management companies. Now the process is in its final stage and Bankia will receive binding offers next week, according to sources well informed of the process. The proposals presented until now were not binding.

The acquirer of Bankia Habitat will assume the company, their headquarters in Madrid and Valencia, the technological platform for the management of awarded assets and 500 employees from the real estate subsidiary and the central services of Bankia. The properties and the credit to developers Bankia has in its portfolio (for 2900 million Euros and 2600 million Euros, respectively) will stay in the bank, that will sign a management agreement with the new owner. It is planned that the latter will also take charge of the assets transferred to the bad bank.

Among the international investors most interested in real estate assets who are looking for opportunities in Spain there is Morgan Stanley, Cerberus, Fortress, Apollo, Oaktree or TPG.

Bankia has covered all its affiliated shares at their market value. It still remains to see if the sale of the real estate subsidiary will be done with gains or losses. The bank presided over by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri considers that this disinvesment is key for two additional reasons: because it lowers the staff costs with the exit of 500 employees and because it allows the reduction of the number of layoffs that it needs to do according to the restructuring plan agreed with the European Commission.

Brussels demanded the cut of 6000 employees, but Bankia agreed with unions a minor adjustment: 4500 employees. The rest would come from exits of staff thanks to sales of affiliated companies, such as the case of Bankia Habitat. (…)

Bankia sells Finanmadrid and a portfolio of 870 million Euros to Apollo.

Bankia continues with its disinvestments. The bank presided over by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri closed the sale of its consumer credit subsidiary, Finanmadrid, and a portfolio of credits of 870 million Euros to the fund Apollo.

This is the biggest operation ever by an American investor in Spain. This agreement, advised by Arcano and Linklaters, includes the transfer of 124 employees who make up the platform of Finanmadrid. Bankia is also working on the reduction of its staff with the transfer of employees.

The bank is also studying the sale of the platform Bankia Habitat, with 500 employees. The institution valued the the sale of Finanmadrid in 1,6 million Euros, although this amount only includes the transfer of the platform and not the credit portfolio, according to financial sources.

The package of credits would be made of nearly 700 million Euros in up-to-date loans, and another 170 million Euros in default loans. These last ones will be paid with discounts of 95%. Meanwhile, the existing credit is bought with an average discount of 20%. If these figures are maintained, the price of the operation as a whole (platform plus credits) would reach more than 500 million Euros.

This disinvestment is one of the commitments reached by Bankia with Brussels. The operation will generate a positive impact on the group´s capital of 10 million Euros. For Apollo, it will mean the reinforcement of its presence in Spain and the chance to become a competitor within the segment of consumer credits.

Source: Expansión

More than 20 funds bid for Bankia Habitat in order to manage assets from Sareb.

More than 20 international funds and asset management companies have shown an interest in the operation and are planning to present a non binding offer next week, according to sources aware of the negotiation which have been enquired by Expansion.

Bankia would like the sale to be closed by the beginning of May. The operation includes the platform and team, made of more than 500 professionals, whose departure would decrease the global number of layoffs to be done by the company presided over by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri in the next few months, estimated at 4500 employees.

The winner in this auction will continue providing the services of Bankia Habitat to the financial group, which holds real estate assets and developers credit for 5500 million Euros. It also seems it will be the one in charge of managing the assets transferred by the institution – Bankia as well as BFA – to Sareb at the end of 2012, valued at 22300 million Euros. Nevertheless, sources close to the operation point out that this last fact depends on the offer and on the negotiations with Sareb.

Recurring income

This volume of assets represents nearly half of the 51000 million Euros of the bad bank and they would generate a recurring income through the commissions paid by Sareb, close to 0,2% only for managing the assets.

The Operation Platform is seen within the sector as a launch pad for foreign investors, to enable them to take positions for the acquisition of other assets and provide services to third parties. The bad bank is among these potential investors, as it has delegated the management to the nationalized institutions only during the first years. A management bid will take place later. This is why the sale of Bankia´s platform has awaken so much interest.

The operation will include the management and at first, not the transfer of real estate assets which continue to be in Bankia. The institution has currently 2900 million Euros in awarded properties and 2600 million Euros in developers credits, 3,3% of the total credit of the group. Before the transfer of assets to Sareb this percentage reached 17%. A part of these 5500 million Euros originate in the awarding of assets in 2013 and mostly of those assets which were not transferred to the bad bank as they did not exceed the limits: 100.000 Euros for properties and 250.000 Euros for credits.

Interested funds

Among those interested in the offer there are the main international investment funds, which have been looking for business opportunities in Spain for the last year. There are, in fact, many potential buyers from countries that have already carried out deep restructuring processes, as a consequence of the crisis. One of the entrance barriers to the promotion of this business in Spain is finding the right people to do this job, but Bankia Habitat has a very powerful team with a great performance in a very complex situation within the real estate sector.

Until now, these funds have focused on the acquisition of consumer credit portfolios, where normally institutions and investors reach economic agreements easier. This is why the Operation Platform is so original. Among those investors most interested in real estate assets there are Morgan Stanley, Cerberus, Fortress, Apollo, Oaktree or TPG.

Several management platforms are also analyzing the operation. Santander overtook its competitors by assigning the recovery management to a third party through the sale to the Norwegian group Lindorff two years ago. And Banesto did exactly the same with Centerbridge. But they will not be the only ones. This business is no longer considered core and many institutions will end up outsourcing this service.

Source: Expansión