Tag: bids

Bankia Relaunches Sale of c/Alcalá 1 With Asking Price of €20M

16 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Bankia can’t make up its mind about c/Alcalá 1, one of its star assets in the centre of Madrid. The Spanish bank has put paid to the first process that it opened at the beginning of the year and is now launching a new round with a minimum sales price of €20 million, according to sources in the sector.

In the previous bid, which several investment funds participated in, the finalists were Arcano and Renta, after both submitted offers amounting to around €18 million, as revealed by Eje Prime.

Despite the offers, Bankia has now decided to seek refuge in a clause that allows it to exit the process if none of the bids proved attractive and has opted to launch a new tender with a higher minimum asking price, whereby taking advantage of the boom in the market.

The asset, which due to its façade would interest restaurant operators more than fashion retailers, has two floors: the first spans 458 m2, whilst the basement measures 405 m2.

The building, constructed in 1880, has a total surface area of 3,209 m2 and has housed the offices of the Community of Madrid’s Ministry of Finance and the Economy. Although it currently houses offices, compatible uses also include a hotel, commercial, administrative, healthcare, education and even residential (…).

Bankia’s other prime assets

In addition to the property on Calle Alcalá, Bankia’s asset portfolio contains a second property located in a prime enclave in the centre of the Catalan capital. That building is the former headquarters of Bankia in Barcelona, located at number 9 Plaza Cataluña. The property has a surface area of 1,000 m2 and has attracted attention from a large number of operators.

Although the objective with the branch in Madrid was to sell it, the strategy with the property in Barcelona is not so clear. According to explanations provided by the entity to Eje Prime, there are several options on the table, including a sale, but also the rental of the building to an operator or even investing in the property to renovate it (…).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Renta & Arcano Bid for Bankia’s Former Branch on c/Alcalá (Madrid)

5 April 2018 – Eje Prime

The number of parties interested in one of Bankia’s star commercial assets in Madrid is being whittled down little by little. As Eje Prime revealed, last month, the entity opened an auction for its branch located at number 1 Calle Alcalá. After a period receiving offers, Arcano and Renta have been chosen to participate in the final round. Within the coming days, a decision will be taken as to who will end up acquiring the asset, according to sources close to the auction, who indicate that Arcano is currently best positioned in the race.

According to the same sources, a third group reached the final round but then withdrew due to the value that the asset may reach in the last round of offers. Arcano is one of the best-positioned players given the type of property up for sale; in recent months, it has acquired a handful of other assets with similar characteristics, such as the store at number 202 Calle Bravo Murillo that it purchased from Redevco for €12 million.

The highest offers submitted to Bankia for this latest asset amount to around €18 million, with those presented by Arcano and Renta Corporación proving most attractive to the banking institution (amounting to €18.3 million and €18.2 million, respectively, according to sources close to the operation). The asset, which is likely to interest restaurant operators rather than fashion firms given its (limited window) façade, comprises two floors: the first spans 458 m2, whilst the basement measures 405 m2.

In the event that Renta Corporación’s bid proves successful, something that is unlikely according to market sources, it could be the first move in a larger deal to acquire the whole building. Renta Corporación does not specialise in commercial assets but is an expert in the acquisition of entire buildings for their subsequent renovation. Moreover, the building did go up for sale in 2014.

Indeed, following the success of the sale of several assets, such as those located at numbers 18 and 3 Gran Vía for more than €26 million, and at number 8 Plaza Chamberí for more than €40 million, the Community of Madrid decided to try its luck with this property, located on Calle Alcalá, for which it was asking €10.7 million at the time.

The asset, constructed in 1880, has a total surface area of 3,209 m2 and used to house the offices of the Community of Madrid’s Ministry of Economics and Finance. Although nowadays it is used as offices, and its compatible uses include hotel, commercial, administrative, healthcare, education and even residential. Nevertheless, the Community of Madrid pulled out in the end and did not end up selling the building.

Bankia’s other prime assets

In addition to the premises on Calle Alcalá, Bankia’s portfolio of assets contains a second branch located in a prime enclave in the Catalan capital. It is the former headquarters of Bankia in Barcelona, located at number 9 Plaza Cataluña. That property has a surface area of 1,000 m2 and has received attention from a large number of operators.

Sources are Bankia have explained to Eje Prime that whilst the aim with the branch in Madrid was to sell it, the plans for the property in the Catalan capital are not as clear. According to the entity, it is considering several options, including a sale, but it may also lease the property to an operator and even invest in generating value from the asset by undertaking a renovation (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Q21 Real Estate & Baupost Buy Luxury Property Developer Levitt

1 March 2018 – Eje Prime

A new corporate operation has been closed in the Spanish real estate sector. Q21 Real Estate, a company created by the former Grupo Pinar and the US fund Baupost, has acquired the luxury property developer Levitt. Following the purchase, the group will consolidate its position as one of the reference players in the luxury residential market in Madrid, as well as in the northeast and northwest of the Community of Madrid.

With this purchase, Q21 is going to increase its existing portfolio, comprising more than 1,700 homes, with 145,000 m2 of residential buildability in the northeast and northwest areas of the region, and with more than 75,000 m2 of buildable surface area in the tertiary sector. Levitt is going to provide the buying company with a contribution of land and housing under development in prime areas of Madrid.

According to the latest information available in the Mercantile Registry, Levitt-Bosch Aymerich had net assets worth €162 million at the end of 2016. The company recorded turnover of €61 million last year.

Besides Baupost, some of the other US investment funds that are very active in Spain also submitted bids for Levitt, such as Lone Star, Värde and Castlelake; they all expressed their interest in the property developer in recent months.

Levitt, founded in 1929 to construct luxury homes in New York, arrived in Spain in 1971 at the hand of José María Bosch Aymerich. In 1973, the company completed its first development, the Monteclaro urbanisation, on the outskirts of Madrid. Since then, it has constructed various high-standing developments in Madrid and Barcelona, as well as several office developments.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Junta de Andalucía Puts 33,000 m2 of Land Up For Sale in Córdoba

4 February 2018 – La Vanguardia

The Junta de Andalucía’s Ministry of Development and Housing has launched its first regional land sale of the year in the province of Córdoba, comprising 15 residential and industrial plots, which span 32,989 m2 in total and with an asking price of €5.8 million.

In this regard and in statements to Europa Press, the delegate for Housing and Development at the Junta in Córdoba, Josefina Vioque, said that “with this initiative, we are continuing our strategy of selling some of the land owned by the Agency for Housing and Rehabilitation in Andalucía (AVRA), which obtained such good results in 2017, with the award of almost 22,000 m2”.

The objective, according to Vioque, is “to generate revenues that allow us to strengthen the promotion of our activities of a social nature in terms of housing, especially the promotion of subsidised housing”.

This new tender for the sale of regional land includes seven plots classified as industrial and tertiary, measuring 10,871 m2, and eight units classified as residential, with capacity for 238 homes.

Of the latter, four are reserved for the construction of 188 social housing properties, on a surface area of 17,374 m2, whilst the other four, spanning 4,743 m2, have capacity for 50 private homes.

According to the delegate, the industrial plots are located in the municipalities of Adamuz, Cabra, El Carpio and Córdoba, whilst the social housing plots are located in the provincial capital and in Rute, and the private housing plots are also located in the capital and in the municipality of Obejo.

The tender, which will be open for the presentation of proposals until 1 March, and which will be resolved after the envelopes are opened, scheduled for 12 March, at AVRA’s central headquarters in Sevilla, also includes nine retail premises and 19 parking spaces in Córdoba, Lucena and Rute.

According to Vioque, “the drive to manage AVRA’s owned properties has become a priority since the start of this legislature, give our aim to put these assets on the market at the service of business initiatives, to promote economic development and the generation of employment in the construction sector, one of the hardest hit during the crisis”.

Josefina Vioque said that “with this initiative, the Junta also seeks to reactivate the construction of VPO homes, to facilitate access to housing for families in most need, since these operations are going to allow us to resume, once again, the promotion of these types of subsidised homes, which are more affordable for people with fewer resources”.

Land sold in 2017

This tender follows others carried out during 2017, which saw the award of a total surface area of 21,946 m2  and the generation of revenues amounting to €6 million (…).

Original story: La Vanguardia

Translation: Carmel Drake

Basque Gov’t Sells Listed Property in San Sebastián for €10.4M

27 December 2017 – El Diario Vasco

The auction of the building located on Plaza de Bilbao in Donostia will generate 48% more than the asking price for the Basque Government.

The former headquarters of the Chamber for Urban Property, which has not been used for six years, was sold by the Basque Government last week for €10.4 million in an auction process. The firm that has acquired the attractive property is a shell company headquartered in Madrid, which was constituted a month ago with the aim of acquiring and operating real estate properties and which will likely convert the building into homes.

The property is one of the three buildings whose curved façades give Plaza de Bilbao its shape. They were designed between 1901 and 1905 by Pedro Arístegui and Carlos Ibero as the finishing touch to the thoroughfare comprising Estación del Norte and the María Cristina bridge. Although the internal layouts of the three homes are different, the façades are the same and the Special Protection Plan for Constructed Urban Properties (Peppuc) protects them – they have been granted grade B status (…).

Ownership of the property was transferred from the (Spanish) State to the Basque Autonomous Community when it became the offices of the Chamber of Urban Property and, following the liquidation thereof in 2006, the building has been in disuse since 2011. The property comprises seven storeys (a ground floor, five normal floors and an attic) and has a surface area of 324 m2 per floor (except the attic, which is slightly smaller). A study performed by the Chamber of Urban Property at the time estimated its economic value at around €18 million.

The Treasury Department of the Basque Government decided to divest this property in light of the expenses that it was generating without any prospects for future use (…).

Seven companies submitted bids, after having deposited a guarantee of €350,347 (equivalent to 5% of the tender amount) and on Thursday last week the bid envelopes were opened and the sale was confirmed.

According to sources, the firm that has acquired the building is a shell company, headquartered in Madrid, and constituted on 21 November 2017, that goes by the name Boyton Invest S.L. (…). The price paid, €10,375,000, is 48.06% higher than the initial asking price (…).

Original story: El Diario Vasco (by Aingeru Munguía)

Translation: Carmel Drake

‘Valencia Parque Central’ Reorganises City Centre Plots to the Benefit of Adif & Sareb

18 December 2017 – El Confidencial

The large urban planning operation to reorganise the railway access in the centre of Valencia has an aristocratic influence. The public company responsible for carrying out the project, Valencia Parque Central (VPC), and the city’s Town Hall have just finalised the reparceling of the land that has been released for the execution of the project’s first phase, which comprises the construction of a large park, the train access channel and the generation of residential building. Two aristocratic families have been included in the restricted group of owners of land susceptible to being built on – the Prat Dupuy de Lome y Puigmoltó family (…) and the Gómez Trénor Trénor family (…).

The Prat Dupuy de Lomes and the Gómez Trénors share plots with Juan Giner, a Valencian businessman, who has appealed the reparcelation (…).

Giner, the Prat Dupuy and the Gómez Trénor are among the few private owners that have held onto their plots on the site affected by the Parque Central PAI. In reality, the main beneficiary of the large urban reorganisation project is Adif, the Ministry of Development’s railway infrastructure company, to which almost 90,000 m2 of buildable space has been awarded, either directly or indirectly, with an estimated value of almost €40 million (…).

VPC and Adif have started to market the plots corresponding to phase 1A; they are located around the Joaquín Sorolla AVE train station and on the other side of the first stretch of the garden area, in accordance with Kathryn Gustavson’s plans. The idea is that the funds obtained from the profits resulting from the reclassification will help to finance the first round of work to adapt the railway access channel, as agreed by the Ministry of Development, Íñigo de la Serna, the councillor for infrastructure, María José Salvador, and the mayor Joan Ribó (…).

The VPC’s Board of Directors still needs to meet to agree the calendar for the plot auctions and the structure of the sale (whether the plots should be grouped together or sold individually). Meanwhile, Adif is already looking for buyers for the three plots that it has been awarded directly, initially worth just over €13 million and with a buildable surface area of 27,000 m2. Sources at the tripartite company admit that local investors and developers have expressed interest in the plots, which are all developable and which are located in the heart of the city centre. Lots of players are expected to participate in the bidding. The plans for this first phase involve the construction of 1,0000 homes and retail premises.

A hotel for Sareb?

Although Sareb has been given a lot less land than the Ministry of Development, it has also ended up winning from this first reparcelation (…). For the time being, it has been awarded a plot measuring just over 300 m2, but with a buildable surface area of 3,100 m2. The asset has an unbeatable location, right next to the Joaquín Sorolla AVE train station, and so it is likely that it will house a residential development, or a 70-room hotel, according to predictions from Sareb’s analysts.

The entity is open to receiving offers (it has already rejected some bids) for the plot, but it is also interested in developing the plot jointly with a partner in the property development or construction sectors (…). The public company VPC has valued Sareb’s plot at €1.57 million (…).

The local property developer Urbem and the firm Inmobiliaria Martínez Segura have also been awarded a residential plot measuring 219 m2, with a buildable surface area of 1,859 m2, which will likely house a residential development. Other players that have been awarded plots include the Planells Solers (Bronces Mestre) and the Giner Serras, who are related to the Ferrando family (Gesfesa).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Víctor Romero)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Valencian Gov’t Receives 13 Offers for Land Next to Terra Mítica

7 December 2017 – Eje Prime

The Valencian Government has already managed to generate investor interest in the plots of land next to the region’s theme park, Terra Mítica, in Benidorm. The public administration has received thirteen offers for eight of the nine plots that it has put up for auction with a sales value of €26.35 million.

For those plots, which together span a combined surface area of 2.79 million m2, the ‘Sociedad Proyectos Temáticos de la Comunidad Valenciana’ (SPTCV or Company for Theme Park Projects in the Community of Valencia) has received proposals from ten companies, according to a report from the regional government itself. More offers may still be received over the next few days, through other public registers or by registered post, according to Expansión.

The transfer of land will be carried out with the right of use already granted to several companies for the next few decades. Such is the case of the Villaitana (Meliá) and Asia Garden (Barceló) hotels, as well as the land that is currently occupied by the Terra Natura theme park.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bain Capital Completes Purchase of Habitat for €220M

6 December 2017 – Expansión

Oaktree Capital Group and Apollo Global Management also submitted bids for the property developer.

The US private equity firm Bain Capital has completed the purchase of the Catalan property developer Habitat Inmobiliaria for €220 million, according to reports by a source close to the operation, speaking to Efe-Dow Jones.

The US investment companies Oaktree Capital Group and Apollo Group Management also submitted bids for the property developer, worth between €200 million and €250 million, according to the same source.

Created in 1953, Habitat Inmobiliaria has built more than 60,000 homes during its lifetime, according to figures published by the company itself.

Moreover, it has a portfolio of land measuring 2.5 million m2, worth €189.7 million.

The objective of the company is to hand over more than 2,000 homes between now and 2021. Its property developments are located in Madrid, Cataluña, the Canary Islands, Andalucía and the Community of Valencia.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

KKH Capital Buys ‘Art Montfalcó’ Building In Barcelona For €24M

13 November 2017 – Eje Prime

New investment operation in the heart of Barcelona. In the midst of the political uncertainty, the real estate market is remaining active. The group KKH Capital has just acquired the Art Montfalcó building, located in the heart of the historical centre of Barcelona, for almost €24 million, according to market sources. The investment fund Medcap Real Estate and the real estate group Castmor had also submitted bids for the property.

The KKH Group has acquired the property through its parent company. Moreover, the company also operates in the real estate sector through KKH Property, a joint venture formed by KKH Capital, the investment group controlled by the former CEO of Renta Corporación, Josep María Farré, and Perella Weinberg, which participates in the partnership through one of its opportunistic funds.

The building, baptised as Palau Castañer in 1906, has been sold by the Güell family; it is currently leased to the Art Montfalcó souvenir shop. The surface area of the property is 2,000 m2. According to the same sources, the objective of KKH Capital is to renovate the retail premises and negotiate with a new operator (…).

KKH Capital, which specialises above all in residential assets, will add this property to its portfolio. The group, through KKH Property, has been acquiring assets over the last few years, including some as iconic as the Deutsche Bank tower in Barcelona, located at number 111 Paseo de Gràcia, which it bought from three Andorran families (the Reigs, the Ribas and the Cerquedas) for €90 million.

After negotiating with the hotel chain Four Seasons, the group has leased that building (the Deutsche Bank tower) to Seat. In total, it will comprise 2,600 m2 spread over four floors: a basement, ground floor and two upper floors. The store will not be a typical concession, but rather is looking to become a point of reference for the city. It will include a gastronomic space and a coworking area, whose features have not yet been defined.

The establishment will open at the end of 2018. KKR will undertake a major renovation of the building, for which it will engage the architecture firm OAB, led by Carlos Ferrater, author of the Olympic Village in Barcelona and the Catalunyan Palau de Congressos, amongst others.

One of its other most recent acquisitions is the Monte de Piedad building, located in Madrid. In that case, the group reached an agreement with the Fundación Montemadrid at the end of last year to buy the property for around €80 million. KKH’s plans for that property involve converting the asset into a luxury hotel.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bain Submits Highest Bid For Liberbank’s Real Estate

10 October 2017 – Expansión

One of the main elements of the strategic plan launched by Liberbank to rebuild its financial health is entering the home stretch. The bank has now received offers from all three of the suitors who have reached the final phase of the sale of the portfolio of real estate assets worth €800 million. And, according to financial sources, the bid from the US fund Bain is the highest. But, Bain is not alone. KKR and Blackstone have also submitted binding offers, however, the cheque that the former is willing to sign is larger than those of the others, add the same sources.

Nevertheless, that does not mean that Bain is going to win Liberbank’s open bid. In the final evaluation of the offers, the perimeter that each bid defines (the portfolio primarily comprises homes, but also includes some land) will weigh as heavily as the financing that is going to be used and the tax implications. All of this could mean that the quality of the bids varies significantly, as well as the impact that one or another may have for the results of Liberbank.

In addition, market sources point out that from the date that the offers were submitted until the date exclusive negotiations begin with one of the candidates, last minute movements may arise that tip the balance one way or another.

All of this despite the fact that the calendar proposed by Liberbank does not allow for much time for the bids to be revised or for the processes to be delayed. The objective of the bank is to announce the principle of an agreement with one of the three funds that have submitted offers “imminently”, according to financial sources. And they consider that this is possible because all three of the proposals are sufficiently adequate to reach an agreement.

Capital increase

Liberbank’s intention is to announce the sale of the real estate portfolio before or during its upcoming capital increase, through which it hopes to raise €500 million from its shareholders. It plans to use the funds raised to improve the coverage levels for its non-performing assets, increasing them to almost 50% (still slightly below the average in the sector, which stands at 52%), as well as to strengthen its capital.

Liberbank’s wish is that its shareholders will participate in the capital increase safe in the knowledge that the bank has released €800 million in toxic assets, which will no longer weigh down on its balance sheet. The General Shareholders’ Meeting was due to approve the capital increase on Monday (yesterday) and the objective is that the operation will last 15 days, starting as soon as the legal processes allow.

Liberbank’s main shareholders have committed to participating in the capital increase, which means that Oceanwood, Aivilo Spain and Corporación Masaveu (owners of 12.6%, 7.4% and 5% of the share capital, respectively) will maintain their respective stakes.

The capital increase is the most important element of Liberbank’s plan to convince the markets of its financial solvency, but it is not the only one. The transfer of the real estate portfolio plays an important role, as did the sale of its real estate subsidiary, Mihabitans, to Haya Real Estate for €85 million. That company, which is owned by the fund Cerberus, has taken over the exclusive management of the foreclosed assets of Liberbank and its subsidiaries for a period of seven years.

Original story: Expansión (by Inés Abril)

Translation: Carmel Drake