Tag: brands

New Winds Group Buys Málaga Plaza Shopping Centre

31 March 2017 – Eje Prime

New Winds Group has purchased the Málaga Plaza Shopping Centre from Inversiones Igueldo. The asset, located in the financial and commercial heart of Málaga, has a gross leasable area of 6,600 m2, spread over three shopping floors and three underground floors containing 320 parking spaces.

The Málaga Plaza Shopping Centre was constructed in 1993 by the architect Ángel Asenjo and currently receives 3 million visitors per year. It is home to brands of the calibre of Burger King, FNAC, VivaGym and Primor, amongst others.

Over the next few months, New Winds Group will undertake an ambitious project to improve the shopping centre and will introduce new operators. Aguirre Newman has advised the divestment through an improvement in the occupancy rate and in the quality of the tenants and the subsequent sale at a profit.

New Winds Group is a Madrilenian real estate company linked to the Reyzábal family, known primarily for being the owner of the Windsor building. In recent years, it has acquired other shopping centres, such as Montecarmelo in the Spanish capital.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hines Acquires c/Preciados 13 & c/Maestro Victoria 5 In Madrid

13 March 2017 – Mis Oficinas

The Baraka Group, the former owner, will manage and market the property until the renovation project is completed.

Aguirre Newman has advised Hines on the purchase of the adjoining buildings on Calles Preciados 13 and Maestro Victoria 5 in Madrid, from the Baraka Group. The future plans for the property involve the development of a 5,000 m2 flagship store, which will be managed and marketed by the Baraka Group until it is handed over (most likely in 2018).

It is the second operation between Hines and the Baraka Group that Aguirre Newman has advised and it may be considered to be the most ambitious and representative development on Calle Preciados, given that it will house a large store with a surface area of more than 5,000 m2 spread over several floors.

In fact, according to Aguirre Newman, this operation will be one of the most representative of the year on the high street in terms of volume and representativity, given that, although investor appetite to invest in retail premises is high, few opportunities arise to acquire assets with similar characteristics.

Calle Preciados is still the most expensive street in Spain, although prices there are still well below those charged in the prime areas of London, Paris and Milan.

For Aguirre Newman, the imminent developments in Canalejas and Edificio España have already become a reality and are changing the central area of Madrid. The strong tourism figures, as well as the future retail and hotel projects that are going to be developed in the area, are attracting international brands and investment funds, seduced by what is expected to be the great transformation of the central area of Madrid, which began with the commercial development of Gran Vía and is now moving along the Canalejas-Sol-Plaza España axis.

Retail groups’ interest in positioning themselves in the centre of the city also extends to adjacent streets such as Montera and Arenal, according to the real estate consultancy Aguirre Newman.

Original story: Mis Oficinas 

Translation: Carmel Drake

VIA Outlets Buys 4 European Outlet Centres, Including 1 In Sevilla

25 November 2016 – Real Estate Press

VIA Outlets, the joint venture formed by APG, Hammerson Plc, Meyer Bergman and Value Retail, has signed an agreement to acquire four outlet centres, with a total value of €587 million and an initial yield of 5.5%, in a deal that is pending authorisation by the regulators.

The outlets are located close to major cities in Germany, Portugal, Spain and Poland. This purchase increases the value of VIA Outlets’ portfolio, which comprises ten assets, to €1,100 million, in which Hammerson owns a 47% stake.

Timon Drakesmith, CFO of Hammerson Plc and Chairman of VIA Outlets’ Advisory Committee, said: “This is a rare opportunity to acquire these four outlet centres in an off-market operation”.

“The European markets are very well positioned and are continuing to experience strong sales growth, supported by improved supply and an increase in the number of tourists across Europe”.

VIA Outlets has identified opportunities to boost sales growth and revenues from the operation, through a change in the commercial mix and the implementation of various marketing and tourism initiatives.

To support the portfolio increase, the organisational structure of VIA Outlets has been improved through external hires to expand the asset management, marketing and finance teams. The estimated IRR for the assets acquired is 11% over five years. (…).

In Spain, the JV has acquired the outlet located in the north east of Sevilla, which attracts a growing number of tourists visiting Andalucía. The outlet has a surface area of 16,400 m2, and is home to 65 brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, Mango, Polo Ralph Lauren and Adidas. Its annual sales amount to €3,600 per m2. (…).

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Neinver & TH Real Estate Buy Nassica Shopping Centre For €140M

8 November 2016 – Real Estate Press

TH Real Estate and Neinver have completed the purchase of the Nassica shopping centre from the private equity firm KKR for €140 million.

At the beginning of 2015, Neinver and TH Real Estate signed a strategic alliance to create a leading platform for outlet centres in Europe. Each company owns a 50% stake in the joint venture, which owns several assets in a portfolio that now also includes the complex located in Getafe (Madrid).

Nassica has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 50,200 m2 and 4,000 parking spaces. The centre receives twelve million visitors per year.

In this way, the joint venture between TH Real Estate and Neinver have acquired the complex in Getafe just two years after KKR purchased it for €100 million.

With operations in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, The Netherlands and the Czech Republic, Neinver has consolidated its position in the European retail sector and now manages 24 centres, covering a GLA of 593,000 m2, housing almost 2,000 stores and more than 1,000 exclusive national and international brands.

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ortega Acquires Torre Cepsa For €490M

3 October 2016 – La Opinión A Coruña

On Friday, the founder of Inditex, Amancio Ortega, completed the acquisition of Torre Cepsa in Madrid, for around €490 million, according to sources close to the operation. Ortega submitted his offer through his real estate company Pontegadea to IPIC, the Abu Dhabi state fund, owner of the oil and gas company Cepsa, which has leased the property, owned until now by Bankia, since 2013.

The building, one of the four towers in the north of Paseo de la Castellana, has a surface area measuring more than 109,000 sqm, including offices covering a gross leasable area of 56,250 sqm and a five-storey car park measuring 37,500 sqm.

The operation was completed in two phases. In the first phase, Khadem Al Qubaisi, the former director general of IPIC, exercised his purchase option, worth around €400 million to acquire the building. He then immediately sold the property onto Pontegadea for €490 million.

In October 2013, Bankia signed an agreement to lease the tower, designed by Norman Foster, which houses the corporate headquarters of Cepsa. The contract had an eight-year term, extendable for another seven years on a year by year basis. But it included a future purchase option, which the tenant had the right to exercise for a price to be determined at the time of the operation, on the basis of objective criteria agreed in advance.

As such, Amancio Ortega has acquired his second skyscraper on La Castellana, following his purchase of Torre Picasso, in 2011, for €400 million. The richest man in Spain and the second wealthiest man in the world also owns number 32 on Madrid’s Gran Vía, which makes him the landlord of some of Zara’s key rival brands such as Mango, H&M and Primark.

This purchase expands Ortega’s property portfolio, which used to be worth around €6,000 million – and is now worth more, if only because of the significant income that will result in terms of rental payments -. And the buildings that Pontegadea buys have a clear profile: iconic, historical buildings, dedicated to commercial and office use that can be rented to companies and institutions that are significant because of their size or solvency. The firm has a genuine real estate empire in Madrid, Barcelona and the main capital cities of Europe and the USA, but in recent months, it has also started to set its sights on Asia. (…).

Pontegadea’s bid was most favoured by IPIC even though it was not the highest – it had received others for €530 million – but the fund ruled those out because it preferred the liquidity and seriousness of Ortega’s offer.

Original story: La Opinión A Coruña

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España Invests €53M In Shopping Centre In Sagunto

29 September 2016 – Mis Locales

Lar España Real Estate has presented its plans for “VidaNova Parc”, a new project in which it plans to invest €53 million and which will open its doors in 2018.

VidaNova Parc has been presented with a surface area of 120,000 sqm, of which 44,000 sqm corresponds to the gross leasable area and the rest to open spaces, roads, gardens and parking spaces. It is being created to bridge a gap in the current market and will become a unique shopping centre and family leisure complex in its immediate environment. Around 250,000 inhabitants live in its catchment area (…).

Lar España’s investment in the project is expected to amount to €53 million, in addition to another €40 million that the operators moving into the shopping centre will have to invest. The complex will open its doors in 2018.

The site has a leasable surface area of 44,000 sqm.

With the launch of the construction work at VidaNova Parc, the first operators in the main consumer sectors have already been confirmed, including Leroy Merlín, Decathlon, C&A, Worten, Norauto, Burger King and Fifty Factory (Cortefiel Group). They will be joined by more than thirty brands….in this new shopping centre and leisure park. In addition, the centre will have 2,300 parking spaces.

José Manuel Llovet, Head of the Retail Area at Lar España Real Estate, has highlighted the strong presence of the company in the country through its ten shopping and leisure centres and the two projects that it has under construction. “Our mission, which is a major business priority, is to consolidate our activity in Spain; we want to grow with it, generate wealth, promote employment, and whereby boost the sector and innovate in the field of shopping and leisure”.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake

Retail Outlets On Secondary Streets Are Getting More Expensive

1 April 2016 – Expansión

Secondary commercial streets in Madrid and Barcelona are increasing in value and becoming an alternative to the traditional main streets, which often have low rates of availability and prohibitively expensive rents.

According to a study by Cushman & Wakefield, rather than opening stores in smaller cities, major brands prefer to expand their businesses into secondary streets in the main cities such as Madrid and Barcelona. According to the consultancy firm, in 2016, rental prices will increase by the most in these secondary streets, where prices have been stable and in some cases, have even decreased, in recent years.

The best example of this trend has been observed on Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona, which after a major regeneration has widened the size of its pavements, and so now represents a viable alternative to the main streets such as Paseo de Gràcia and Rambla Catalunya. In the renewed section of this shopping street, rents rose by 33% in 2015 to amount to an average of €55/m2/month.

La Diagonal thereby ranks in third place on the list of shopping streets in Europe where prices have increased the most, behind Via Montenapoleone, in Milán, (41.2%) and Via Condotti, in Roma, (37.5%).

The study also reveals a recovery in the rents of retail premises in other secondary cities in Spain, although in this case, for the time being, those increases have only been seen in the prime shopping streets. The greatest increases have been recorded in those cities that benefit from tourist with high purchasing power, such as Palma de Mallorca, Puerto Banús, Sevilla and Valencia.

Cushman & Wakefield includes retail premises from the main cities in Spain amongst the main focuses for European investment, alongside Germany, Sweden and Portugal.

Original story: Expansión (by M. Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Massimo Dutti, H&M & Uniqlo Seek Premises On Passeig De Gracia

22 June 2015 – Expansión

Rental prices are soaring on Barcelona’s Golden Mile / The three fashion chains have been negotiating with the owners of premises on the street for months to open mega-stores.

Barcelona’s Passeig de Gracia is one Spain’s most important retail streets, and store rental prices there have increased significantly in recent years. The luxury boulevard of the Catalan capital was the Spanish street where prices rose the most in 2014 (by 6.4%) to €215/m2/month, according to data from the retail-specialist consulting firm Ascana.

The tourism boom in Barcelona is continuing to drive demand in this street, and it is still one of the areas where international brands “must” have a presence. And the shortage of available stores means that prices are continuing to rise. All of this, despite the fact that the retail surface area on Passeig de Gracia has increased in recent years, since the first floors of many buildings have been incorporated into the stores. “And despite the fact that large premises mean lower average rental prices”, explains Eduardo Rivero, Managing Partner at Ascana.

Negotiations

As a result, rental agreements are taking longer to finalise. That is the case of the three mega-deals that have been under negotiation for months and which have not yet been agreed. The Japanese firm Uniqlo has been trying to lease premises on Passeig de Gracia for several years and has been negotiating with the owners of number 18 for months.

Massimo Dutti’s negotiations to lease the store that Vinçon will vacate, at number 96, have also been going on for months. And the other mega-store, created by sacrificing office space at number 11, is where H&M has been trying to open its flagship store since last year.

The volume of transactions on Passeig de Gracia, both in terms of investment and rental, has slowed down in recent months. According to Rivero, the number of retail property purchases has decreased for two reasons: the fall in profitability for the purchaser and, above all, the shortage of assets for sale. (…). The same is happening in the rental market. (…).

New brands are still arriving on the street, although to a lesser extent than a few years ago. In 2014, a total of 23 transactions were signed and 15 new brands arrived, most of them fashion industry names.

New stores

The upper end of the Paseo de Gracia is the real golden mile of the city. There, twelve deals were closed last year, all of them involving luxury brands such as Dior, Versace, Rabat, Frey Wille, Carmina Shoemaker and Wolford.

The extension of the time to close operations has driven the proliferation of temporary shops, known as pop-up stores, such as those run by Brandy Melville, Levi’s and Twin-Set. According to Ascana, these temporary incursions allow companies to verify the degree of consumer interest in a brand and evaluate the success of any possible permanent facilities. And whilst they all continue to look for space, rental prices continue to rise.

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake