OHL Pre-Sells Half of the Luxury Apartments in Canalejas

28 December 2017 – El Independiente

The pre-sales of luxury apartments in the Madrilenian Canalejas complex, the only one in Spain – and one of just a few in Europe – to be serviced by the hotel chain Four Seasons, is going from strength to strength. Knight Frank and Colliers, the two firms that have been exclusively appointed to manage their sale, have already placed almost half of the homes with their contacts and clients during the private launch, in other words, before the For Sale sign has been officially put up, according to sources speaking to El Independiente.

Even the penthouse, the jewel in the crown of the building promoted by Juan Miguel Villar Mir, together with his construction firm OHL, has an owner: a European millionaire, who is going to pay more than €9 million for a 500 m2  home in one of the most iconic areas of Madrid.

To date, most of the homes on this block of prime Madrilenian real estate in Canalejas – next to the Puerta del Sol – have been sold to wealthy Spanish families even though, initially, they were expected to attract interest from foreign millionaires, specifically, Latin Americans. “Wealthy families from Latin America prefer the traditional and exclusive Salamanca neighbourhood, whilst Spaniards are more interested this concept, which is going to revolutionise the centre of Madrid”, explain sources in the real estate sector.

The 22 most expensive new build homes currently available in Madrid have a minimum surface area of 130 m2 and a minimum asking price of €2.5 million, which means that buyers paying more than €13,000/m2. The combined value of all of the homes amounts to around €90 million.

The apartments are located on the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th floors of the Canalejas Complex, have between one and three bedrooms each, have independent access (as well as through the Four Seasons hotel) and will be handed over completely finished and equipped, with the exception of furniture.

The homes form part of a complex that comprises seven historical buildings, which in recent decades housed the former headquarters of Banesto, Central Hispano and Zaragozano.

For the time being, most of the homes have been reserved by Spanish millionaires.

The complex spans a surface area of 50,000 m2 in total and in addition to the twenty homes, is going to house a five-star Four Seasons hotel with 200 rooms, an underground parking lot with 400 spaces, a retail outlet for bank use and a 15,000 m2 shopping arcade.

Original story: El Independiente (by Ana Antón)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Villar Mir Teams Up With ACR To Build Homes Through Its RE Firm Espacio

14 September 2017 – Expansión

Inmobiliaria Espacio, the holding subsidiary of Villar Mir, and the ACR Group have announced the joint purchase of a plot of land measuring 15,000 m2 (buildable surface area), where they plan to construct 160 homes.

The operation, whose consideration has not been revealed, forms part of a joint venture that the two companies have closed to construct homes in different parts of Spain.

In fact, the plot of land in Valladolid is the second purchase made by this joint company, which acquired another plot of land a few months ago in Madrid, specifically in Avenida Daroca, for the development of 32 homes.

“This new acquisition demonstrates the success of the collaboration between both companies and reinforces our idea of continuing to promote homes in those areas where we observe increasingly more demand and where both companies have an outstanding track record”, explains David Botín, Director of Real Estate Development at the ACR Group.

Sources at the company have said that they will continue to look for investment opportunities together with Villar Mir’s subsidiary. Moreover, ACR also has another alliance, with Allegra, the real estate arm of the Losantos family.

At the beginning of the year, Espacio announced its return to residential development, after several years away following the burst of the bubble. At the time, it announced that it planned to construct 241 homes along the coast (specifically, in Málaga, Alicante and Mallorca), whilst it looked for opportunities to buy land in Madrid. Espacio owns approximately 325,000 m2 of land in the urban development of Valdebebas, in the north of the capital.

Moreover, the real estate division of Villar Mir is the co-owner of Torre Caleido, the fifth skyscraper that is being constructed in the ‘Business Area de la Castellana’ complex in Madrid. It also owns a stake in the luxury Canalejas complex, which will soon be home to the first Four Seasons hotel in Spain.

According to the latest results corresponding to the year 2015, Villar Mir’s subsidiary recorded turnover of €114 million in 2015, up by 52% compared to the previous year.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Four Seasons Arrives In Madrid With Suites Costing €12,000/Night

21 July 2017 – Expansión

At the beginning of 2019, when the 22 luxury homes are completed in the Canalejas Complex, the Four Seasons hotel will also open its doors. It will be the famous Canadian chain’s first establishment in Spain.

The hotel will contain 200 rooms, the smallest of which will have a minimum surface area of 45 m2 (a standard room) and the largest of which will span 400 m2 (the Presidential and Royal suites). “From the start, we were clear that the ideal brand for Madrid was Four Seasons. The city does not have any major luxury hotel operators, whereas Paris and London have 15 or 20”, explained Francisco Meliá, CEO at OHL Desarrollos.

The hotel is being designed by the team at Lamela Arquitectos (which is taking care of the entire project to restore the complex) and the US interior design studio Bamo. “Four Seasons estimate that around 65,000 people per year will visit the hotel”, said Meliá. “The brand did not have any hotels in Spain and so this is a very important milestone for it. In fact, the firm is now looking at other locations in Madrid and Marbella”, he added.

The objective of Four Seasons Canalejas will be to take advantage of the tourism that already comes to Spain, but also to attract a new luxury audience, says Meliá. “Four Seasons has a unique service culture. For example, there will be a ratio of two employees per room. Moreover, the staff receive unique training so that they never have to say no to a client”.

The rooms at the Four Seasons will be the most expensive in Madrid (currently, that record is held by the Villa Magna). “The hotel prices will range from €500 for a single room to €12,000 for a suite, per night.

In addition to the 200 rooms, the hotel will house two restaurants, an indoor swimming pool and a spa. “In the case of the restaurants, the staff serving will be employed by Four Seasons but we are talking with high-profile operators both from Spain and overseas regarding the management of the restaurant, given that the intention is for these restaurants to be set a new benchmark in the city, both for tourists and Madrilenians”, said Meliá.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Prosegur’s Owners Buy BBVA Seguros’ Former HQ For €23M

12 July 2017 – Eje Prime

Family offices are continuing to gain prominence in the real estate business with the help of their chequebooks. In the latest deal, the Revoredo family, which owns the security company Prosegur, has purchased an office building located at number 17 on Madrid’s Calle Alcalá from the family office Casticapital. Until about a year ago, the property housed the headquarters of BBVA Seguros.

The sale, executed through Gubel, the Revoredo family’s real estate company, was closed for a price of approximately €23 million, according to Expansión. Casticapital has sold off the asset just seven years after purchasing it. One of the projects that the group was considering before selling the property was the conversion of the building into a hotel.

The asset in question has eight floors plus a ground floor, with a total above ground surface area of around 3,000 m2. The Casticapital family office acquired the building from BBVA in a sale and leaseback operation (sales contract and subsequent lease) for around €18 million.

The property, which is located a stone’s throw from La Puerta del Sol and close to the Canalejas Complex, was home to the headquarters of the insurance company Hércules Hispano for many years.

Nevertheless, the building has been empty for approximately one year, after BBVA moved its insurance subsidiary to the bank’s central headquarters in Las Tablas (Madrid). That move came shortly after the end of the term that the bank was obliged to occupy the property for, according to the terms of the sale and leaseback contract signed in 2010.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Poker Stars’ Founder Pays OHL €225M For 50% Of Canalejas

11 April 2017 – Expansión

Grupo Villar Mir has completed the sale of 50% of Project Canalejas, the luxury home, hotel and shopping complex that it is developing in a set of historic buildings in the centre of Madrid, to the Israelí businessman Mark Scheinberg, founder of the online poker firm Poker Stars, for €225 million, according to a statement filed yesterday by OHL with Spain’s National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV).

The corporation owned by Juan Miguel Villar Mir is developing this project in conjunction with its listed construction company OHL. Both entities have sold part of their respective stakes in accordance with the percentage that they control and as part of the asset sales plan that they have in place to cut their debt. Specifically, Grupo Villar Mir has sold 32.5%, and has whereby reduced its stake in the project from 65% to 32.5%. Meanwhile, OHL has sold another 17.5%, which has reduced its shareholding from 35% to 17.5%.

OHL reported yesterday that it will record revenues of €78.75 million from the sale of its stake in the complex, and that it has already received €73.5 million, leaving an outstanding balance due of €5.25 million. The company explained that the outstanding balance will be paid in two instalments: one in December this year, amounting to €1.75 million, and the other (€3.5 million) will be received when the project is commissioned.

Grupo Villar Mir and OHL, which have recorded a combined gain of €82.85 million from this operation, will retain control over the management of the project until it is commissioned, scheduled for the beginning of 2019. Canalejas is developing a group of seven historic buildings, which comprise an entire block in the centre of Madrid, next to La Puerta del Sol, which Villar Mir bought from Santander in December 2012 and which have a combined surface area of 50,000 m2.

The project involves the refurbishment of the properties, whilst retaining their architectural and artistic features, to house 22 luxury homes and a five-star hotel, which the chain Four Seasons has already committed to operating, in what will be its debut in Spain. The complex will also have a 16,000 m2 shopping arcade and underground car park.

Original story: Expansión (by E. M.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

50% Of Lagasca 99’s Luxury Homes Have Been Pre-Reserved

27 March 2017 – Expansión

A “unique” project, destined to become a “European and international architectural icon”. That is the ambitious challenge that the Socimi Lar España and the largest fund manager Pimco have set themselves in an unusual project for both partners, namely: the luxury residential building, Lagasca 99. Lar España and its largest shareholder purchased the company Juan Bravo 3 at the end of 2014. At the time, the company owned the plot of land at the address of its name, in the exclusive neighbourhood of Madrid.

The company had been created in December 2006 by the real estate company Eurosazor, controlled by the businessman Rafael Ortiz. Ortiz had wanted to construct the most exclusive development in the capital, inspired by the One Hyde skyscraper in London. Nevertheless, financial difficulties left Eurosazor and Juan Bravo 3 filing for bankruptcy and the project never got off the ground. Then, Lar and Pimco invested €120 million to acquire the plot of land (along with the loans linked to the company that owned that land) and, ten years later, and also with the support of the renowned architect Rafael de la Hoz, the development has now resumed with a novel concept.

The future property, which will have a constructed surface area of 26,203 m2, will contain 44 homes, compared with the 60 units that Eurosazor had planned, and the 55 that were initially proposed by the new owners. These homes, spread over nine floors plus penthouses, will be located at different heights, including duplexes with ceilings measuring more than five metres high and duplex penthouses measuring up to 700 m2, including terraces and private swimming pools.

The building, which will offer five different types of homes, will incorporate elements such as bevelled corners and shark fins on the windows, which will allow natural light to enter the homes whilst at the same time ensuring the privacy of residents. Each home will have a minimum surface area of 330 m2 and will be sold for around €12,00/m2, and up to €14,000/m2 for the most exclusive units, say sources in the sector. In addition, each property will include two or three parking spaces – Colliers International will be responsible for marketing the properties.

The buyers of these exclusive homes (pre-reservations already exist for 50%) will have access to a gym and indoor swimming pool, as well as a wellness centre and a rooftop garden with an outdoor pool and landscaped roof. The development is expected to be ready by the beginning of 2018.

Lagasca 99 will compete against homes in the Canalejas complex to become the most luxurious development in Madrid. Located next to Puerta del Sol, the project run by Villar Mir (which Mark Scheinberg has just acquired a stake in) will build around twenty luxury apartments. Their residents will have access to the services of the five-star hotel in the same building, which will be operated by the Four Seasons chain.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hyatt Returns To Madrid To Manage Hotel On Gran Vía, 31

10 March 2017 – Cinco Días

Hyatt is returning to Madrid. The hotel chain is coming back to the capital nine years after abandoning its role as the manager of Hotel Villa Magna. This week, the company has announced that it will manage the future hotel whose doors are going to open at number 31 Gran Vía, a property that is owned by the company Exacorp One, itself owned by the Mexican Díaz Estrada family.

The hotel chain will open an establishment there during the fourth quarter of this year, under the Hyatt Centric brand, according to a statement made this week by the firm. As such, it will become the first establishment to bear the hotel chain’s urban brand in Spain.

The future hotel will have 159 rooms, a restaurant called “Hielo y Carbón” (Coal and Ice) and a roof-top terrace, which will open during 2018. Jorge Díaz Estrada, Director of Exacorp, recognises that “the hotel’s central location, combined with its unique design, will attract business and pleasure travellers alike”.

In addition to this property, Díaz Estrada has entered Madrid’s real estate market with a bang in recent years with the purchase of several buildings. The most iconic property in its portfolio is Apple’s current flagship store in Puerta del Sol. In addition, the firm has acquired properties at numbers 25 and 27 Calle Montera.

Meanwhile, Hyatt’s return represents yet another boost for the hotel sector in the city. A real commitment from the international brands, which will be further strengthened by the arrival of Four Seasons in the Canalejas Complex and the W, which Starwood is going to open across the road. These establishments will encourage more international travellers and will, according to sources in sector, favour an increase in average prices for hoteliers.

In addition, a number of Spanish hotel chains have also strengthened their presence in the area in recent times. In this vein, Barceló has opened a hotel in Torre de Madrid, close to where Riu is expected to manage the future hotel in Edificio España. Meanwhile, NH, will open the doors to its new hotel on Gran Vía at the beginning of next year.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Laura Salces Acebes)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Edificio España Is Set To Become A Hard Rock Hotel

4 October 2016 – El Confidencial

The countdown to the launch of Trinitario Casanova’s project in Edificio España has begun. The businessman, who has reached an agreement with the Wanda Group to acquire the property, has been given the green light by the Town Hall of Madrid for his plans to convert the skyscraper into a Las Vegas style hotel.

Last Friday, the department of town planning, led by José Manuel Calvo, approved the request submitted by the Baraka Group, the Levantine businessman’s holding company. Its request involves turning the majority of the skyscraper into a large hotel, whilst retaining the protected elements.

With this approval, Casanova now has all of the pieces in place to seal his second major agreement of the year: a 30-year contract with Hard Rock, the hotel empire owned by the Seminole Indians, who have presented Baraka with a firm offer to take over the operation of the Madrilenian skyscraper.

Sources at the Spanish company have acknowledged that conversations are at a very advanced stage, in a process organised by JLL, but that the final rubber stamp still needs to be given. That milestone that will come once the legal representatives of both parties have been completed their corresponding reviews.

The Hard Rock project for Edificio España involves opening a five-star hotel containing almost 600 rooms. The property will be equipped with restaurant and entertainment offerings and will also contain large suites and allow for the use of the roof terrace.

In addition, the approximately 150 parking spaces that the skyscraper already has in its second basement are sufficient for the North American group’s plans. The future hotel will occupy 22 floors of the property, spanning around 67,400 sqm, given that Baraka has reserved the first three floors, covering almost 15,000 sqm, for a large shopping arcade and is, currently, holding conversations with several potential operators.

Hard Rock Hotel’s commitment to Spain

Hard Rock has been looking for a site on which to open a major hotel establishment in Madrid for years and the possibility of doing so on Gran Vía is an opportunity that it does not want to miss, given that this thoroughfare offer all of the leisure, history, shopping and cultural offerings that are demanded by the profile of international tourist that the chain attracts.

The arrival of Edificio España onto the market also comes at a particularly sensitive time for the North American company, which, after several years negotiating with Enrique Bañuelos over the construction of a resort in the BCN World project, has now been told that the Catalan Government has recalculated all of its numbers for the complex and so its future is up in the air.

In Spain, Hard Rock Hotel also holds a concession agreement with Palladium, the group owned by the Matutes family, for its properties on the Balearic and Canary Islands, where the group…owns the Hard Rock Ibiza and Hard Rock Tenerife.

Having received the favourable report from the Town Hall of Madrid, Trinitario Casanova now expects to complete the definitive purchase of Edificio España from the Wanda Group by the middle of the month, and he will then be able to begin the renovation of the property, which is expected to take almost two years.

With this calendar on the table, the future Hard Rock Madrid may open its doors at the end of 2018, which is when the Four Seasons hotel, currently being constructed in the Canalejas Complex, is also due to open. Canalejas is another of the most awaited and controversial developments in the capital, although it should receive its final blessing from Manuela Carmena’s team within the next few days.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Villar Mir Negotiates Partial Sale Of Fifth Tower To Hispania

29 September 2016 – Expansión

According to the businessman Juan Miguel Villar Mir, the Villar Mir Group has begun negotiations with the Socimi Hispania to join forces for the development of the fifth tower, the new skyscraper in the north of Madrid, next to the Cuatro Torres Business Area complex.

It is one of the most important buildings in the capital in terms of investment, given that the developers will need around €500 million to cover the construction and rental costs – an initial lease has been granted for a period of 75 years.

Sources at the family holding company have confirmed that preliminary conversations have begun, aimed at Hispania’s entry into the project “as a minority shareholder”. Other sources state that the Socimi, managed by the Azora group and in which George Soros holds a stake, may be interested in acquiring 100% of the building, which will be leased in its entirety. Nevertheless, the Villar Mir Group assures that it will maintain the majority stake.

The fifth tower project, which Villar Mir won at the end of 2014 in a tender organised by the Town Hall of Madrid, has already selected its tenants. Earlier this year, the IE Business School agreed to lease 50,000 sqm of the building for its campus. The bottom part of the complex, measuring 12,000 sqm, will house leisure areas, a shopping arcade and a health centre, which will, in theory, be operated by the Quirón Group. The project, promoted by the Villar Mir family, still needs to obtain the definitive permits from the mayoress of Madrid, Manuela Carmena.

Partners

In September 2015, the Swiss investment fund Corestate announced that it had agreed to form a joint venture with the Villar Mir Group to jointly develop the fifth tower. Six months later, in March 2016, Juan Miguel Villar Mir qualified that announcement by stating that the agreement with Corestate had not been signed yet. With or without Corestate, the negotiations with Hispania are happening at a time of peak activity for Spain’s listed Socimis. Hispania reached the final round of the tender to acquire the building, after it partnered up with Ferrovial, but Villar Mir won the 75-year lease by offering to pay an annual fee of €4 million, equivalent to twice the bid price. (…).

Divestments

The search for partners forms part of the strategy being pursued by the Villar Mir’s holding company to finance its multi-million investment commitments through Espacio and OHL, without increasing its debt, which amounts to €14,000 million. The other source of extraordinary income comes from the sale of its assets. (…).

The group needs funds to tackle its three major real estate projects (the fifth tower, the Canalejas Complex and the War Office in London), as well as several toll roads in Latin America.

Original story: Expansión (by C. Morán and R. Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Villar Mir Engages Colliers To Accelerate Partial Sale Of Canalejas

26 September 2016 – Expansión

Grupo Villar Mir, the controlling shareholder of OHL, is making progress with its aggressive divestment plan, through which it aims to reduce its own level of indebtedness, as well as that of the construction company, and solve the financial problems that it finds itself immersed in. To this end, the industrial holding company has accelerated the search process to identify an investor willing to buy some of the complex of Canalejas buildings in Madrid.

Specifically, the Villar Mir group, which controls the project through a holding company (75%) and OHL (25%) has engaged the real estate consultancy Colliers to analyse the sale of a minority stake in the Canalejas complex, the real estate project that it is currently developing in the centre of Madrid.

The aim is to analyse the proposals that various investment groups have submitted to the owner of OHL, to participate in the project, which is expected to require an investment of €500 million. “This analysis phase will be completed in October and only then will we be able to take a decision regarding the possible partial divestment, whilst retaining control over and our commitment to the project”, said sources at the company.

According to El Confidencial, a number of possible interested parties are presenting themselves as contenders, including the international funds TH Real Estate and Lone Star.

In any case, Villar Mir will retain a majority stake in the project, given that its intention is to sell a stake of between 30% and 49%.

At the beginning of 2013, Villar Mir purchased seven buildings from Banco Santander, located between Calles de Alcalá, Sevilla and Plaza de Canalejas, for €215 million. The complex will house a luxury hotel managed by the Four Seasons chain, around 20 homes associated with the hotel, a shopping centre covering 15,000 sqm and a 500-space car park.

Initially, Villar Mir hoped to open the complex at the end of 2016, but problems with the Town Hall of Madrid relating to the renovation work delayed the project and it is now not expected to open until 2018. The construction company has launched a comprehensive divestment plan. Its portfolio of assets available for sale include 7% of Abertis, the industrial division, and the Mayacobá Mexican hotels. (…).

Original story: Expansión (by C. Morán and R. Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake