Villar Mir Receives Approval To Resume Work At Canalejas

24 May 2016 – Cinco Días

The Canalejas Complex has returned to cruising speed after overcoming one of the obstacles that stood in its path. In April 2015, the Local Heritage Committee (comprising the Town Hall of Madrid and the regional Government) opened an investigation into the construction work that the Villar Mir Group was carrying out, after it detected that damage had been caused in the first bay (the space between load-bearing walls). After months of work, it completed its investigation in January 2016 – confirm sources at the company – and so Villar Mir was allowed to continue with the building work at the site, which will house a Four Seasons Hotel, luxury homes and a shopping arcade right in the centre of the capital.

“The investigation into the first bay was resolved and the suspension (of the building work) was lifted”, explain sources at OHL, the listed company that forms part of the Grupo Villar Mir and which is responsible for developing this complex. The Committee’s investigation was opened by municipal technicians when Ana Botella (PP) was still the mayoress. Sources at Estudio Lamela Aquitectos, which was appointed to design Canalejas, confirm that the construction work has continued as normal since then.

The problem arose when part of the bay, located in a small area, threatened to break off, say sources at the company chaired by Juan Miguel Villar Mir. For the time being, although the investigation has been closed, they do not know whether the listed company will face any financial penalties in the future.

The team led by the Government of Manuela Carmena (Ahora Madrid) has also granted OHL a structural licence to raise the frame of the building, and so construction work has continued apace during the first few months of the year. “We received the structural licence in January”, say sources at Estudio Lamela. “That licence has allowed us to carry out the work that is visible from the outside”, say sources at OHL. Now the only licence pending is the one relating to the completion of the refurbishment.

The project was unblocked at the end of last year by political and legal means. On the one hand, a trial judge dismissed the application to suspend the building works, which had been filed by a company that alleged that it had signed a previous sale and purchase contract with Santander. Villar Mir ended up acquiring this central block for €215 million and whereby took ownership of the properties in the Canalejas area, next to Puerta del Sol.

On the political side, after Carmena took over the reins of the city, the Town Hall decided to review the project and it opened a negotiation table with the company and the regional Government. In October, the parties agreed to reduce the volume of the block at its highest point so as to reduce the visual impact. The agreement meant that the listed company had to relinquish its plans for the height of the building in order to unblock the construction work and accept a lower return on the project.

The last remaining stumbling block now is the public prosecutor, which is continuing its investigation, following a claim by the Madrid, Ciudadanía y Patrimonio Association that an alleged crime has been committed against the historical heritage of the city during this refurbishment.

The renovation involves seven adjoining properties located between Calles de Alcalá, Sevilla, Plaza de Canalejas and Carrera de San Jerónimo. For the last few decades, those historical buildings have housed the headquarters of financial institutions such as Banesto, Central Hispano and Zaragozano.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Starwood Will Open ‘W Madrid’ In 2018

20 January 2016 – Cinco Días

Starwood’s W brand will soon arrive in Madrid. Yesterday, the hotel chain announced that it will open the doors of a new hotel in the capital in 2018, in a property that is across the road from the Four Seasons hotel, which will itself open in the Canalejas complex currently being developed by Villar Mir. The arrival of the W brand represents another boost for the city’s luxury hotel market…and for Spain, which will thus become the only country in Europe to have two hotels operating under the brand.

“The opening of a second W hotel in Spain demonstrates the significant demand for this innovative lifestyle brand in such an important tourist market”, said Michael Wale, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, in a statement.

The future hotel will be located in the former Hotel Asturias, at numbers 9 and 11 on Carrera de San Jerónimo, which used to be operated by the company Hispano Hotelera, until September 2014. The two buildings that comprised the hotel, which used to be owned by the Salazar family, the former owners of SOS, were then sold to Platinum Estates, the investor vehicle of the Indian textile businessman Harry Mohinani, for more than €30 million. However, the properties currently belong to Merryland Inversiones, a company created in June 2014, which last year completed a €3.45 million capital increase and which is controlled, in turn, by Multiway Investment Limited Hong Kong.

“We think that the W brand fits perfectly with this historic property and we look forward to the emergence of W Madrid as one of the most sought-after and admired hotels in Spain”, said Harry Mohinani, the CEO of Merryland Inversiones.

Initially, the idea was to convert these buildings into luxury apartments, but in the end, the owners opted for a luxury hotel. The Starwood chain has been chosen to take over the new facility and it will represent the W brand’s first foray into the capital, since to date in Spain, its only presence is in Barcelona.

The new hotel will have 141 rooms, of which 21 will be suites. The future W Madrid, which will join the portfolio of 46 hotels that are already in operation around the world, will also have a rooftop terrace and two meeting rooms. The refurbishment of the property will be coordinated by the company Hospitality Solutions, which is headquartered in Hong Kong; the architectural firm Rockwell Group will also be involved – it has offices in Madrid and participated in the renovation of some parts of the Westin Palace, the only hotel that Starwood currently operates in the city. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Laura Salces Acebes)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hilton To Open Hotel In Centre Of Madrid

11 November 2015 – Expansión

The US giant is set to debut its Double Tree brand in the heart of the capital, with a 61-room hotel on Calle San Agustín, which the Pérez Gil family will manage under a franchise agreement.

Hilton is joining the hotel battle in the centre of Madrid. The US group will debut its Double Tree brand in Madrid in 2016, with a hotel in the tourist centre of the capital.

Specifically, it will open a hotel in a building that currently houses offices on Calle San Agustín, Madrid. This building is owned by the Pérez Gil family, which also owns several other hotels in Madrid. The owner will take responsibility for the renovation of the building and will manage the four-star hotel under a franchise agreement.

Hilton, whose only presence in the capital until now has been near the airport, is moving into the centre to compete against Four Seasons and Mandarín, which are preparing to open hotels of their own in the Canalejas complex and in the Ritz, respectively. The US chain also participated in the bid to manage the Hotel Miguel Angel, but in the end that contract was awarded to Bluebay.

Original story: Expansión (by Yovanna Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Starwood, Owner Of Spain’s Top Hotels, Is Up For Sale

2 November 2015 – Expansión

Whatever is decided in Stamford (USA), where Starwood Hotels & Resorts has its headquarters, will have a knock-on effect on some of Spain’s top hotels. The world’s eighth largest hotel group is up for sale and whoever acquires it will enter the Spanish market in style.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is not the largest hotel chain in Spain. Its 17 properties are a far cry from the 164 owned by Meliá, the 141 owned by NH and the 93 owned by Accord, the overseas company with the most hotels in the country. Nevertheless, Starwood’s portfolio is special because it contains historical hotels such as the Palace in Madrid, the María Cristina in San Sebastián and the Alfonso XIII in Sevilla (pictured above), as well as individual assets such as the W Barcelona, also known as Hotel Vela, and 43 rooms at the complex designed by the architect Frank Gehry in the Marqués de Riscal winery.

None of the properties are actually owned by Starwood and therein lies much of their value: since the group does not own any of these real estate assets, it does not run any of their significant risks. “Starwood has a very valuable hotel portfolio in a complicated market for international brands that work with management contracts; until now, this has made it more difficult for these brands to enter Spain, where the owners of properties prefer a rental contract”, says Miguel Vázquez, Managing Partner of Irea Hotels.

Starwood only operates three of its 17 hotels in Spain under a lease contract – W Barcelona, María Cristina y Alfonso XIII -. The rest are management and franchise contracts. This is the model used by other foreign hotel giants, such as Hyatt, one Starwood’s potential suitors. The US firm was left without any presence in Spain when the Queiroz Pereira family decided to take over the management of the Hotel Villa Magna after it was re-opened in 2009. Since then, and especially following the announcement that the Four Seasons and Mandarin will soon be operating in the Canalejas complex and at the Ritz in Madrid, Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott have shown a great deal of interest in Spain.

Several Asian candidates are also in the running to take over Starwood. They include the sovereign fund China Investment Corporation, the local chain Jin Jiang and the airline Hainan, owned by HNA.

Two of the three already have links with Spain. Jin Jiang is one of Melía’s partners in China and, after purchasing Louvre Hotels in 2014, it has a dozen lower-cost establishments in Spain. HNA’s links are even greater still: it is the largest shareholder of NH – with a 29.5% stake -, it renders support services to 11 airports after it acquired Swissport and it is negotiating the purchase of a stake in the tourism group Globalia.

Luxurious – all but one of Starwood’s hotels are five-star establishments –, well-located and well-maintained. The group invested €20 million in Hotel Alfonso XIII, which is owned by the Sevilla Town Hall, between 2011 and 2012; it spent the same on the refurbishment of María Cristina. Others, such as the Marqués de Riscal Hotel and the Hotel Vela, are not even ten years old yet.

Original story: Expansión (by Yovanna Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Refurb Of ‘Palacio de Congresos’ Will Cost €90M

13 October 2015 – Cinco Días

Turespaña, which forms part of the Ministry of Industry, has now prepared a feasibility study for the renovation of the Palacio de Congresos de la Castellana. It calculates that the project will cost €90 million and it lowers the height of the adjoining luxury hotel.

The Ministry of Industry calculates that the building work to renovate the Palacio de Congresos de la Castellana in Madrid, and to construct a new hotel with more than 200 rooms, will cost around €90 million and will take approximately three years to complete, whereby generating subsequent employment (directly and indirectly) for more than 600 people.

Those are the findings of the feasibility study that Spain’s Institute of Tourism (el ‘Instituto de Turismo de España’ or Turespaña) has made available for public consultation over the next two months (until 7 December). Its intention is to convince potential investors, which will have to cover the construction costs of the project, in exchange for a concession to operate the complex, about the benefits of the project.

The venue first opened its doors in 1971 and closed them for the last time at the end of 2012, after shortcomings were detected in terms of fire safety and general security, which forced it to undertake a comprehensive renovation of the building. Nevertheless, Turespaña acknowledged that it did not have sufficient funds to undertake this investment and that it must turn to the private sector.

The project will be awarded as a 40-year concession agreement, with an annual fee of approximately €1.25 million. According to the document, the work to construct the new five-star hotel will cost almost €22 million. The Ministry of Industry expects that a new 17-storey tower will house the luxury hotel (six floors less than initially envisaged by the public body). The project must retain the building’s main façade, as well as the façade that looks onto the Paseo de la Castellana, which has displayed a Joan Miró mural since 1980 – the mural is expected to be restored at a cost of €450,000.

Five-star hotel

The aim is to have a five-star hotel with 180 double rooms and 36 junior suites, as well as an executive lounge, gymnasium, swimming pool complex and spa.

The document also includes a forecast for investors about the future operating profits of the complex – it predicts an EBITDA of €7.88 million in the fifth year – the first four years relate to the development phase – and an EBITDA of up to €16.78 million in the final year of the concession. (…).

The next step to be taken by whoever wins the public concession will be to request a building permit from the Town Hall.

Madrid has great potential

The Executive encourages potential investors to participate in the project thanks to Madrid’s “significant growth potential” in the area of business tourism. It also presents other arguments in favour of the project, such as the proximity of the site to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium and the lack of other five-star hotels in the capital, where the Four Seasons hotel chain is hoping to open a hotel in the Canalejas Complex that OHL is currently building.

The Government’s hypothesis is that 65% of the revenues will be generated from conventions, meetings and exhibitions, compared with 20% from the business segment, 8.5% from social events and a further 6.5% from overnight weekend visitors or extended stays following congresses or conferences.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

Carmena Makes Deal With Villar Mir Re Canalejas Complex

13 October 2015 – Cinco Días

The mayoress of Madrid, Manuela Carmena (Ahora Madrid) has reached an agreement with the Villar Mir group to resume the construction of the Canalejas complex, a centre containing a hotel, shops and luxury homes next to the Puerta del Sol, which is currently on hold. That was the statement made by the Town Hall on Friday, which called a press conference for today (Tuesday), where it will reveal the terms of the deal.

OHL is building a five star (Four Seasons) hotel, a large shopping centre and luxury homes in this complex. In September, the company, the Town Hall and the Community of Madrid established a permanent negotiating table, which has now reached an agreement.

The project will modify the volume of the building, which will now be smaller, thanks to a reduction in the height, since the Town Hall wanted to limit the visual impact, above all in the area next to “kilometre zero”. Moreover, the revised plans exclude the planned underground transport hub, and so buses will arrive at Puerta del Sol.

The building work was suspended in part by the Heritage Commission, for the alleged destruction of protected sections, and needs a building licence to continue.

The company owned by Juan Miguel Villar Mir plans to invest €285 million in the operation, which will affect the block between Calles Alcalá, Sevilla, Carrera de San Jerónimo and the Puerta del Sol. Historically, this is where the headquarters of several banks, such as Banesto and Banco Hispano Americano, have been located. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake