Tag: capacity

Spain’s Property Developers Accelerate Their Land Purchases

31 August 2017 – Expansión

Spain’s large real estate companies have launched ambitious investments plans with the aim of starting to build thousands of homes over the next few years, whereby benefitting from the upwards cycle that the housing market is currently enjoying.

The most active players include some of the new property developers led by investment funds such as Neinor Homes, Vía Célere and Aelca. These companies, the first of which is listed on the stock market and the latter two which have plans to make their stock market debuts within the next few months, have accelerated their land purchase plans in recent months, backed financially by their owner-shareholders and loans from the banks.

Such is the case of Neinor Homes. The property developer owned by Lone Star has invested €157.5 million so far in 2017 on the acquisition of various plots of land spread across locations such as Valencia, Málaga and Madrid. These purchases will allow it to build 1,750 homes, in addition to the around 4,000 units that it already has underway.

In the case of Vía Célere, acquired in February by Värde and five other funds, its land purchases so far in 2017 amount to €100 million, which has allowed it to increase its portfolio of land by 212,016 m2 to 2.7 million m2.

Another one of the companies that has invested a lot in land in recent months in Aelca. The company led by Värde and its founding partners, Javier Gómez and José Juan Martín, has spent €170 million so far in 2017 to increase its buildable portfolio by 362,000 m2. Following these purchases, it plans to build around 3,900 homes.

New leader

But the leader of this growth is Metrovacesa. The property developer led by Jorge Pérez de Leza has started a new phase this year, following the transfer of its rental assets to Merlin, with the ultimate aim of recovering its leading position in the sector, this time, focusing on the residential market. To this end, its main shareholders, Banco Santander and BBVA, have transferred it land worth €1,108 million, covering a buildable surface area of 3.1 million m2.

Metrovacesa’s plans for these plots, which have capacity for 24,000 homes, include the sale of some of the asset to competitors, which are eager to expand their portfolios. Currently, the property developer owned by Santander and BBVA is the second largest landowner in the country, with land spanning 6 million m2, exceeded only by Sareb.

Meanwhile, the ACR group (which has invested in some projects together with Allegra, the investment arm of Mario Losantos, the former owner of Riofisa) has purchased land worth €43 million, with a buildable surface area of 88,000 m2, where it plans to build 810 homes. (…).

Amenabar has a similar investment policy. The Basque real estate company, the current leader house building ranking in Spain, with more than 4,000 units underway, has acquired land covering more than 352,000 m2 this year, which will allow it to build another 2,976 homes. (…).

Another of the classic property developers, Quabit, has undertaken 13 operations involving buildable land in just two months, allowing it to incorporate almost 120,000 m2 into its portfolio. (…) The listed company will build 1,097 homes with a forecast revenue of €196 million.

Meanwhile, the Inbisa group has invested more than €80 million in the residential market over the last 18 months and plans to spend another €30 million before the end of the year.

Another fund that has made a significant commitment to the housing market in Spain in ASG. That firm, which also invests in commercial properties, has spent €200 million this year on the acquisition of 16 urban plots of land.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aina Hospitality Plans To Invest €600M In Second Fund

18 July 2017 – Expansión

Aina Hospitality, the management company that specialises in the hotel sector, and which is driven by the wealth management group Edmund de Rothschild, is preparing a new fund. On 15 September, the company will launch Aina II, which will have an investment capacity of €600 million and which will focus on superior four-star and five-star hotels.

The launch of this second investment vehicle tightens relations between Aina Hospitality and Edmund de Rothschild. Both parties have created a joint company through which they seek to boost investment funds in the hotel sector every three years. “Edmund de Rothschild collaborates with management companies that specialise in different sectors; now we are joining this group of associates”, said the President of the company, Jaime Tàpies.

Aina Hospitality will begin raising funds in September and the process is expected to take a year and a half, with the first window closing in March 2018. The aim is to secure investment of €300 million and to double the capacity through debt financing (leverage).

“The funds that invest in hospitality are usually of an institutional size; we are one of the few funds that provides an opportunity to medium-sized private investors”, said Tàpies. Aina’s first fund established a minimum entry investment of €1 million. No minimum ticket has been set for this new vehicle yet, although it will probably be somewhat higher than that of its predecessor.

The yield on Aina II will amount to around 12% per annum On the other hand, the rental income will contribute 8%, whilst the appreciation in the value of the real estate assets may vary between 3% and 7%. The fund’s life cycle will be seven years, which may be extended by two more years: “That does not mean that all of our investments will remain in the portfolio for the duration. The average life of an operation tends to last for between five and six years”.

The company plans to undertake between 15 and 20 operations and will apply a similar risk policy to that of the previous fund. “We will not invest more than 25% of the fund in a single country or city”, he explained. The company is expanding its radius of operation to 35 cities in Europe, including countries outside of the Eurozone such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Scandinavia.

Aina has a special interest in Barcelona and Madrid. “Occupancy rates cannot grow much more, but we do see a lot of potential in terms of property prices”, said Tàpies, who added that demand is continuing to grow by more than supply in both cities. Nevertheless, he said that, nowadays, there are other more interesting cities such as London, Paris, Rome and Milan.

Original story: Expansión (by Gabriel Trindade)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare Buys Office Building In Barcelona For €19.5M

3 May 2017 – Iberian Property

Axiare Patrimonio has acquired an office building in Sant Cugat del Vallès with a surface area of 17,648 m2 for €19.5 million. The transaction has been advised by Estrada & Partners, representing the buyer.

According to news from Spanish Real Estate, the property, which has been specially designed to operate as a corporate head office, is located on Avenida Can Fatjó del Aurons, in Sant Cugat de Vallès, a stone’s throw from the railcar stop at Can Sant Joan, making for easy access to/from Barcelona. Tenants of the calibre of Hewlett-Packard, TVE, Deutsche Bank, Banco Sabadell, Mapfre, Nespresso and Gas Natural all have offices in the area.

The building has a modern auditorium with capacity for 200 people and parking for more than 400 people.

With this transaction, the Socimi is beginning to invest some of the proceeds raised through its most recent capital expansion in one of its pipeline property projects announced at the presentation of its results in February.

Original story: Iberian Property (by Ana Tavares)

Edited by: Carmel Drake

More Than 1,000 New Homes Are Being Built In Sevilla

17 October 2017 – ABC

(…) In the last twelve months in Sevilla, the main initiatives that had been suspended following the decline of companies such as Novaindes, Navicoas and Habitat, have been reactivated. With a few exceptions, the large plots of buildable land in good locations now all have new owners. The clear sign of this trend is that between 2016 and 2019, more than 1,000 new homes will come onto the market in the most sought after areas of Sevilla.

Who is behind these projects? The most spectacular moves have been made by the Murcian property developer Monthisa, which has completed five operations in just ten months to purchase plots of land on which it plans to construct around 350 homes. In February, it signed an agreement with the company Gestión de Inmuebles Adquiridos – which belongs to the Unicaja group – to construct 150 homes in Kansas City 36; a month later it purchased the plot of land in Pagés del Corro 122 from Solvia (the real estate subsidiary of Banco Sabadell) with capacity for 52 apartments; in September, it acquired the Correos warehouses on Calle Fernando Tirado (which will house between 35 and 40 properties) and it signed an agreement with Sareb (also known as the bad bank) to develop the plot of land on Calle de la Florida, where it will build another 84 homes.

The bad bank has been one of the most active players in the real estate sector in Sevilla. Whilst in La Florida, Sareb chose Monthisa, in Carretera de Carmona 43, it appointed Solvia to regenerate the plot of land that used to be home to Tysa Ford. That alliance was signed at the end of 2015 and the construction work (of the more than 200 homes) is due to be completed in March 2019. In parallel, Solvia is also responsible for another one of the star projects in the city centre: 30 homes in the Puerta de Nervión building on Calle José Luis de Casso, opposite the Sánchez Pizjuan stadium.

These projects are different from those seen before 2007. The majority of these developments involve large apartments, with prices of less than €3,000/sqm. According to experts in the sector, the demand for housing now comes from established families in stable economic situations and so the most successful products are those with several bedrooms. According to Ricardo Pumar, Chairman of Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur), “nowadays, only projects that are well designed, with innovative solutions, high quality finishes and very competitive prices have a chance of success”.

Insur was one of the first companies to detect this change in the cycle. At the end of 2013, it acquired the former Cuartel de Intendencia and there it has launched Pineda Parque, a residential complex that contains three twelve-storey towers and another two eight-storey towers that will house 158 homes (measuring between 140 sqm and 228 sqm, with three, four and five bedrooms). In 2014, it started the construction of Edificio Miraflores, on a plot purchased from Sareb where it is now finishing the construction of 64 homes.

And the final example of this trend is Dospuntos (a group controlled by the American investment fund Värde Partners), which is going to begin the construction of 87 homes soon on a plot of land on the corner of Calle Enramadilla and Avenida de la Buhaira. This plot originally belonged to Pontegran (a company jointly owned by Osuna and San José).

There are still a few projects pending sale, but most of the large plots of land in the city have now been bought up.

Original story: ABC (by Luis Montoto)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Saint Croix Sells Hotel Tryp Atocha For €27.8M

15 July 2015 – Cinco Días

The company Ibérica de Bienes de Raíces, which is 100% owned by the Socimi Saint Croix Holding Immobilier, has completed the sale of the building that houses the Hotel Tryp Atocha for €27,750,000, according to the company’s own statement to Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

The property is intended for use as a hotel and is currently leased to the hotel chain Melia Hotels International. The building is located in Madrid on Calle Atocha, number 83 and Calle Moratín, number 10 and 12.

The 4-star hotel has 150 rooms, with capacity for 250 people – and is equipped with advanced technology. The property also has six meeting rooms.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake