Tag: city centre

ASG to Invest €30M+ in Luxury Residential Project in Salamanca

9 April 2018 – Inmodiario

ASG Homes has started to build Residencial España, an exclusive residential development containing 24 luxury homes located in the heart of Salamanca, in whose construction it is going to invest more than €30 million.

Following the demolition of the iconic Edificio España, ASG Homes is breathing new life into the plot overlooking the central Plaza de España to build what is going to be the most exclusive residential complex in Salamanca. A total of 24 luxury homes, all with a storeroom and 2 parking spaces included, will comprise 2-, 3- or 4-bedrooms with surface areas ranging from 100 m2 to 260 m2 for the largest penthouses, which will also have terraces spanning up to 75m2.

The development, which has been designed by the Architecture Studio owned by Chus Manzanares, will be equipped with the highest quality finishes and the latest home automation technology. Thus, it will offer owners the possibility of controlling their homes from a distance using their smartphones (…).

Homes supplied by 100% renewable energy

Residential España is also going to be the first development in the city to be supplied with 100% renewable energy through vertical geothermal energy, with heat pumps and PEX tubes to supply water and heating, obtaining high energy yields from its energy sources through a new system that uses the heat from the earth to warm homes. The system will use the heat source that is generated below the surface of the Earth and direct it to the building, whereby resolving 100% of the heating and hot water needs.

Similarly, Residential España will be revered for its high-quality common areas, which will include a 150 m2 spa-gym with a heated indoor pool on the ground floor, as well as a sensory shower, sauna and steam room and a fully-equipped gym (…).

Original story: Inmodiario 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid’s Offices Record Highest Occupancy Rates For 10 Years

29 November 2017 – Eje Prime

Offices are getting increasingly busier. In Madrid, the real estate sector is recording pre-crisis figures, with an occupancy (take-up) rate during the first nine months of the year of 359,000 m2, the highest volume for a decade.

This indicator is also encouraging the leasing of workspaces. According to a report from the consultancy firm Knight Frank, the Madrilenian office market is aspiring to close 2017 with half a million square metres of space leased, in large part, thanks to the 3.1% growth rate of Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This data consolidates the Spanish capital as a point of reference for the sector across the country and makes it one of the fastest growing markets in Europe.

The volume of investment in this segment of the tertiary sector as at September 2017 was €928 million, with British and US investors increasing their activity by the most this year. That fact has caused the domestic quota to decrease from 80% to 65% in just twelve months.

The availability of office space in Madrid has decreased by 11.6% during the same period; the expectation is that over the next two years, the pipeline of stock will increase by 325,000 m2. Of that future space, 26% is already leased, most notably, the 36,000 m2 of space that the British company WPP acquired on Calle Ríos Rosas, where the former headquarters of Telefónica was located, and the 48,000 m2 of space that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going to make use of at number 8 Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca.

In terms of the economics, the high demand in this market in the Spanish capital is resulting in an increase in prime rents in the city, with an upward trend that saw rental prices reach €29.50/m2 during the third quarter.

Original story: Eje Prime

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

Decathlon Opens 3 New Stores In Central Madrid

5 September 2017 – Expansión

The French multinational sports equipment retailer Decathlon is raising its profile in the centre of Madrid by opening new large format stores in three of the Spanish capital’s main commercial thoroughfares.

Specifically, Decathlon is going to open one store at number 63 on Calle Princesa. The premises, which are owned by a family office, comprise two retail floors and a basement, with a total surface area of 1,700 m2. The operation has been advised by JLL. Similarly, the company is going to open a store with a surface area of 2,400 m2 in the Mercado de Fuencarral building, located at number 45 on the central Madrilenian street.

The Mercado de Fuencarral, which has been closed since 2015, comprises three floors and has undergone a complete renovation to be leased to a single tenant. The property is now owed by the real estate manager AEW, after it purchased the building this summer from Activum SG Capital Management (ASG) for €50 million.

Similarly, the sportswear firm will soon open a store at numbers 22 and 24 on Calle Ortega y Gasset spanning 2,600 m2.

Decathlon, which made its debut in Spain in 1992 with the opening of a shop in Badalona, currently has 158 stores across the country and six logistics centres, two of which are continental supply points.

In this way, Spain is the multinational’s third largest market by number of stores behind France (305) and China (222). As part of its strategy to bring stores closer to city centres, the French group has opened 37 Decathlon City stores in Spain over the last few years.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Andalucían Gov’t Will Invest €21M In 1,226 Homes In Cádiz

26 April 2017 – Inmodiario

The Junta de Andalucía has committed to investing €21.1 million in the city of Cádiz to build 1,226 social housing properties. Some of the construction work is already underway in the two Urban Regeneration and Renovation Areas (ARRU) that have been declared in Cádiz, in the historical city centre and the La Paz neighbourhood. €6.6 million is being invested there in the refurbishment of properties and buildings containing 1,057 homes.

In the presence of the mayor of Cáidz, José María González, the Councillor for Housing and Development, Felipe López, reiterated the commitment announced at the end of last year by the Ministry of Development, to continue allocating resources to housing in the city of Cádiz. Other projects are also now being resumed there, such as the second phase of Matadero and the seventh phase of Cerro del Moro. Those two initiatives will allow for the development of 169 new homes, with an estimated investment of around €14.5 million.

During the meeting, Felipe López highlighted that the decision, taken by the Ministry to resume the development of social housing in Cádiz capital, has been made possible thanks to the reactivation of residential land sales in the province. Specifically, between December 2016 and March 2017, the Agency for Housing and Refurbishments in Andalucía (AVRA) awarded two plots for private housing in Costa Ballena (Chipiona).

At the end of last year, the Ministry of Housing and Development announced the boost for projects in high demand in the city, as well as the second phase of Matadero, which is going to be executed in two phases. During the first phase, 60 rental homes will be constructed; the detailed plans for that project have already been submitted to the Town Hall for approval.

Once the first phase has been completed, the remaining 42 homes will be built, also under a lease framework. Matadero’s second phase will have an estimated cost of €5.7 million and construction work is expected to begin during the first quarter 2018.

Moreover, AVRA has resumed work to accelerate the execution of the seventh phase of the comprehensive refurbishment of Cerro del Moro. Currently, the Ministry is accelerating the signing of deeds in order to take ownership of the 47 properties that will have to be demolished to free up the land on which the 67 new homes that form part of the seventh phase of this development will be constructed.

The Junta proposes carrying out the demolition of the three buildings during the first quarter 2018, and continuing with the construction work thereafter. The estimated investment for the seventh phase, including the costs of acquiring the homes, demolishing them and building the new properties, is €8.8 million. The two initiatives, Matadero Sur and the seventh phase of Cerro del Moro, should take a year and a half to complete. (…).

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake

MDSR Investments Buys Travesía De Vigo Shopping Centre For €49M

3 November 2016 – Real Estate Press

The establishment, located in the city centre, has a surface area of more than 65,000 m2, of which 24,736 m2 is dedicated to retail space, according to data from the Spanish Shopping Centre Association.

Inaugurated in October 2003, the shopping centre is leased out almost in its entirety to tenants such as Carrefour, several brands from the Inditex group, including Pull & Bear and Stradivarius, as well as Corfefiel, Springfield and WomenSecret. In addition, it has an underground car park with more than 1,500 parking spaces.

This is the fifth investment that the Israeli fund has made in Spain in less than a year. In this way, in recent months, MDSR Investments has acquired the following retail parks: La Dehesa in Alcalá de Henares, Connecta in Córdoba and Puerta del Ave in Ciudad Real, as well as the Mercado de Campanar shopping, leisure and restaurant complex in Valencia.

“Our objective is to acquire more commercial assets and become a key player in the market for retail spaces in Spain within a short period of time”, said Annalaura Benedetti, Head of MDSR Investments in Spain.

Until now, the shopping centre was controlled by Meteore Alcala y Pradera, a British fund that owns 43 shopping centres and business parks across several European countries, which are worth around €2,000 million.

The real estate consultancy firm Catella has advised the vendors in the operation whilst the Pérez-Llorca has provided legal advise to the buyer. “This acquisition consolidates the appetite from institutional investors for shopping centres with a significant area of influence and first-rate tenants”, said Carlos López, Partner at Catella.

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Only 12,000 More Hotel Beds May Be “Opened” In Barcelona

11 March 2016 – Expansión

Yesterday, the government of the mayoress, Ada Colau, approved the Special Urban Plan for Tourist Accommodation (Peuat), which will prohibit the opening of more tourist apartments in Barcelona; will limit the opening of new hotels to areas beyond the centre of the Catalan capital; and will allow the “opening” of just 12,000 more (hotel) beds across the city as a whole.

According to the Town Hall, the objective of this indefinite moratorium (which will be reviewed every six years) is to put an end to the problems caused by tourist congestion in the centre of Barcelona and the difficult coexistence of tourist apartments and conventional homes. The regulations will be implemented by area, and the centre of Barcelona will face the greatest restrictions. The legislation will be more relaxed the further away from the centre you go.

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake

RE Inv’t Reached €1,977M In Barcelona In 2015

16 January 2016 – El País

Real estate investment reached record figures in Barcelona last year. It amounted to €1,977 million in total, up by 43% compared with 2014, and exceeding even the levels seen before the crisis. The recovery in the office market primarily drove the trend, although there was also another important factor: overseas investment. According to a report by Aguirre Newman, foreign buyers accounted for 55% of all investments, and that percentage increases to 85% if we consider the Socimis’ shareholders. The remaining capital is local.

Investors’ need to seek reasonable rates of return explains their interest in Barcelona, according to the CEO of Aguirre Newman in Barcelona, Anna Gener. In her opinion, neither the sovereign process being undertaken by the Generalitat or the hotel moratorium imposed by Barcelona’s Town Hall have scared off investors, and her views are supported by the figures. The Catalan capital has continued to attract the same rate of investment as the rest of Spain, which amounted to €10,790 million in 2015, another historic record.

“Investment has grown a lot, given that the must talked about exodus of businesses did not happen”, explained Gener yesterday, who added that real estate advisors are more concerned about finding available supply for potential institutional investors, who have traditionally ben conservative when it comes to investing. She said the same thing applied in the case of hotels, which in Barcelona accounted for investment amounting to €347.5 million, despite the decision by the Barcelona en Comú Government to block new openings. “Hotels in Barcelona are so profitable that everyone wants hotels and the moratorium removes competitors from the sector”, said Gener, who predicted that the price of hotel licences will increase as a direct result of the Government’s measure.

The office market is still the most active segment, after achieving a rental volume of 400,000 m2 and total investment of €885 million, up by 52% compared with a year earlier. Aguirre Newman thinks that the major problem is the scarcity of supply in premium areas, which is putting upwards pressure on prices. Its major client this year has been la Generalitat, with the operation to concentrate offices from different departments in the Zona Franca, in one of the large facilities measuring 46,000 m2. There is no availability in the city centre for offices measuring more than 1,500 m2.

Another sector that is rising from the ashes is residential, with growth of 43% and an average price rise of 8% last year. The consultancy firm predicts an increase in the number of projects involving renovations and changes in use to luxury residential, with international buyers dominating the segment. In these high-end cases, Aguirre Newman forecast that prices may even reach €10,000/m2.

The forecast for this year is that investment across the whole real estate sector (in Barcelona) will amount to €2,000 million once again.

Original story: El País (by Dani Cordero)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aliseda Sold 1,300 Assets In ‘Eastern Andalucía’ In H1 2015

4 December 2015 – La Opinión de Málaga

Aliseda Inmobiliaria, the company that manages Banco Popular’s RE business, sold 1,300 assets in the region of Eastern Andalucía during the first half of 2015, for €250 million. 40% of that volume was concentrated in the province of Málaga, according to comments made yesterday by the Regional Director, Silvia Sánchez, who indicated that the forecast for the year as a whole is almost double those figures. Sánchez said that the region of Eastern Andalucía, spurred on by the Costa del Sol, accounts for 20% of Aliseda’s total national business, which sold 6,500 assets across Spain worth €1,200 million during the first half of this year. The objective at the national level is to close the year with asset sales worth €2,000 million.

In Eastern Andalucía, the stock held by Aliseda Imobiliaria includes more than 4,500 assets worth €700 million (43% are located in Málaga) not including land, work-in-progress developments or unique assets. The portfolio of land in this region amounts to a further €1,200 million.

The head of Aliseda said that the improvement in the market is “in no doubt” with areas such as the Costa del Sol leading the way. 80% of the assets sold during the first half of the year were homes (and more than half of those were new builds) and the remaining 20% were industrial warehouses, commercial premises and other types of rental assets, land and even hotels.

Sánchez announced that in 2016, Aliseda – which is jointly owned by Popular (49%) and by Värde Partners and Kennedy Wilson (51%) – will pursue a nationwide strategy that includes, in addition to sales, real estate development and the management of assets and land. In the case of the province of Málaga, the intention is to initiate the development of around 220 homes in Mijas, with plans also afoot in the Marbella-Benahavís-Estepone triangle and in Málaga city. “The stock is running low. It will run out within 18 months and so now is the time to launch new projects, they are going to receive a very warm welcome”, said the head of Aliseda. On the Costa del Sol, there is more demand from overseas customers, whilst in Málaga capital, demand comes mainly from Spaniards, although Sánchez said that foreigners are increasingly interested in homes located in the city centre and surrounding areas. By way of example, she mentioned the Félix Sáenz building and an apartment project that is going to be developed in Soho.

In terms of house prices, Sánchez said that sales and purchases are now “much more considered” with “more reasonable” values that those seen during the economic boom. “There is an upwards trend, but not at the rates seen in the past. Prices are not going to over-inflate. But buyers no longer have as much bargaining power, above all in the areas where prices are clearly on the rise”, she said.

Original story: La Opinión del Málaga (by José Vicente Rodríguez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Patrizia Buys “Plaza de Félix Sáenz” Retail Property In Málaga

6 August 2015 – Property Magazine

Patrizia Immobilien AG has taken over the retail space in the prestigious “Plaza de Félix Sáenz” residential and commercial building in Málaga. The listed corner building, which underwent a complete renovation as recently as 2011, is located in the middle of the pedestrian area of the Andalusian city, which has a population of around 570,000. “The retail space, totalling 1,824 square metres, is leased on a very long-term basis to a renowned European fashion retailer,” reports Borja Goday, Managing Director of Patrizia Activos Inmobiliarios España, the national subsidiary responsible for Spain and Portugal.

The interior of the “Plaza de Félix Sáenz” building has been developed to a high standard and also delivers a high degree of space efficiency. The total floor space of 1,824 square metres is divided approximately equally between the ground floor and the first floor. “This property is something special, as Spanish city centres are generally characterised by small spaces. Large spaces such as the one that has just been acquired are therefore in high demand with large chain store operators and accordingly are very lettable,” Goday continues. The purchase was made for a real estate fund launched by Patrizia as part of an individual mandate from a professional superannuation scheme in Germany. Confidentiality has been agreed with the seller, a private investor, in relation to the purchase price.

Patrizia has been monitoring the Spanish real estate market for a very long time now. In the last 12 months, the market has shown extremely positive development. After seven crisis years, the recovery is occurring more quickly than expected and the interest of many investors has returned.

Original story: Property Magazine

Translation: Carmel Drake