Tag: closure

Plans are Afoot to Refloat Marbella’s Former Incosol as a Hotel

26 November 2018 – Diario Sur

It is one of Marbella’s historical tourism buildings, it has been closed since 2013, and for years the most famous of the famous passed through its doors. It is the Incosol. Now, five years after it definitively closed its doors when its last owners filed for creditor bankruptcy, something is starting to move in the great establishment, located to the East of the town and surrounded by gardens and unbeatable views.

According to information obtained by this newspaper, Hotel Value Added Primera, linked to the subsidiary that the Sabadell Group used to acquire the building in 2017, is studying the feasibility of refloating the property as a hotel. For that, it has made contact with the local Administration to consider, in the first instance, the possibilities that the plans would have from an urban planning point of view. In theory, the plans involve a hotel project without the healthcare features that the iconic Incosol used to offer.

Although no specific plans have been presented to the Town Hall yet, the Urban Planning department has started to evaluate the investors’ proposals. From the outset, the exclusive hotel use would require a modification of the elements of the General Urban Plan (PGOU) in force, that of 1986. For the time being, the case is being studied technically.

The sources consulted by this newspaper underline that the urban development plan reflects that this land “would not form part of the municipality’s healthcare model”, which would open the door to the proposed change. In any case, and with the aim of understanding the feasibility of the idea presented to the Municipal Administration, the investors are not taking any risks and have resorted to those who best know the urban development plan in force, namely, the team that drafted the PGOU of 1986.

Since the hotel’s closure in 2012, and after many incarnations in the courts, last year, it was the Sabadell Group, through its real estate subsidiary, who took ownership of the property and the brand. Just a few weeks ago, the doors of the old hotel were opened again to clear the facilities of all of the furniture and furnishings that had been left intact since its closure and which have now been donated to Cáritas (…).

The legendary spa of the jet set of the 1970s and 1980s in Marbella (through whose doors passed Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sean Connery, Rainiero of Mónaco and Camilo José Cela, amongst others) closed in 2013, on one of the saddest days in its history, since it opened its doors in 1973. The failure led to a creditors bankruptcy (…). And after much to-ing and fro-ing, in the end, one of its creditors, Sabadell, acquired the establishment a year ago.

If the plans of the investor group interested in recovering the property – which are still in a very early phase – come to fruition, Marbella could include the mythical Incosol in its list of new luxury establishments after the upcoming arrival of the prestigious Four Seasons, the arrival of W Marbella and the re-opening of the former Don Miguel establishment, thus confirming the growing interest in investing in the city, especially to create new tourist infrastructure.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Mónica Pérez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Luksic Family Buys Hotel Adler In Madrid

22 December 2016 – El Confidencial

It is located on one of the most important corners in Spain. The intersection of Calles Velázquez and Goya has been home to the Hotel Adler for decades. It is one of the most ancestral establishments in Madrid, renowned for its restaurant, Nimú Bistró, and for its maximum discretion, a virtue that led it to host some of the most important business people and politicians in the country.

Reigned over by the Vázquez family, one of the most important entrepreneurial dynasties from Castilla y León, the property said goodbye to its last client this week and on Sunday, according to sources in the know, it will finish making all of the staff redundant; the employment contracts are more than a decade old in many cases.

This drastic decision is the result of the sale of the building, in an operation that began to take shape, with the discretion that characterises the Adler, four years ago, and which has been finalised this month, with the closure of the establishment.

In December 2012, the Luksic family, the wealthiest fortune in Chile and one of the most important in the world, acquired the hotel’s presidential suite by purchasing the property that houses it for almost €27 million. Nevertheless, the Vázquez family reserved the right to purchase it for five years and manage the hotel for the same period, which means that, initially, it will only receive a profit of €8.4 million from this operation.

Over the next two years, a special plan was processed to change the use of the property to retail and offices, work that was performed by Ruiz Barbarin Arquitectos (…).

In December 2015, the Vázquez family declined to exercise its call option, two years early, and sold the property for €19 million “by virtue of a contract signed with Topland Investments”, according to a statement in the audit report for the company Iova, through which the family used to control Hotel Adler.

Behind Topland Investments is Sandypoint, one of the many entities that comprises the Luksic’s emporium, whose fortune amounts to $12,100 million (€11,600 million), according to Forbes and whose flagship company is Antofagasta, the copper mining giant, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Although that is the main business, the Luksic family has also been building up its hotel emporium over the last two decades, focusing above all on Croatia, where it has become the largest operator in the country through three companies: Adriatic Luxury Hotels, Plava Laguna and Istraturist.

In Madrid, by contrast, it seems to have other ideas and after obtaining approval for the special plan to change the use of the property, it is expected that the sought-after corner of Goya and Velázquez will become home to a major fashion firm, although the option of turning the building into offices has not been ruled out.

Hotel linked to a family

In 1998, the late Antonio Vázquez Cardeñosa acquired the property at number 31 on Calle Goya, with the idea of converting it into a luxury hotel, with an investment, to cover the purchase price and the renovation, of 2,000 million pesetas at the time (equivalent to €12 million at current prices).

Two decades later, the property has changed hands and use, although the Vázquez family plans to open another establishment in a new location in the capital. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Colau Closes 256 Tourist Apartments In 1 Month

11 August 2016 – Expansión

One month ago, the mayoress of Barcelona, Ada Colau, announced the launch of an emergency plan against unlicensed tourist apartments in operation in the city. Since then, the Town Hall has ordered the closure of 256 flats in total; in 2015, 400 orders were issued during the whole of the year. Nevertheless, for the trade association Apartur, which represents legal suppliers (of tourist accommodation), that figure is insufficient, and so it has called for the municipal government to make more effort.

A month ago, the town hall reinforced the number of agents making on-site inspections or verifying offers advertised on the internet. The sanctioned owners will receive a court order requiring them to cease their activity and they must pay a fine of €30,000. If they reoffend, the amount of the fine will increase.

One of the initiatives that Colau had announced a year ago was that unlicensed homes that joined the program for homes to be used as social housing would not be sanctioned, but for the time being, no property has joined that plan.

The town hall has also continued to process the files that it opened against the platforms Airbnb and Homeaway one year ago for reporting unlicensed flats.

Over the next few weeks, both operators will receive notifications and must pay a fine of €60,000 each. If they reoffend, the sanctions may reach €600,000.

The trade association Apartur celebrated the municipal initiative, but stressed that it is still a long way from eradicating the illegal offer that exists in the city. It also questioned the moratorium underway, which is affecting both the opening of hotels and the granting of new licences for tourist apartments, given that it is making the eradication of this activity more difficult. Its commitment, it said, is to a “responsible”, “sustainable” and civic tourist model.

Web site and letters

The municipal government defended itself against the critics and said that proof that it is giving priority to this issue is the creation of a website that allows neighbours to report illegal tourist apartments. During the course of one month, it has received 375 notifications. It has also started to send 800,000 letters this week, in which it calls on citizens to “collaborate”.

Nevertheless, the discomfort of several neighbourhood organisations against illegal tourist apartments is continuing to grow, and this summer it has extended further beyond the centre to reach neighbourhoods such as Poblenou.

Original story: Expansión (by David Casals)

Translation: Carmel Drake