Tag: commercial assets

Colonial Concludes that Axiare Holds Non-Strategic Assets Worth €300M

26 February 2018 – El Confidencial

“Axiare has assets susceptible to divestment worth €300 million”. That is according to the President of Inmobiliaria Colonial, Juan José Brugera (pictured below, left), and his CEO, Pere Viñolas (pictured below, right), at the presentation of the company’s results.

“We are least interested in the Socimi’s logistics and retail assets, but that does not mean that we are going to sell off all of those assets or that said divestment is going to be undertaken this year. We have not yet been able to determine whether the assets will be sold in the end or when, due to the fact that we are not yet involved in the ordinary management of the company”, they said.

What assets are we talking about? As at September 2017, Axiare held logistics assets with a net value (GAV) of €192.6 million, spanning more than 466,235 m2. The vast majority are located in Madrid and the rest in Barcelona and other markets. To give us an idea, Axiare’s portfolio at the end of the third quarter of last year comprised 74% offices (50% in prime areas), 18% logistics platforms and 8% commercial assets (…)

Colonial, which registered a record net profit of €683 million in 2017, more than doubling (+149%) the figure obtained in the previous year, boosted by growth in the rental income of its office buildings and the appreciation in value of its assets, also estimates making net future investments of between €300 million and €400 million, in line with those undertaken to date.

In other words, between investments and investments, the net result is going to hover around the €300 million mark. These investments are going to focus on those markets where the firms already have a presence and so they will strongly back Madrid, Barcelona and Paris. Moreover, they are expected to be financed, to a large extent, through the traditional mature asset rotation policy. “We are going to continue investing, and also selling”, said both directors.

The merger will be ready in H2 2018

In this way, the real estate company is going to continue with the organic growth strategy that it has been pursuing since 2015, whilst working on the integration process with Axiare, which it estimates will take between four and five months to complete. As such, Colonial expects to close its merger with the Socimi during the second half of the year, which will materialise through a share exchange to take around 13.1% of the firm that it does not control yet.

“Of the possible alternatives, a merger is the most likely”, although both Bruguera and Viñolas have said that all of the options are currently being evaluated and that there will not be any decision in this regard until the second half of the year. Similarly, they said that they are “in conversations with Axiare to join its Board of Directors”, where they do not have a presence yet even though they increased their stake to 86.86% through the takeover, so as to take part in the Socimi’s management whilst the merger goes ahead (…).

New real estate giant

For the time being, the integration between Colonial and Axiare, which constitutes the first merger between the new generation of Socimis, will give rise to a company with real estate assets worth €11.079 billion, thus surpassing Merlin Properties. Of those assets, €9.282 billion will correspond to office buildings that Colonial owns in the centre of Madrid, Barcelona and Paris, spanning a surface area of 1.36 million m2, and the remaining €1.797 billion will correspond to assets contributed by Axiare, most of which are also offices, according to the year-end valuations completed by both companies.

In addition, the two companies generated a joint net profit of €700 million and turnover from rental income of €355 million in 2017. Nevertheless, Colonial calculates that the combined group’s revenues will increase to €500 million once the projects it currently has under development come onto the market.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar Buys Adadía de Toledo Shopping Arcade for €14M

20 February 2018 – Eje Prime

The Socimi Lar España is continuing to grow its portfolio of assets. Almost a year after taking control of the Parque Abadía shopping centre for €63.1 million, the Socimi has acquired the Abadía shopping arcade for €14 million, as reported by the Group to Spain’s National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV).

The arcade has a surface area 6,138 m2, which, added to the footprint of the shopping complex (37,114 m2), takes the combined surface area of the site to 43,252 m2, in such a way that the Socimi has become the owner of 80% of the total surface area of Parque Abadía.

Overall, the park has a total surface area 54,100 m2 as well as a parking lot with 2,861 spaces. The shopping arcade has an occupancy rate of 92% and is home to 38 retail premises.

“This acquisition fits perfectly with the Socimi’s strategy to increase the ownership percentage of its commercial assets so that the management improvement measures that we are carrying out have the maximum impact”, explains José Luis del Valle, President of Lar España.

Lar currently owns 32 real estate assets whose value amounts to €1.536 billion, of which €1.179 billion corresponds to shopping centres located in Madrid, Toledo, the Balearic Islands, La Rioja, Vigo, Valencia, Sevilla, Alicante, Cantabria, Lugo, León, Vizcaya, Navarra, Guipúzcoa, Palencia, Albacete and Barcelona; €85 million to office buildings; €87 million to logistics assets; and €185 million to promotions under development.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ores Buys Two Assets Spanning 8,000m2 in Madrid

12 February 2018 – Iberian Property

A few days after investing €86 million in the purchase of 6 commercial assets in Portugal, Ores Socimi (owned by Sonae Sierra and Bankinter) has bought two plots in Mejorada del Campo, Madrid, for €6.6 million.

The two assets cover a surface area of 8,000 m2 and are both leased to Mercadona, which operates a supermarket on both plots, according to Eje Prime.

In a statement sent to the MAB, the Socimi explains that “the Company continues to meet the investment objectives set out in its business plan, in accordance with the financial parameters committed to its shareholders”.

The operation was financed exclusively through equity capital.

Original story: Iberian Property (by Ana Tavares)

Edited by: Carmel Drake

Morenés & Pepa Launch a New RE Fund with Warren Buffet

19 January 2018 – El Confidencial

Juan Pepa (pictured above left), the man who brought Lone Star to Spain, and Felipe Morenés, the son of Ana Botín and executive of the Texan fund for five years, are working together again. The two directors have just launched Stoneshield Capital, a firm that plans to invest €300 million in the Spanish real estate sector.

According to sources in the know, the two partners already have €200 million of capital, money that proceeds from: their own assets, some of Lone Star’s institutional investors and the famous financier Warren Buffet, who has decided to back them in this venture, although the parties involved did not want to confirm that information.

Unlike in the case of Lone Star, which has an opportunistic profile, Morenés and Pepa now want to focus on more conservative operations, which will limit the level of indebtedness of the new fund to around 50%, meaning that its investor capacity will reach the aforementioned €300 million.

The plans of these two partners are already very well advanced, with several operations on the table under analysis, and with the aim of investing all of that money in just a year, in other words, during the course of 2018, to take advantage of the current cycle.

Although the bulk of Stoneshield’s operations will be carried out in the residential segment, the firm is also interested in acquiring hotels, offices and commercial assets, according to the same sources.

Agreed departure

In November, in an email sent only to his circle of trust, Pepa announced that he was leaving Lone Star and that he would be taking a two-month sabbatical in his home country, Argentina, although in that email he also hinted that after Christmas he would be back in the news in Spain.

Letting that time pass was one of the commitments that Pepa agreed with Lone Star. That firm was already pursuing its exit strategy when, last summer, Santander put Popular’s €30 billion real estate asset portfolio on the market.

The Texan fund, led by Pepa and Morenés, fought to the end to acquire those assets, which would have resulted in Lone Star’s continuation in Spain. But Blackstone’s triumph meant that the fund decided to continue with its policy to close the cycle and so Pepa and Morenés opted to put their own plans into play.

Then, according to the sources, the two parties agreed to wait for Lone Star to complete its divestment from Neinor before moving actively in the Spanish market. The US fund sold its final 12.5% stake in the real estate company last week.

Morenés, meanwhile, has also left Lone Star, according to Vozpópuli, and the two partners are now working to create a team of around 10 people with whom they plan to operate with the same speed and element of surprise that characterised Lone Star when it first arrived in Spain.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cajamar Sells 2 Problem Loan Portfolios

23 December 2017 – La Voz de Almería

Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar is continuing with the gradual reduction of its non-performing asset balance thanks to its strong performance in terms of the commercial management of its foreclosed assets and a reduction in its default rate.

In recent weeks, the entity has completed the sale of two portfolios, one containing foreclosed assets and the other containing non-performing loans, bringing the volume of problem assets sold so far this year to €791 million.

In this way, with the ordinary management of recoveries, boosted by the sale of these portfolios, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar expects to close 2017 with a non-performing loan balance of less than €3.4 billion and a default rate of less than 11%.

Asset sales

Based on data as at 15 December, the rural Almería savings bank has sold more than 4,100 real estate assets for more than €600 million in terms of their gross book value, which represents an increase in sales of 55%.

Meanwhile, its non-performing loan balance, which amounted to €4.211 billion at the end of last year, had decreased to €3.964 billion as at September.

Interest in the market

The operations that have accumulated the largest volumes have been the sale of the Escullos portfolio, containing 1,456 loans worth around €176 million, sold to CarVal Investors and the combined organisation of Lindorff and Intrum Justitia; and the Tango portfolio, comprising around 400 assets, worth more than €57 million, which was sold to the US fund Waterfall.

Both operations were carried out through competitive processes and sparked a great deal of interest in the market. They received financial advice from Alantra.

The first portfolio of non-performing loans to companies and SMEs, most of which were secured, was mainly concentrated in the Community of Valencia (48.9%) and Andalucía (25.8%), although it also contained assets in Murcia, the Canary Islands, Cataluña, Castilla (La Mancha) and Madrid. The second comprised residential properties, although it also contained commercial and industrial assets, most of which were located in Andalucía, Murcia and Valencia.

Cajamar will close a positive year in terms of divestment, with a YoY variation in terms of the number of assets sold of more than 62%. The final numbers will also reflect the results of the current promotional campaign “Now or never”, with a selection of 4,500 properties with discounts of up to 40% (…)

Original story: La Voz de Almería

Translation: Carmel Drake

Laborde Marcet: Tertiary RE Inv’t Leaps By 48% To €9,600M

13 November 2017 – Expansión

Between January and September, tertiary real estate investment amounted to €9,600 million, of which 33% corresponded to commercial properties.

Non-residential real estate investment grew by 47.7% YoY during the period, according to data from the real estate consultancy Laborde Marcet. This increase was observed across all types of assets, with growth of 36% in the case of commercial properties, which accounted for 35% of the total volume. The purchase of offices amounted to €2,688 million during the 9 months to September, up by 65.4%, whilst investment in hotels rose by 75.8% to reach €2,400 million and investment in logistics increased by 10.8% to €1,152 million.

In the specific case of the third quarter, real estate companies and investors spent €3,370 million on non-residential real estate operations, 24.4% more than in the second quarter (€2,710 million), although 4.2% less than in the first quarter, when investment exceeded €3,500 million.

If the strong performance of the first three quarters continues and as we wait to see the final impact of the sovereign challenge in Cataluña, the experts at Laborde predict that the investment volume for the full year will amount to €12,800 million, up by 15% compared to 2016.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Catella: RE Inv’t Rose By 60% During First 8 Months To €7,061M

25 September 2017 – Expansión

The Spanish real estate market is still a magnet for investment at the global level. In this way, during the 8 months to August, investment in tertiary real estate assets (in other words, non-residential properties) rose to €7,061 million. That volume is 62% higher than the figure registered during the same period in 2016, according to data from the consultancy firm Catella (…).

By type of properties, commercial assets accounted for 45% of the total investment, with a volume of more than €3,200 million, up by 52% compared to the first eight months of 2016. In fact, that figure already exceeds the amount recorded for last year as a whole and is very close to the record investment made in 2007, when commercial assets worth more than €3,590 million were sold, according to sources at the consultancy firm.

Of that amount, investment in shopping centres accounted for 60% of total retail investment, amounting to €1,929 million. The figure is explained by the completion of major operations, such as the purchase of Xanadú, in Arroyomolinos (Madrid), on which Intu Properties spent €530 million; and the operation involving Nueva Condomina, in Murcia, which Klépierre purchased for €233 million.

Interest

Large assets were not the only retail assets to spark interest: high-street premises were also on investors’ radars. As such, €711 million was spent on that type of property between January and August, with highlights including operations such as the purchase of Preciados 9, the future flagship Pull & Bear store in the centre of Madrid, by Generali for €98 million. Meanwhile, investors spent another €516 million on retail parks and supermarkets, with the operation involving a portfolio of nine retail parks leading the way – the South African investor Vukile spent €193 million on that purchase.

In the case of offices, investment increased by 46% to reach €1,512 million. “The Boston portfolio – comprising 14 office buildings located in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia – owned by BBVA and acquired by Oaktree for €180 million has been the most important transaction so far this year. In Madrid, the most significant transaction saw the acquisition of the Manoteras business park by Tristan Capital (€103 million), whilst, in Barcelona, the most high-profile deal has been the purchase of Torre Agbar by Merlin Properties (€142 million”, say sources at Catella.

During the first 8 months of 2017, hotel purchases rose by 25% to reach €1,760 million, thanks to operations such as the one involving Edificio España, for €272 million, as well as the purchase starring the international fund London & Regional (which acquired four hotels located on the coast and islands for €240 million), as well as others involving Starwood and KKR.

Moreover, the logistics sector has not been left behind in terms of the increase in investment. Between January and August, that segment saw investment grow by 31% to reach €575 million. (…). In this area, the most significant operation has been the sale of GreenOak’s portfolio to P3 Logistics Park for €243 million.

Whilst retail assets were the star product by type of property, international funds continued to be the undisputed stars in terms of buyer profile.

Between January and August, funds accounted for 42% of the total volume invested; whilst real estate companies represented 28% of the total (…). Meanwhile, the Socimis, who were the most active investors in 2014 and 2015, have seen their share of the cake decrease to 11% so far this year.

“On the other hand, core investors have returned to the market, with the acquisition of prime properties located in Madrid and Barcelona. Insurance companies, family offices and other institutional investors have purchased assets such as offices and retail premises in Madrid, with yields of around 3%”, said Carlos López, Partner at Catella.

Year-end

“…We expect 2017 to be a record-breaking year, with an investment volume of around €10,000 million, compared to the figures of more than €8,500 million in tertiary investment in 2016”, says López (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

French Fund Heraclès Arrives In Spain & Acquires La Vega Shopping Centre

26 July 2017 – Eje Prime

A new fund is entering the Spanish market to achieve its objectives. Heraclès Investissement is joining the likes of Cogress, Blackstone, Shaftesbury and Thor Equities and is launching a subsidiary in the Spanish market, according to sources at the company. The acquisition of assets in Spain will help with the group’s international expansion plans, which include constructing a portfolio of assets worth €1,000 million by the end of next year.

Heraclès Investissement has opened its office at number 63 on Calle Velázquez, from where it will plot its adventures in the Spanish market. To this end, the fund has hired David Acea Lorenzo, former executive of companies such as Isolux and Tele2 Comunitel, as the Director General of the group in the country, which began its operations in the market in June.

The group, which focuses its activity on the development, investment and management of real estate assets, has created a corporate web in Spain to articulate its acquisitions. Heraclès Investissement has constituted Heracles Desarrollo, for the purpose of carrying out real estate developments, Heracles Gestión to administer real estate properties and Heracles Real Estate, through which it will articulate its purchases in the country.

In addition to these companies to manage and acquire its assets, Heraclès Investissement has also constituted a subsidiary with its first acquisition. The company has acquired the La Vega shopping centre, located in Madrid, which has a retail surface area of 9,000 m2 and an Alcampo supermarket measuring 18,000 m2. The group did not want to make public the price of that operation.

According to the group’s most recent results, Heraclès Investissement closed last year with an asset portfolio worth €353 million and its aim for this year is to almost double the value of its stock of assets to €700 million. Nevertheless, its more ambitious objective is to expand its portfolio to include assets worth €1,000 million by the end of next year.

The group owns commercial assets, offices and residential properties. Until now, Heraclès Investissement, which was founded in 2003, has invested €57 million in the acquisition of around fifteen commercial properties, which have a combined surface area of 15,569 m2 and which generate annual rental income of €5.2 million.

Heraclès Investissement’s block of residential properties comprises seven assets, most of which are located in France, and for which the group paid €60 million. Meanwhile, the group owns seven offices, according to the latest available data, and offices represent the segment in which the group has invested the most to date (€72 million) (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Puts 209 Assets Up For Sale, Including 37 Hotels

21 July 2017 – Cinco Días

Sareb has launched a campaign to sell a portfolio of 209 properties. The portfolio includes commercial premises, warehouses, offices and 37 hotels, located primarily in the interior of Spain.

The entity has already taken advantage of the increasing interest in the hotel sector to sell Hotel Parque Central de Valencia this week to the Hoteles Playa Senator chain. The four-star complex, located in the capital of Valencia, has 192 rooms and 128 parking spaces.

The entity has launched the so-called “Your business project…starts here” campaign and has also created a website www.sarebterciarios.com, with information about the 209 assets up for sale. The properties are located across 15 autonomous regions, although the majority can be found in Madrid and Castilla y León.

Most of the hotels are actually located in the latter region. The cheapest is located in Mombeltrán, a small town in Ávila; the so-called Real Posada estate is on the market for €528,000. At the other end of the spectrum, the tourist complex with the highest price is located in Las Palmas, comprising 103 apartments; its asking price exceeds €6 million.

The most expensive asset up for sale as part of this campaign is located in the north of Madrid: an office building worth €18.9 million. In the same autonomous region, the bad bank is also selling the cheapest office of the 33 on offer: a unit close to the Plenilunio shopping centre, which has an appraisal value of €80,000.

In terms of the 97 commercial assets, Madrid is also the autonomous region that is home to the most, with 14. Noteworthy properties include the former Cines Cristal on Calle Bravo Murillo, which is being sold for €6.7 million. Behind the capital in this ranking comes Cataluña with 13 assets and Valencia and Andalucía with 12 properties each. The most affordable commercial space is located in Las Palmas; that property is worth €160,000.

Of the 42 industrial warehouses up for sale, half are located along the Mediterranean Coast, 12 are in Cataluña and 9 are in the Comunidad Valencia. The most expensive warehouse is located in Polinya, Barcelona, and its asking price is €7.6 million. By contrast, the cheapest is being sold for €11,003 and is located in Betera, Valencia.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Fernando Cardona)

Translation: Carmel Drake

South African Fund Vukile Acquires 9 Retail Assets For €198M

4 July 2017 – Expansión

A new institutional investor has arrived in Spain. And it comes from an unusual place for large investors in the Spanish real estate market: South Africa.

The South African real estate investment fund (REIT) Vukile Properties has completed its first operation in Spain by purchasing nine commercial assets located all over the country. The South African firm has disbursed €198 million for the properties, which have a combined surface area of 117,700 m2.

Of that amount, €193 million will be paid to the owner until now, the company Redevco Iberian Ventures, a joint venture created in 2015 by the groups Ares and Redevco to invest in the Iberian Peninsula.

Vukile has completed its purchase through the Spanish company Castellana Properties. This company, previously known as Vinemont Investments, changed its corporate structure last summer, to become a Socimi, after completing a capital increase of €12.6 million.

The first properties acquired by this Socimi form part of the portfolio that the Dutch company Redevco has been creating in the Iberian Peninsula over the last few years. The assets include five stores in the Parque Principado de Asturias complex and Parque Oeste, in Alcorcón (Madrid), spanning a surface area of 13,600 m2. The largest property is the Kinepolis complex, in Pulianas (Granada), measuring 25,900 m2 distributed over six stores.

97% of these retail spaces are leased to operators such as Mercadona, Día, Media Markt and fashion labels such as C&A and Kiabi.

For its first operation in Spain (and Europe), the South African REIT, which is listed on the Johannesburg and Namibia stock exchanges, has joined forces with the brothers Lee and Chad Morze, who it defines as “well-known and successful businessman living in Spain”. According to the commercial registry, Chad Morze is the administrator of Diversified Real Estate Asset Management, a company whose primary activity is the provision of tax, audit and accounting advice. Created at the end of 2015, the company has not filed any annual accounts yet. Lee Morze is also registered as an administrator of the same company.

Of the total amount disbursed (€198 million), Vukile has announced that it will contribute own funds amounting to €103 million, whilst the other almost €95 million will be obtained through a bank loan to Castellana Properties from the entities Santander, CaixaBank and Bankia, amongst others.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake