Tag: Corestate Capital

Corestate Teams up with Medici Living to Invest €200M in Co-Living Homes

17 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Corestate Capital is launching itself in the residential co-living market in conjunction with Medici Living. The Luxembourg-based fund manager has joined forces with the German provider of spaces to invest €200 million in the development of shared residences across Spain, according to explanations provided by sources close to the operation speaking to Eje Prime.

The plans of the two groups in Spain form part of an expansion target at the European level. In fact, over the next three to five years, Corestate and Medici Living are planning to invest €1 billion in the development and purchase of around thirty co-living properties, containing 6,000 rooms in total, located in Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Spain.

Barcelona, Madrid and Sevilla are the cities that the joint venture has chosen for its debut in the Spanish market. In those regions, they forecast investment of between €20 million and €60 million. For the time being, the intention of the companies involves acquiring seven buildings in Spain, with 1,190 rooms in total.

Corestate is responsible for the investment, project development, financing and management of its assets. Meanwhile, Medici Living takes care of the design and operation of the properties, according to reports by the company, which already has a portfolio of 1,800 rooms and a presence in Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

It is the largest operation undertaken to date in the European co-living market. In fact, it is a sector with a great deal of potential on the Old Continent, aimed at people looking for professional environments and collaborative lives, where they can share ideas and experiences. Currently, most of these assets are located in Anglo-Saxon countries and they are expected to become one of the alternatives for affordable living in large cities.

“The arrival of investment to the shared accommodation sector represents a great step forward for the European residential market”, said Gunther Schmidt, CEO at Medici Living, who stresses in a statement that, as a company, they have set themselves the objective of becoming the WeWork of co-living.

Meanwhile, the CEO of Corestate Capital, Michael Bütter, confirmed that “demand for shared residential spaces is increasingly motivated by the desire of young people to work and live in different cities and to do so in a community”. Moreover, according to the executive, “they are low-risk operations that generate great returns”.

In addition, with this agreement, the Luxembourg fund manager is diversifying its commitment in Spain after announcing its investment plan for student halls of residence next year. Corestate is planning to allocate €100 million to the construction of those types of assets and is currently searching for land in Valencia, Sevilla and Bilbao, as revealed by Christopher Hütwohl, the head of the company in the country, speaking to Eje Prime.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Berta Seijo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corestate Buys Old Hall Of Residence In Madrid For €14M

16 November 2016 – Expansión

A new investor has made its debut in the Spanish real estate market. The investor is Corestate Capital Holding, a large investment fund headquartered in Luxembourg, which owns a broad portfolio of assets, mainly located in Germany and Austria. Corteste has combined forces with an investment partner to acquire a former halls of residence, located at number 42 on Calle Juan XXIII, in the Moncloa district, the heart of Madrid’s university area.

Corestate arrived in Spain last year when it teamed up with Inmobiliaria Espacio – part of the Villar Mir group – to launch a jointly owned company called Iberian Corestate Capital Advisors. In September 2015, that company announced that it is going to construct a fifth tower in the Cuatro Torres office complex in Madrid, on Paseo de la Castellana.

The owner of OHL was awarded the plot that runs alongside the four Madrilenian skyscrapers back in April, after the city’s Town Hall decided against building a Conference Centre on the site. The company controlled by Juan Miguel Villar Mir was awarded the concession, which gives it the right to operate on the land for 75 years, after it submitted the highest offer. Specifically, OHL agreed to pay an annual fee of €4 million, outbidding the second-best bid, led by Hispania and Ferrovial, who offered around €2.6 million. The Town Hall had asked candidates to submit bids for an annual fee of at least €1.9 million.

In September last year, Corestate announced that it was going to join the project through the company Iberian Corestate.

It is expected that Iberian Corestate will invest €240 million in the fifth tower project, which will involve the construction of a skyscraper that will house an IE Business School campus and a Quiron group medical centre. Corestate declined to comment on the plans for the Castellana project, but did confirm that it has purchased the Madrilenian hall of residence. According to sources in the sector, Corestate paid around €14 million for the property.

Until now, the asset acquired has housed a Spanish-Mexican secondary school – Santiago Galas de Arce. The building, which has been operating for almost half a century (44 years), will undergo a profound transformation with its new owner, given that Corestate is preparing an ambitious plan to restore the property and renovate the 4,022 m2 space, which will house 260 rooms and 302 beds.

Corestate’s idea is to demolish the existing complex and construct a new building that seeks to be one of the best equipped halls of residence in Madrid. The project will include several services such as a reception and concierge, common areas, such as a restaurant, gym and laundry facilities, as well as recreation areas in the form of patios and terraces.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

‘Quirón Salud’ Considers Opening A Hospital In The Fifth Tower

7 October 2015 – Cinco Días

The Quirón Salud group is currently considering opening a hospital in the so-called fifth tower, the skyscraper that the Villar Mir group is planning to build at the northern end of the Paseo de la Castellana, on land that was previously home to Real Madrid’s former Ciudad Deportiva. This step would enable the company led by Juan Miguel Villar Mir to construct this emblematic building.

The Villar Mir group was awarded the plot of land next to the Cuatro Torres in April. The company is planning to build a new skyscraper on the site and has always hoped that building would house a private health centre. The corporation won this project, through its subsidiary Inmobiliaria Espacio, but does not have any tenants for the property for the time being.

Initially, the sector thought that the US hospital group Mount Sinai was the most likely candidate to occupy the skyscraper, in its first expected foray into Spain, but the numbers did not stack up for the healthcare company – it concluded that the rental charge was too high for a social use building, according to sources close to the operation.

Now, the baton may be passed to Quirón Salud, the main private hospital group in Spain, which was created following the merger of IDC Salud (formerly Capio) and Quirón. According to sources at the company, it is currently evaluating the project. The company has 70 health centres, including the Fundación Jiménez Díaz, and manages several public hospitals in Madrid, as well as a number of prestigious clinics such as La Luz, San José and the Ruber, in the capital and Teknon and Dexeus, amongst others, in Barcelona. However, the company has not yet confirmed what kind of centre or facilities it would consider opening in the tower.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that Villar Mir will receive help from the Swiss fund Corestate Capital to construct the skyscraper. In a statement, the company announced that the project will require investment of €240 million, and although it did not specify how much each partner will invest, it did say that the possible tenants will be “a hospital, university or government body”. In fact, construction of the property is not expected to start until the tenant (client) has been identified so that the building can be tailored accordingly.

Over the last few days, the possibility of opening a business school in the tower has been evaluated. Some market sources insist that it will be hard for Quirón to make the numbers stack up to open a hospital in the skyscraper.

Villar Mir acquired the plot of land in a tender after presenting the highest bid; the company will pay the Town Hall an annual fee of €4 million for 75 years, in other words, €300 million in total. The plot has a surface area of 67,000 m2 and a buildability of 70,000 m2, of which 52,500 m2 must be allocated to social use (for example, a hospital); the remainder will be developed as retail space. That part is precisely what the hundreds of employees who work in the four adjoining towers want the most, given the lack of restaurants and services currently in the area.

Villar Mir also owns one of those skyscrapers, Torre Espacio, which is currently up for sale, with an asking price of around €600 million. The possible bidders include international funds, such as UBS, Aca, Corporación Financiera Alba and Pontegadea.

Original story: Cinco Días (by A. Simón)

Translation: Carmel Drake