Tag: Corpfin

Corpfin Changes its Plans for Edificio España and Considers Leasing an Entire Floor as Offices

The Socimi Inbest Prime, owner of the commercial space on the lower floors of the emblematic Madrid building, is considering reducing the commercial area to ensure its rental income.

It was the great retail operation in the centre of Madrid. Inbest Prime II, the commercial asset Socimi created by the Spanish manager Corpfin Capital, reached an agreement with the hotel chain RIU at the beginning of last year to buy the commercial space in ​​one of the most emblematic projects that was being developed at the time in the capital: Edificio España.

The famous skyscraper located in Plaza de España had been in disuse for more than a decade until the Chinese group Dalian Wanda decided to buy it in 2017 from its then-owner, Banco Santander, with the aim of recovering its former use as a hotel. However, the problems associated with its refurbishment, including the refusal of Madrid City Council to allow the dismantling of its protected façade, led Wanda to withdraw from the project. The Mallorcan hotel group RIU took it on and months later, in January 2019, reached an agreement with Inbest Prime II, the Socimi created by Corpfin Capital, to sell the lower floors of the building so that they could be convert into one of the best shopping areas in the capital, at one end of Madrid’s greatest commercial thoroughfare, Gran Vía.

Former Corpfin Director Launches New €30M Real Estate Fund

15 January 2020 – Expansión

Two former rivals, Juan Olivié and Javier Fernández, have joined forces to create a new fund with a clear focus: the purchase of medium-sized plots of land or commercial premises, measuring between 2,000 m2 and 4,000 m2, to convert into single-operator commercial spaces for the restaurant, supermarket or DIY sectors.

Olivié (pictured above, right), Investment Director at Corpfin until now, and Fernández (pictured above, left), a director of the Germany group Ten Brinke, have created Omo Retail, a manager that seeks real estate investments with returns of between 14% and 16%.

They launched their first fund, Omo Retail Invest, in March 2019, with a €30 million investment budget, and have already closed three operations amounting to €7.5 million in total, all located in Madrid.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Capital Prime Retail II and Corpfin Capital Retail III Post Strong Gains

30 October 2019 – Corpfin Capital Prime Retail II and Corpfin Capital Retail III both posted strong performances in the first semester of 2019. The former took in receipts of €4.5 million, ten times the amount one year before. Corpfin Capital Retail III had profits of three million euros, once again, ten times more than in 2018.

Original Story: Eje Prime

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

JLL: Prime Retail Rents Grew During Q1 2019

23 April 2019 – Eje Prime

The rental prices of prime premises are growing in Spain. In 2018, the rental prices of retail parks rose by 5.4%, whilst high street rents increased by 5% and shopping centre rents by 2.6%.

According to a study by JLL, the growth in the rents of prime premises in Spain is forecast to be amongst the highest in Europe over the next five years, albeit more moderate than in previous years.

Investment in retail assets amounted to €208 million during Q1 2019, with Corpfin’s acquisition of the retail space in Edificio España (Madrid) accounting for the lion’s share (€160 million). Yields remained stable during the quarter.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

CorpFin Completes €10M Capital Increase for Inbest

8 April 2019 – Eje Prime

The Spanish fund manager CorpFin has completed a capital increase amounting to more than €10 million in Inbest Prime III Inmuebles and Inbest Prime I Inmuebles, two of its four vehicles specialising in retail.

Specifically, Inbest Prime III Inmuebles increased its capital by €2.33 million, taking the total subscribed amount to €12 million. Meanwhile, Inbest Prime I Inmuebles increased its capital by €8.22 million, resulting in a total subscribed amount of €25 million.

This latest injection of funding follows more than ten capital increases that the firm led by Ana Granado has carried out in recent months.

Corpfin launched Inbest Real Estate in April 2018 with the aim of investing in high street buildings and converting them into flagship stores. Inbest channels its investments through four vehicles, Inbest Prime I, II, III and IV, which will debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) in September 2019.

The funds’ largest operation to date was its purchase of the retail premises in Edificio España last year, on which it spent €160 million.

Original story: Eje Prime (by I. P. G.)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Sells 5 Commercial Premises in San Sebastián & Valencia for €32.2M

18 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Corpfin is continuing with its divestments. The real estate group has sold four assets in San Sebastián, and a fifth in the centre of Valencia for a total amount of €32.2 million, according to a statement filed by the company with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

In the capital of Gipuzkoa, the company has divested the ground floor premises at numbers 9 and 11 Calle Guetaria, located next to the store that it sold two weeks ago for €7 million, as well as the two assets that comprise the ground floor premises at number 13 Calle San Marcial.

The sold portfolio, which has been transferred through the listed Socimis Corpfin Capital Prime Retail II and III, which held 40% and 60% of the shares, also includes the commercial premise located at number 19 Plaza de la Reina in Valencia. This divestment is the third that the vehicle has undertaken in recent months, following the sale of Gran Vía 55 in Madrid in September.

Moreover, and through Inbest, Corpfin Real Estate has disbursed €250 million during the last quarter, investing in two major operations in Madrid and Valencia. The first was the agreement reached with Riu to acquire the commercial space in Edificio España for €160 million. That deal was followed by the purchase from El Corte Inglés of a building in the centre of Valencia for €90 million.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Sells a Commercial Premise in San Sebastián for €7M

30 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Corpfin is divesting in the north. The Spanish Socimi has sold a commercial premise in the centre of San Sebastián for €7 million. The purchaser of the asset, which is located at number 7 Calle Getaria, is unknown, according to a statement filed with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

Calle Getaria is, together with Calle Hernani y Arrasate, one of the most sought-after streets for the retail market in the Guipuzkoan capital. The asset used to be the headquarters of Kutxa, the savings bank of Guipuzkoa, until 2014 and is now home to a Pull& Bear store, a brand from the Inditex group. This divestment in Euskadi is the second undertaken by the vehicle in recent months, following the sale of Gran Vía 55 in Madrid in September.

In addition, and through Inbest, Corpfin Real Estate has disbursed €250 million in two large operations in Madrid and Valencia during the last quarter. The first was the agreement reached with Riu to acquire the commercial area in Edificio España for €160 million. And that was followed by the purchase from El Corte Inglés of a building in the centre of Valencia for €90 million.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Agrees Sale Option for Gran Vía 55 in 2021

14 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Corpfin has placed one of its assets in Madrid. The real estate manager has agreed the sale in 2021 of a retail property located at number 55 Gran Vía, in Madrid. The company has signed a purchase option agreement, which the buyer of the property is expected to execute in 2021.

According to a statement filed by the company with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB), the agreement includes a payment by the buyer, whose identity has not been revealed, amounting to €2.64 million as an option premium.

The asset currently belongs to Corpfin Capital Prime Retail Assets II, which is owned by Corpfin Capital Prime Retail III Socimi (40%) and Corpfin Capital Prime Retail II Socimi (60%).

In July, the real estate manager sold thirteen retail premises to Swiss Life for €83 million, and in July, it purchased a centre operated by Makro in Madrid for €8 million. In April, Corpfin created a Socimi with €400 million to invest in high street premises.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

RIU Sells the Commercial Space in Edificio España to Corpfin

4 September 2018 – Ali Market

The Riu Hotels & Resorts group has closed the sale to the investment firm Corpfin of the commercial space in Edificio España. The space is split over three floors (of a total of 27 in the property) and spans a total surface area of 15,000 sqm. This operation has caused the businessman Trinitario Casanova (Baraka), who intervened in the sale of the property by the former owner, the Chinese Wanda group, to the current Mallorcan owner, to file a lawsuit in the courts against Riu for breach of contract, on the basis that he understood that he had the right to recognise that commercial space in his name. Sources at Corpfin declined to deny or confirm the purchase, whilst sources at Riu confirmed that a sale has taken place (without specifying the buyer) and that the contract with Casanova has been cancelled.

Specifically, sources at Riu explain that “the current owner [of Edificio España] is the Riu group, which is undertaking the necessary work, in accordance with current legislation, to convert Edificio España into a reference hotel in Madrid from 2019 onwards, in addition to maintaining the identity of an architectural example that is of great value to the Spanish capital. In this sense, “Mr Casanova says that he purchased the building and sold it hours later, something that is false. Mr Casanova played an intermediary role between the Riu group and Wanda. Subsequently, a contract was signed whereby Mr Casanova exercised an intermediary role to sell the commercial space in Edificio España, owned by the Riu group, in exchange for a commission on the sales value. Mr Casanova breached the contract, given that he did not look for any buyers and merely submitted an offer to Riu in his own name. That offer was assessed by the Riu Group’s Board of Directors, which considered it insufficient and rejected it. “Given that Mr Casanova was not fulfilling the obligations established in the contract signed between the two parties, Riu received a higher offer for the commercial space in Edificio España and decided to accept it, as well as to cancel the contract with Mr Casanova after more than a year of inactivity by him”.

In all other regards, the Riu group, “as the legal owner of Edificio España” is undertaking the necessary remodelling and maintenance work to strengthen the structure and ensure that the front and side façades of the building are preserved “in order to protect the work of the Otamendi brothers, as established by the Law for the Protection of Historical Buildings”. This work requires a series of modifications and reinforcements to the structure of the building to ensure the preservation of the building and façade in perfect condition. “This work is being carried out in continuous dialogue with the municipal experts. None of the reviews by the municipal architects has led to the issuance of an unfavourable report regarding the execution that is being carried out by the Riu group, which always follow the instructions of the Town Hall’s architects”.

Original story: Ali Market (by Paco Mota)

Translation: Carmel Drake

ECI Sells 2 Assets in Madrid & Bilbao to Corpfin for €100M

3 August 2018 – Eje Prime

El Corte Inglés is continuing to divest property. The department store group, the largest in its sector in Europe, has closed the sale of two more properties, on prime streets in Madrid and Bilbao, to Corpfin Capital. The sale & leaseback operation has been closed with a gain of 40% with respect to the market value of the properties, at around €100 million.

Specifically, the group has divested its property at number 41 Calle Princesa in Madrid, which spans 11,400 m2 and whose market value is estimated to be around €18 million.

The company has also sold the building located at number 20 Gran Vía in Bilbao to the Spanish fund. That store has a surface area of 5,500 m2 and a market value of around €38 million.

Both properties have been on the market for two years, although the operation was closed off market. El Corte Inglés has signed a long-term lease contract with the new owner that, according to sources familiar with the operation, will charge rents that are 20% higher than the market average on both streets.

The Madrid-based group, chaired since June by Jesús Nuño de la Rosa, has framed this operation within its asset divestment plan to reduce the debt that has been weighing it down for several years. The company owns 92 centres in Spain.

El Corte Inglés has received offers for the purchase of some of its most profitable establishments, including those in Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella. One of those is Torre Titania, formerly the Windsor Building, in Madrid. At the other end of the spectrum, the department store giant owns several stores opened during the first few years of the crisis: almost 24 points of sale, most of which generate significant losses.

One of its most recent operations was closed in October, when the company sold a building in Sevilla to Stoneweg for €10 million, as reported by Eje Prime. The objective of the new owner is to convert that property into a hotel.

Original story: Eje Prime (by P. Riaño & I. P. Gestal)

Translation: Carmel Drake