Tag: Cortefiel

Deutsche Bank’s Socimi To Buy Alcalá Magna Shopping Centre

23 January 2017 – Cinco Días

The Socimi Trajano, managed by Deutsche Bank, is finalising what will be its largest purchase since its creation in 2015. It is planning to acquire the Alcalá Magna shopping centre (Alcalá de Henares, Madrid) for €100 million.

Deutsche Bank is investing in Spain again and in a shopping centre once more. Whilst last year, it broke records through its vehicle Deutsche Asset Management’s purchase of  Diagonal Mar in Barcelona for €493 million, now it is planning to close its Spanish Socimi Trajano’s largest operation to date, by acquiring Alcalá Magna for around €100 million.

This shopping centre in Alcalá de Henares is currently owned by the Spanish fund Incus Capital, whose shareholders include Estanislao Carvajal, Álvaro Rivera and Alejandro Moya. The investment vehicle has assets amounting to €600 million in its portfolio and it spent €200 million on a dozen operations in 2016. In turn, Incus acquired Alcalá Magna from CBRE Global Investors two years ago.

Alcalá Magna was inaugurated in 2007, has a gross leasable area of 34,165m2 and employs around 500 people. It has 1,265 parking spaces and 94 stores, including H&M, Zara, C&A, Sfera, Cortefiel and a Mercadona supermarket. Moreover, almost 25% of its space is used for leisure and restaurant purposes.

For Trajano, the Socimi managed by Deutsche Bank, this will be its largest acquisition. Last October, the company successfully completed a €47 million capital increase “to be able to undertake additional investments amounting to between €95 million and €100 million”, according to reports by the company in a statement.

The company’s investment strategy focuses on: offices located in peripheral areas of Madrid and Barcelona and in prime areas of other cities; shopping centres that are in leadership positions and that generate recurrent cash flow; as well as logistics parks, primarily in Madrid, Barcelona, País Vasco and Valencia.

Trajano already manages €181 million in four assets, with a total managed surface area of 117,000 m2. It closed its last transaction at the end of last year, with the purchase of four logistics warehouses in Zaragoza for €42.9 million.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz and Pablo Martín Simón)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Paralysis In Trading Amongst The MAB’s Socimis

17 January 2017 – Idealista

The Alternative Investment Market (MAB) has become the catapult for many small Socimis – the real estate investment vehicles that are obliged to debut on the stock market to maintain the tax benefits that they enjoy.

Currently, this platform is home to 28 such companies, of which 17 debuted during 2016, however, not all of them are attracting the attention of investors. What’s more, one in five is trading today at the same price per share at which they debuted and some of them haven’t registered any movements in their share prices at all, which means that they are not being traded.

Examples include some of the most recent companies to debut. One of them is Inmofam 99, a Socimi that has 10 commercial and residential assets in its portfolio, which is owned by the Hinojosa family, the founder of the Cortefiel textile group. It debuted on the MAB on 21 December 2016 at a price of €17.60 per share and it is still trading at that price almost one month later, according to data from BME, the company that manages the Spanish stock market.

The same is happening with RREF II Al Breck, which debuted on the MAB on 30 November 2016, at a price of €5.40 per share, the same price at which it is currently trading. This Socimi, controlled by a company headquartered in Luxembourg, is the owner of almost 700 assets, mainly homes located in Madrid, although it also owns retail premises, one office and several storerooms, garages and basements.

Another Socimi that finds itself in the same situation is Euro Cervantes, a company that holds two investment stakes in its portfolio: one 30% stake in GMP, the owner of homes, offices and land, and one 49% stake in La Maquinista shopping centre, the largest in Barcelona. This vehicle is owned by the Government of Singapore and has been trading at €31 per share since 22 September 2016.

Corona Patrimonial and Heref Habaneras are also experiencing very similar situations. (…).

These five Socimis together have a combined market value of €353.8 million, a figure that increases to more than €900 million in we include Zambal Spain, which has also been having a tough time. This vehicle, which owns several offices and retail premises, whose tenants are giant businesses operating in Spain, has been trading for almost 14 months (it debuted on the MAB on 1 December 2015…). It is currently trading at €1.24 per share, the same level at which it debuted, although its shares have been traded significantly. During its first month on the market, the company moved 10,000 shares and €13,000, whilst during 2016 as a whole, it moved half a million in both shares and cash. (…).

Trading plummets during first fortnight of 2017

A certain degree of apathy is being observed amongst the Socimis on the MAB in these early stages of the year. Some other vehicles should be added to the list above, including Corpfin Capital Prime Retail, Fidere Patrimonio, GMP Property, Hadley Investments, Inversiones Doalca and Mercal Inmuebles. In fact, of the 28 Socimis trading on this platform, only five have been traded, to a greater or lesser extent, during the first fortnight of January.

The most liquid of all of them is Entrecampos Cuatro, the first Socimi to debut on the stock market (back in November 2013) and whose portfolio mainly contains homes, premises, offices and land. In two weeks, this vehicle has seen 188,000 shares traded for €350,000.

The second most liquid has been Trajano Iberia…with 9,000 shares traded for €91,000. It is followed by the office specialist Autonomy Spain Real Estate (3,000 shares traded for €51,000); Vbare Iberian Properties (2,000 shares traded for €32,000); and Optimum RE (€3,000 traded). The latter two hold homes in their portfolios.

As such, and despite the fact that investors do not normally back Socimis on the MAB (because they are smaller entities with less liquidity…), it is true that we have found some companies that have managed to increase their value by double digits since they debuted on the platform, such as Entrecampos and Optimum, which are amongst the few that have seen movement in their shares during the first two weeks of the year.

Original story: Idealista (by Ana. P. Alarcos)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cortefiel’s Founder Lists Its Socimi Inmofam 99 On The MAB

21 December 2016 – Expansión

The Hinojosa family has listed its real estate Socimi Inmofam 99 on the stock market. The company primarily owns retail premises worth around €48 million.

Another Socimi will debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) today (21 December) – Inmofan 99 will be the twenty-sixth Socimi to join the market and will do so with a portfolio worth €48.05 million.

Although the name of the company may not be well known, one of the most representative families in the Spanish fashion world is behind this Socimi: the Hinojosa family. The founders of the Cortefiel group, which owns the brand of the same name, as well as Springfield, Women’s Secret, Pedro del Hierro and Fifty Factory, have decided to convert their real estate company into a Socimi and whereby benefit from the tax advantages afforded by this type of investment vehicle.

Founded as a limited company in June 1999, Inmofam has focused its activity on managing the real estate assets of the Hinojosa family. In September 2015, the company converted itself into a Socimi and 14 months later it is debuting on the stock market with a market capitalisation of €38.83 million.

Diversified portfolio

Inmofam 99’s portfolio comprises a batch of stores that the Hinojosa family held onto after selling the Cortefiel textile group to the funds CVC, PAI and Permira in 2005. The nine assets are leased to the textile group that they founded: six of them are Cortefiel stores, two are Springfield stores and one is a Women’s Secret shop. The stores are located in Madrid, La Coruña, Oviedo, Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, Málaga, Valencia, Zaragoza and two in Valladolid.

In December 2004, the company bought its real estate jewel, a 2,620 m2 store located on Calle Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, which is one of the most iconic stores of the Cortefiel brand in Madrid.

The Hinojosa and García-Quirós families (which have been related for years) receive rental income of more than €883,000 for this store. Nevertheless, Cortefield has notified the Socimi of its decision to terminate the rental contract from 31 December, which has led Inmofam to update its value for this property to €11.75 million.

The other eight retail premises are worth between €2 million and €7.1 million. The former relates to a store on Calle Zorrila in Valladolid, which Cortefiel will also vacate at the end of the year, which has been taken into account in its valuation. Moreover, it owns several floors, for residential and office use, in Oviedo.

In 2005, the Hinojosa and García Quirós families sold the Cortefield textile group to the funds CVC, Permira and PAI for €1,440 million. Currently, Joaquín García-Quirós Rodríguez chairs Inmofam and Juan Hinojosa Vacas, Almudena Hinojosa Bermejo, Gonzalo Hinojosa Fernández-Angulo and Dario Hinojosa García-Puente complete the Socimi’s Board of Directors.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

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

Spain’s Largest Outlet Centre Will Open In March 2017

19 September 2016 – El Economista

Sambil Outlet, the largest outlet and leisure centre in Spain, located in Leganés (Madrid), will open its doors at the end of March next year, after an investment of €55 million and more than four years of work to prepare it for occupancy.

The new facilities, which will include the largest wind tunnel in Europe and will have a gross leasable surface area of 42,000 sqm, will open on the site of the ill-fated “M-40” shopping centre, which had remained closed for years before it was acquired by the Venezuelan group Sambil at the end of 2012.

“Fortunately, the project is going well despite the economic fluctuations in Spain. When we first got involved, the crisis was still very much alive”, explained the Director of Sambil España, Arnold Moreno, in an interview. He also said that the objective is to open the centre with an occupancy rate of at least 80%.

Sambil Outlet, which will provide direct employment for around 1,000 people, will generate another 1,500 indirect jobs and will house brands such as Inditex (with a shoe store), Mango, Fifty Factory (Cortefiel), Xti and Mustang. It is the Venezuelan group’s first project in Spain, but it will not be its last.

“It is our first foray into Spain. Financially, it would not be feasible for us to have just one centre in the country, given that our headquarters are located more than 7,000 km away”, said Moreno, who also indicated that his company is considering several alternatives in this regard.

Logically, in terms of possible locations for a new Sambil outlet, “we are looking at other major cities”, such as Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Bilbao, but given that we are a family company and not an investment fund, we are being “very cautious”.

“We are convinced that, following the crisis, the Spanish population is demanding an excellent price/quality relationship, it wants smart purchases. There has been a change in this respect, people are taking more care with their spending”, said Moreno, who, by way of example, explained that in the last year just two new shopping centres have been opened compared with 150 outlets (where surplus high-end branded products are sold at low prices).

As for the extent to which the economic situation in Venezuela may affect the firm’s expansion in Spain, Moreno explained that, although it may weigh down on future operations, we have “been experiencing shortages for seventeen years, this situation is nothing new for us”.

“Our local businesses are still functioning but a very low efficiency because the country has a lot of economic, political and social problems”, he lamented. The Sambil group specialises in the construction of office buildings, homes, hotels and shopping centres.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

GMP Socimi Finalises Its Debut On The Stock Exchange

17 May 2016 – El Confidencial

One of Spain’s largest real estate groups is about to list on the stock exchange. GMP Socimi, the company jointly owned by the Montoro family (70%) and the Government of Singapore (30%), now has all the pieces in place for its stock market debut.

To this end, the company has engaged the entity Renta 4 as registered advisor and has commissioned CBRE to value its assets, according to sources familiar with the company.

The debut on the stock market is a mandatory requirement for GMP, which was constituted as a Socimi in October 2014. The rules for this type of company grants a maximum period of two years to become a listed company. In fact, this rule has been behind all of the recent debuts of such companies on the MAB.

In parallel with its stock market listing, the real estate company has been negotiating with its creditor entities to secure the refinancing of its financial commitments, which exceed €750 million, according to its accounts for 2014, the most recent year for which figures are available, and the majority of its debt is due to mature in 2017.

Although the gross value of the company’s assets amount to €1,300 million, the company was valued at just over €600 million two years ago, when the Singapore sovereign fund, GIC, acquired its 30% stake for €200 million.

Nevertheless, it was precisely the involvement of the Asian giant that allowed the Montoro family to adjust its financial situation and secure the necessary financing to sign operations such as the purchase of Castellana 77. All of this, combined with the recovery of the real estate market means that the group’s next valuation is expected to be much higher than the amount assigned by GIC at the time of its investment.

The Montoro family’s Socimi has been one of the great survivors of the crisis and its buildings include the iconic Torre BBVA on Paseo de la Castellana, as well as the property on Calle Génova, 27.

Since GIC became a shareholder, the company has handled operations such as the aforementioned purchase of Castellana 77 for €90 million; the former headquarters of Altadis, on the Madrilenian Calle Eloy Gonzalo, for €30 million; the office building located on Condesa de Venadito 1; the headquarters of Cortefiel and SGS in Madrid; and the development of a corporate building in Las Tablas.

Original story: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España Completes Acquisition of ‘Portal de la Marina’

4 April 2016 – Mis Locales

The Socimi, which already owned 59% of the asset and the hypermarket, has completed the acquisition of the remaining 41% stake for €14.58 million.

The Socimi Lar España Real Estate has acquired 41% of the company Puerta Marítima de Ondara, which, in turn, owns the Portal de la Marina de Ondara shopping centre in Alicante.

The Socimi had already acquired 59% of the company in October 2014, and it acquired the hypermarket in June 2015, in such a way that, following the recent acquisition, it now owns the entire Portal de la Marina shopping complex, worth €94.5 million.

Figures relating to activity at Portal de la Marina in 2015 clearly reveal its appeal, given that it recorded a 13% increase in sales compared with the previous year and a 6% increase in the number of visitors, to 3.76 million.

José Manuel Llovet, Director of Retail, said that “with this acquisition, we have consolidated 100% of Portal de la Marina, an excellent regional shopping complex, and this allows us to accelerate the decision making process and drive our ambitious management and value creation plans.

The shopping complex has a leasable surface area of approximately 40,000 m2, spread across 120 stores over two floors. It has eight cinema screens, with brands such as Cortefiel, H&M, Mango, C&A, Tien21 and eight brands from the Inditex Group, as well as 1,600 parking spaces.

Following this purchase, Lar España has now acquired assets worth €961 million, of which €686 million has been spent on the purchase of twelve retail premises located in Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, Alicante, Cantabria, Lugo, León, Vizcaya, Navarra, Guipúzcoa, Palencia, Albacete and Barcelona; €150 million on the purchase of four office buildings in Madrid and one in Barcelona; €70 million on the acquisition of four logistics assets in Guadalajara and one in Valencia; and €55 million on the acquisition of a residential asset in Madrid.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake

Patron Capital Buys 43 Retail Outlets For €35M

4 February 2016 – Expansión

The British investment fund Patron Capital has purchased a batch of 43 retail outlets, mainly supermarkets, from Blackstone for €35 million.

The properties are located all over Spain, although the majority are found in the regions of Asturias and Castilla. 32 of the premises are supermarkets in urban areas, five are cash & carry establishments and six are retail premises located in prime areas of several Spanish cities.

The tenants of the properties include: the supermarket chain El Árbol, owned by the Día group; the fashion house Cortefiel; and the bank ING Direct.

As a result of this acquisition, Patron Capital has increased its commitment to the commercial segment, which now accounts for 50% of its portfolio. Residential assets and hotels make up the remainder, accounting for 20% and c. 30%, respectively. The operation has been advised by Garrigues, Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira, Aguirre Newman, Deerns and CBRE.

Patron Capital is headquartered in London and operates in Spain from its office in Barcelona, led by Pedro Barceló. The Spanish office has a budget of €200 million to invest in 2016 not only in the commercial sector, but also in the office, residential and hotel segments.

Original story: Expansión (by M. Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Eugenio Hinojosa Resumes Empark Negotiations

13 October 2015 – Expansión

The Spanish businessman Eugenio Hinojosa has resumed his plans to purchase Empark, the leading car park company in Spain and Portugal. The operation could amount to around €900 million, including debt. Hinojosa, one of the largest operators of parking spaces in Madrid, has resumed talks to purchase Empark after exclusive negotiations broke down between the shareholders of the parking company and the funds that control Vinci Park (Ardian and Crédit Agricole), the car park giant in France.

Last week, sources close the operation said that the negotiations are progressing and only a few minor details now need to be resolved relating to avals, guarantees and creditor approvals (mainly bondholders) due to the change in control of the company. “Financing is not a problem”, assured the sources consulted.

Hinojosa plans to join forces with other partners, including the company Andersen Partners, to buy Empark. Empark declined to comment on the matter. Empark’s controlling partner with a 50.3% stake, is Assip, a vehicle named after the Portuguese company A. Silva & Silva, which is in turn controlled by the founding families of the company who participate in the management of the group. The main executives of Empark, which manages 500,000 parking spaces in Spain, Portugal, UK and Turkey, are José Augusto Tavares (Chairman), Pedro Mendes (CEO) and Antonio Moura.

The remaining capital is divided amongst several investment funds, managed by BES (22%) and Ahorro Corporación (8.2%). The Mello family holds a 2.6% stake. In theory, these partners are also selling their respective stakes in the company. Ahorro Corporación’s stake is now being managed by the fund GED Capital.

Political risk

In July, Vinci Park reported that the negotiations to purchase Empark had broken down after the due diligence (audit of the assets) was completed with findings that were not satisfactory. Sources close to the company say that behind the decision was the high exposure that Empark has to town halls governed by parties linked to Podemos following the municipal elections in May.

Eugenio Hinojosa, who is a related by marriage to the founding family of Cortefiel, has been building up a sizeable portfolio of car park assets in Madrid, and now owns more than 12,000 parking spaces. He was one of the main competitors in the tender for the Aena car parks in 2013, but was his offer was outbid by Empark and Saba. He managed to suspend the award after filing a special appeal with the Central Administrative Court of Contractual Appeals against the airport operator’s decision, but then lost the ruling.

In 2014, the controlling shareholders of Empark engaged JPMorgan and Caixa Banco de Investimento (CBI) to find a buyer. One of the reasons for their exit from the company (they purchased it from Ferrovial in 2009) has been the financial problems of its Portuguese partners, which have undergone a complicated bankruptcy process and have had to make loan repayments in recent months.

Empark closed 2014 with sales of €180 million and an EBITDA of €66 million. As well as managing some of the busiest car parks in Madrid, Aena awarded the group the operation of its car parks in the Western region (including Barajas) in 2013, requiring the management of 40,600 parking spaces. Two years ago, the company also won the tender to manage 82,000 ground-level parking spaces in Madrid.

Original story: Expansión (by C. Morán)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Realia Buys c/Goya, 29 For €27m Amid Hispania Takeover Bid

21 January 2015 – El Confidencial

Realia has just purchased an office building, located in the most elite section of Madrid’s Calle Goya, between Lagasca and Velázquez, for €27 million. In principle, this deal appears to be simply another one in the growing list of real estate transactions being conducted in the best areas of Madrid and Barcelona. However, it has connotations that make it different.

This acquisition comes amid the takeover bid that Hispania has made for Realia, for the outright purchase of the real estate company. And so, if that transaction comes to fruition, the Socimi managed by Azora will become the owner of Calle Goya, 29; another jewel in the crown of its growing list of assets.

Nevertheless, it may have to share the limelight with Hermanos Revilla, because that company is behind the transaction. Realia is the main indirect shareholder of Hermanos Revilla, since in addition to the 9.5% stake it owns directly, it also controls another 51% through its 76% stake in Planigesa.

The remaining 39.5% of the company is owned by the Revilla family, the industry dynasty whose patriarch, Emilio, was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA in 1988. Father of three children, Antonio, Margarita and Carmen, the former now manages Hermanos Revilla’s investments and has negotiated the purchase of Goya, 29, according to market sources.

In fact, although Realia indirectly holds the controlling stake in the company thanks to Planigesa, and its CEO, Ignacio Bayón, carries out the same role in the affiliate, executive power over the company lies with Antonio Revilla. Market sources say that the company has always been managed with great autonomy and has financed this transaction using its own funds, which amounted to €48.7 million at the end of 2013, the last full year for which figures are available.

These factors explain why Realia, a real estate company controlled in turn by FCC and Bankia, has undertaken a transaction of this kind in the middle of the takeover bid launched by Hipania: the Revilla family is holding the reins of the transaction. The Socimi managed by Azora has put an offer on the table that values each share in the real estate company at €0.49, which brings the total value of the company to €157.7 million, versus the current listed value of €0.59.

A Busy Year End

On 22 December 2014, the CNMV admitted the takeover bid proposals for review, which are currently being analysed by the institution. Once the supervisory body gives the go-ahead to all of the documentation, Realia’s shareholders will have 15 days to accept the proposal or reject it. It was also during the last few days of 2014 when the Hermanos Revilla and Realia closed the acquisition of Goya, 29.

The acquired property has a surface area of 5,000 square metres for office use and 87 parking spaces. The building is currently empty and it has been purchased with a view to refurbishment, but with a guarantee from the vendor, a family group, that the new owners will receive annual rental income of €1.5 million, according to sources.

The ground floor of the building, located on one of Madrid’s most important shopping streets, is occupied by Cortefiel, but sources indicate that this asset has not formed part of the transaction closed by Hermanos Revilla and Realia, which consolidates the results of its affiliate in its financial accounts.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake