Tag: distribution channel

BBVA, CaixaBank & Sabadell Recorded Revenues of €5bn from House Sales in 2017

2 April 2018 – Expansión

Last year, BBVA, CaixaBank and Sabadell recorded revenues of more than €5,065 million from the sale of homes that came onto their balance sheets due to non-payment during the years of the crisis. Santander obtained €1,295 million in this regard, and Bankia and Bankinter received €457 million and €138 million, respectively. In total, the banks in the Ibex 35 recorded sales of €6,955 million from the sale of homes, which represented a YoY increase of 6%.

In parallel to the signing of agreements to launch the transfer of the bulk of their portfolios of toxic assets to specialist funds, year after year, the banks are marketing properties through their own distribution platforms to clean up their balance sheets and return them to the figures that they registered before the outbreak of the crisis.

BBVA recorded the highest revenue figure, of €2,121 million, which represents an increase of 7.5% YoY, from the sale of 25,816 properties. Its subsidiary Anida is responsible for distributing its products in the market.

By the end of last year, BBVA’s exposure to the real estate sector had decreased by 37.2%, to €6,416 million, due, primarily, to the wholesale operations undertaken.

Last year, the bank chaired by Francisco González made a turn in its real estate strategy by agreeing to create a joint entity with Cerberus to which it will transfer some of its properties, worth around €13 billion. The bank will hold a 20% stake in that entity and the fund the remaining 80%. The operation is expected to be closed during the second half of 2018.

Last quarter

The largest increase in the sale of homes was achieved by CaixaBank, which saw its revenues rise by 20.4% YoY to €1,610 million. Most of those operations were concentrated in the final quarter of the year when proceeds of €561 million were received.

Through Servihabitat, CaixaBank markets the properties of the group’s subsidiary BuildingCenter online, as well as through the branch network and API. The bank has €5,878 million in foreclosed assets up for sale and €3,030 million allocated for rent.

The bank has engaged KPMG, Oliver Wyman and McKinsey to redefine its strategy and gain efficiencies in the divestment of the foreclosed real estate assets.

As part of that roadmap, last week, CaixaBank sold 1,458 homes to Testa for €228 million.

Meanwhile, Sabadell cut its property sales by 14% to €1,334 million due to fewer sales to institutional investors, which fell from €233 million in 2016 to €57 million a year later. Last year, Sabadell divested 14,924 properties, up by 2.6% compared to the previous year. Its subsidiary Solvia is its main distribution channel.

In parallel, Sabadell has placed two toxic real estate portfolios up for sale, proceeding in part from the former CAM, under advice from KPMG.

Last year, Santander recorded revenues of €1,295 million from the sale of foreclosed assets, which represented a YoY increase of 19.5%. The gross value of the assets sold by that bank last year was €2,168 million, up by 33% compared to the previous year. Santander obtained profits of €95 million from its sales, up by 64%.

Altamira is Santander’s distribution platform, which held €11,661 million in foreclosed assets at the end of 2017, of which €5,943 million proceeded from Popular. To that figure, we have to add €3,619 million in assets from Popular included in the operation agreed with Blackstone, which will allow the clean up of the group’s toxic assets (…).

Finally, Bankia sold 8,430 properties in 2017, which represents 20.2% of the stock it had held at the beginning of the year, for which it recorded revenues of €457 million, down by 2.9%. Bankinker, one of the banks with the lightest real estate load obtained €138 million, up by 2.2%.

Original story: Expansión (by Elisa del Pozo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Pérez Gil Family: Accor & Hilton’s Spanish Partner

1 February 2016 – Expansión

Routemap / Hoteles Temáticos, which works with giant players in the hotel sector through franchise contracts, expects to double in size and revenues over the next four years.

The Pérez Gil family is making closer ties with large international hotel groups. The family, which already has a partnership with the French company Accor, has now signed a similar agreement with Hilton. A new partner, but the same modus operandi: a franchise agreement that allows Hoteles Temáticos, the company owned by the Pérez Gil family, to manage hotels and, in exchange for a fee, use Accor and Hilton’s brands and distribution channels, which have 25 million and 74 million users, respectively, in their loyalty programs.

This summer, Hilton will open the doors of its first hotel in the centre of Madrid – until now the hotel giant had just one hotel in the city, next to the airport (pictured above) – under the Double Tree brand, which will debut in the capital. The 4-star property will have 61 rooms and will be located on Calle San Agustín, opposite Congress. The work to renovate the building, which housed offices until now, will cost around €4 million. In parallel, the Pérez Gil family has paid €8 million for 50% of the property.

In addition to this project with Hilton, which will allow the family to raise its profile in the US market, Hoteles Culturales is finalising several other new additions. It currently operates three hotels under franchise agreements with Accor in Madrid and Barcelona, as well as a complex containing 16 apartments in the capital and another (unbranded) 3-star property in Alfaro (La Rioja). “Our objective is to increase our portfolio from 400 rooms to between 800 and 1,000 rooms by 2020, and for our turnover, which currently stands at €10 million, to grow to €25 million”, says Guillermo Pérez Palacios, Director General of Hoteles Temáticos and the son of Antonio Pérez Gil, who used to be the Chief Operating Officer of NH, when the chain founded by Antonio Catalán had six hotels.

Royalties

In the short term, Hoteles Temáticos will focus on Barcelona and Madrid…but Bilbao, San Sebastián, Porto and Lisbon also feature on its radar. The company is looking for management contracts, and, depending on the opportunity, investment contracts. And the door is also open to new partners, even though the involvement of international brands can increase investment costs by up to 20%, due to the high quality and safety standards such brands demand.

Agreements with overseas brands include the payment of royalties for the use of those brands and their distribution channels. Nevertheless, the formula has its benefits: “The consistency of the brand makes up for (the associated costs) and helps to make investments more effective”. At the Hotel Ibis Styles Madrid Prado, the Pérez Gil family’s first franchise contract, 55% of reservations are generated by Accor’s sales channel. According to the franchisee, brands allow hotels to increase revenues per room by between 10% and 15% compared with those charged by independent hotels and domestic chains. “Brands have allowed us to reduce our dependence on online travel agents”.

Original story: Expansión (by Yovanna Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake