Tag: dividends

At Least Five Socimis Prepare To Debut On The MAB

17 May 2016 – El Economista

The real estate sector is booming. Its appeal has barely declined despite the political uncertainty, in fact the creation of new Socimis seems unstoppable and over the next six months, at least five more Socimis are expected to debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB), where 15 other similar companies are already listed. The banks are also keen to get involved in the action.

The market capitalisation of the five soon-to-be-listed Socimis will exceed €1,500 million, according to Antonio Fernández, Chairman of Armabex, which is preparing to launch as the registered advisor of these companies.

The figure will continue to grow gradually, given that the political uncertainty has not curbed investors’ interest in these vehicles, which have a special tax framework that allows them to not pay tax on their profits, provided they distribute 80% of those profits as dividends. In this way, Fernández says that he has around 40 files on the table from Socimis wanting to debut on the stock market over the next few months. “They all have very different profiles and we are receiving proposals almost every day”, he explained.

Although the names cannot be revealed yet, the Director said that one of the five Socimis is focused on the hotel sector and its initial market capitalisation amounts to €220 million. Similarly, he says that a company focusing on homes for rent with assets worth €100 million, will also debut on the MAB soon.

The fact that that specialist Socimis are starting to flourish and establish themselves in Spain is a “very good sign”, according to the sector. With this type of vehicle, the market is managing to secure money from private investors, which due to their size are not able to commit to significant investments individually in the real estate sector.

Now they have several entry points and can select both the type of assets they like, as well as the yield that they want to obtain. Moreover, the specialist Socimis are also arriving hand in hand with wealthy Spanish families, which have been accumulating assets for years and can now take advantage of the new tax benefits. That is the case of the Socimi created by the property developer Tomás Olivo through his company General de Galerias Comerciales. With a portfolio of six shopping centres, whose star asset is La Cañada (Marbella), and hundreds of other assets (land, premises and homes), it is positioning itself as the third largest Socimi behind Merlin (Ibex 35) and Hispania (Stock Exchange).

According to experts, the value of its portfolio may exceed €1,000 million. (…).

And it is not only wealthy Spanish families who are making use of these vehicle; foreign capital is also backing them and one company, financed by capital from Latin America, will soon make its debut on the stock market. On the other hand, Domo is another company that is preparing to list on the stock market, as its Chairman, Feliciano Conde, announced last year, when he explained that the company would be tailored to medium-sized investors “so that they can participate in the returns generated from the purchase of land, and the subsequent rental and sale of the homes”. The market capitalisation of that company, the first property development Socimi, will amount to €50 million.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Socimis Consolidate Their Positions As RE Kings

1 April 2016 – Cinco Días

When the Socimis began to emerge timidly in 2014, few thought that they would become the key and crucial factor behind the change in the real estate cycle in Spain. The four largest companies alone, excluding the dozen other companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market, have managed to double the value of the properties that they own in the last year, to take the total to €9,235 million.

The key behind this change has been two-fold. Firstly, the acquisition that the Socimi Merlin Properties closed last year, of Testa from Sacyr, which doubled its size. Secondly, the large number of international funds that have relied on these Spanish managers to enter the domestic real estate market, where opportunities are now arising after the tough years of the property crisis.

Socimis are a type of company that is exempt from paying corporation tax in exchange for having the obligation to distribute dividends each year. Their structure is similar to the more established Anglo-Saxon REITs, which control properties that are leased out (offices, shopping centres, hotels..). The most obvious risk is that they drive up the prices of these kinds of assets, because they set short-term timeframes for investing the money they raise from investors.

Merlin Properties

The largest of these companies in Spain is Merlin Properties, chaired by Ismael Clemente, an experienced former director of Deutsche Bank. This Socimi has managed to sneak into the crème de la crème of the business world by listing on the Ibex 35 since the beginning of the year. Almost all of the funds that control its capital are international, with very diluted individual shareholdings. The largest block belongs to BlackRock, which owns a 5% stake.

(…). Merlin’s portfolio amounts to €6,052 million, and comprises offices (36%), retail premises (31%), shopping centres (11%), hotels (6.6%) and residential assets for lease (4.8%). (…). In December, the entity announced that it expects to issue bonds with a BBB rating. The company currently has a market capitalisation of approximately €3,370 million.

Hispania

Thanks to its partnership with Barceló, Hispania has become another one of the major players in the sector. (…). In total, Hispania now owns properties amounting to more than €1,425 million, comprising hotels (59%), offices (29%) and residential properties (12%). (…).

The multi-millionaire George Soros owns 16% of the company, meanwhile John Paulson owns a 9.9% stake. (…).

Lar España

One of Lar España’s most recent operations has been the announcement that it will invest €145 million in the construction of Sevilla’s largest shopping centre. The Socimi, managed by Grupo Lar, has gradually specialised in these types of assets, which now account for almost 70% of its business volume.

The company is currently listed with a market capitalisation of €340 million. Its other assets include a small residential portfolio (7%), as well as logistics assets (8%) and office buildings (17%).

Axiare Patrimonio

The company is led by Luis López de Herrera-Oria, a veteran in the real estate sector (…). Its shareholders include several funds – also international – such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Gruss, JP Morgan Chase, Perry Partners and Pelham Capital.

It has doubled its portfolio of assets in the last year to €859 million, thanks to the appreciation in the value of its assets and new acquisitions. 72% of its portfolio relates to offices and 15% comprises logistics assets.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Colonial To Pay Dividends Again After 10 Years

23 February 2016 – El Mundo

The Group generated profits of €415 million in 2015, thanks to the revaluation of its buildings.

Its profits in 2015 were 15.6% lower than in 2014, when the figures reflected the positive accounting effect of the deconsolidation of Asentia.

After 10 years, the Colonial Group is going to distribute dividends once again, distributed from its results for the financial year 2015. The real estate company will allocate around €47 million for payment to its shareholders, 59% of whom are individual investors. The rest of the Group’s capital is held by the Villar Mir Group (15%), the Qatar Investment Authority (13%) and Aguila LTD (7%), a fund owned by (the Colombian group) Santo Domingo (…).

Colonial’s share price closed 2015 at €0.62, after improving by 29% during the year. Shareholders will receive a dividend of €0.015 per share. The company, led by Juan José Brugera, generated a net profit of €415 million last year, after receiving revenues from rental income of €231 million, up by 9% YoY, due to a 6% increase in rental prices, as well as the impact of new acquisitions made in 2014 and 2015. The Group’s profits in 2015 were 15.6% lower than in 2014, when the results reflected the positive accounting effect of the deconsolidation of Asentia (which was not repeated in 2015).

The real estate company, which operates in Barcelona and Madrid, as well as in Paris, through its French subsidiary Société Foncière Lyonnaise (SFL) recorded a 20% increase in the valuation of its assets, to €6,913 million, with 4% of that amount relating to its most recent operations in Paris. In 2016, the firm wants to continue its pace of investment, at around €300 million per year, even though that figure rose to €475 million in 2015. It will also continue to operate in the office segment in its three geographical markets, through both renovations and new builds.

Original story: El Mundo (by M. T. Coca)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin Delays Hotel Portfolio Sale Until June 2016

23 December 2015 – El Economista

Merlin Properties is certain that it wants to divest the hotel portfolio that it inherited from Testa, the former real estate subsidiary of Sacyr, which it acquired in June for €1,800 million, from its balance sheet within five years. Nevertheless, the company expects that it will not begin the sales process until the second half of 2016. The reason for its decision to delay this divestment until June is a question of regulations.

The aim of the Socimi was to use the money from the sale to reduce its indebtedness, which amounted to €2,939 million at the end of the third quarter, and to undertake new investments. The problem is that according to the rules that apply to Socimis, Merlin must allocate at least 80% of its profit from the sale as extraordinary dividend, which does not fit with the company’s plans.

“We are analysing other legal options to avoid this. Our analysis and its implementation will take some time”, explain sources at the group.

One of the possible options includes the launch of a new Socimi that will be dedicated solely to the hotel business; another includes the creation of a company containing all of these assets, which would then be sold and, in that way, the hotels would be sold all together, without the need to allocate 80% of the profits to shareholder remuneration.

According to Fernando Lacedena, CEO of Testa, the Socimi is focusing on the integration of both companies at the moment, “that is our primary objective”.

In addition, Merlin has just completed the refinancing of €1,700 million of Testa’s debt with a group of ten entities and it is preparing itself for a €850 million bond issue.

Sale of Testa Residencial

The Socimi, which has just joined the Ibex 35, has also launched its divestment of Testa Residencial. In this case, the tax considerations do not apply in the same way, since the 1,519 homes and 26 retail premises that it has put up for sale all sit within a separate company.

“The residential business is very ordered within Testa, it all sits within a single entity and therefore, the operation does not involve the movement of any assets or the transfer of any shares”, says Lacadena, who says that “this makes the transaction a lot easier, since it does not involve the partial divestment of some assets to one investor and other assets to another investor”.

The completion of this operation, which could amount to €280 million and is known as Project Crete, was scheduled for this year, however, even though “there has been lots of interest”, Lacadena explains that it may be delayed until the beginning of next year.

The Director explains that the price is not a critical element in this sale, however, like in any process, there are certain details that must be agreed. In this case, the company has an associated debt, which amounts to €100 million and therefore, “we need the financial institutions to be open to changing the ownership of that debt (before we can proceed)”.

Moreover, the sale of Testa Residencial will involve the transfer of the professional team that manages the business. In total, the workforce comprises around 40 people, between the Servicers and the Residential team. In this sense, the Director was keen to highlight that the integration of the two companies will not result in any redundancies.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla and Javier Mesones)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Iberostar Refinances Its Debt & Releases Guarantees

11 December 2015 – Expansión

New financing conditions / The hotel group owned by the Fluxà family is restructuring its debt and postponing its repayments until 2021. Its profits remained stable in 2014.

Iberostar is refinancing its debt for the second time in less than three years. In April this year, the hotel group controlled by the Fluxà family restructured the majority of its financial liabilities, according to the 2014 annual accounts of the parent company, Iberostar Hoteles and Apartamentos, filed with the Mercantile Registry. At the end of last year, the group’s short and long-term debt amounted to more than €400 million – most of which was held with financial institutions – and the liabilities between the group’s companies amounted to €533 million.

The agreement establishes a new timetable, which runs until 2021 – three extra years – and reduces the guarantees provided by Iberostar. Under the previous refinancing agreement, completed in 2012 and amounting to €768 million, the hotel chain offered a personal guarantee against the obligations of a €285 million loan, as well as mortgage guarantees over Spanish assets and the pledge of its 5% stake in ACS.

Percentage in ACS

The Fluxà family is the shareholder of the construction group that has been chaired by Florentino Pérez since 2006, when Iberstar sold its tourism division to Carlyle and Vista Capital for around €900 million to focus on the hotel sector. The private equity companies created Orizonia – which no longer exists as it filed for bankruptcy in April 2013 – and the Fluxà family invested almost all of the resources obtained on the purchase of ACS.

Iberostar paid €46.82 for each share – €826 million in total. Yesterday, ACS closed trading with a share price of €28.49, representing an increase of 2.76% during the session. In 2012, Iberostar was forced to recognise an impairment on its shareholding amounting to €147.12 million, which meant that the company recorded losses that year. At the end of 2014, the company recognised its shareholding in ACS at €36.41 per share and set its recoverable value at €40 per share. Despite this difference, Iberostar has not reversed the impairment recorded in previous years.

Iberostar is represented on the board of ACS by Sabina Fluxà, the Executive Co-Vice-President and CEO of the hotel chain, and it received dividends amounting to €20.34 million on its shareholding.

In 2014, the parent company’s turnover amounted to €43.47 million, down by 6.36%. The operating result decreased by 76.4% to €7.97 million, due to a reduction in other operating income and an impairment for the transfer of tangible assets and financial instruments. Iberostar expects to improve that figure this year, by maintaining stable turnover and cutting down its expenses. Nevertheless, the net result remained stable – at around €15.7 million – due to the positive effect of the lower tax charge on its profits.

As a whole, Iberostar and its subsidiaries invoiced €1,435 million in 2014, up by 29.6%, to place it in fourth position by turnover, surpassed only by Grupo Barceló – which also includes its tourism business – , RUI and Meliá.

Dividends

In 2014, the parent company allocated its profits to offset its negative results from previous years, but it distributed €55.7 million in dividends distributed against reserves. Moreover, it repaid debt amounting to €18.78 million owing to the Tax Authorities for Corporation Tax for the years 2007 and 2008.

Meanwhile, Iberostar has the option to purchase an additional 29.15% stake in Royal Cupido, in which it already holds a 29.5% shareholding, for €44.54 million. Pontegadea, the investment arm of Amancio Ortega, controls 45.5% of Royal, which owns five hotels in Spain and earned €3.43 million in 2014.

Original story: Expansión (by Yovanna Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Quabit Plans To Invest €470M Over 5 Years

22 October 2015 – Expansión

Yesterday, the listed real estate company Quabit, controlled by the Rayet group, presented its business plan for the next five years (2015-2020), which includes planned investments of €470 million.

These investments will focus on the purchase of urban land, primarily in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and the Costa del Sol, with the aim of building housing developments on the plots “immediately”.

Thus, Quabit expects to deliver more than 3,000 homes (727 from assets in its existing portfolio and 2,310 from new investments) and whereby generate revenues of €954 million.

Moreover, the real estate company will generate turnover of €76 million from the sale of land in its portfolio, taking its total revenues to €1,030 million over the next five years.

The strategic plan also provides for the payment of dividends, in both shares and cash, amounting to €59 million and the cancelation of debt amounting to €63 million through the transfer of assets in lieu of payment. Yesterday, Quabit’s shares closed trading at €0.08, down by 2.44%.

Original story: Expansión (by R.R.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Experts’ Favourite Socimi: Merlin Properties

6 July 2015 – Cinco Días

With a market capitalisation of just over €2,100 million, Merlin Properties has become the largest listed company in the Spanish real estate sector. Following the clean up undertaken by the Spanish real estate sector during the years following the burst of the housing bubble in 2007, the Socimis have become the new players in the market. Socimis are required by law to distribute dividends amounting to at least: 80% of the net profit generated from their income; a minimum of 50% of the profits obtained from the transfer of property or shares (the remainder is devoted to other property or shares over a three-year term); and 100% of their capital gains, which guarantees that shareholders receive regular returns.

This special feature makes these instruments a good investment option, although only for investors that have a long-term view. In this context, of the nine Socimis that are now listed on the stock exchange (of which roughly half trade on the MAB)….Merlin Properties is the experts’ favourite. During its first year on the stock market, the Socimi’s share price rose by 21% and by the time it celebrated its first birthday on the Spanish stock exchange last month, Merlin Properties featured on the watchlist of ten analysts, most of which are major players in the market, such as UBS, Goldman Sachs, BBVA and Santander. All of them recommend that investors buy shares in the Socimi and they also assign a potential share price increase of more than 16%. (…).

One of the most important transactions that the company has undertaken in recent months has been the purchase of Testa for a consideration of €1,793 million, to be paid over a period of one year. The company led by Ismael Clemente reached an agreement with the construction company Sacyr to acquire its subsidiary in an operation that will be completed in successive stages, and must be finalised before 30 June 2016. As part of the first phase of this agreement, Testa’s Board of Directors has completed a capital increase, whereby Merlin Properties has taken control of 25% of the company.

Sabadell analyses the operation as follows, “Merlin believes it can achieve its target return of 10% p.a. with this investment and we agree. We expect Testa to perform positively over the next few years. The increase in the spread between real estate and sovereign yields (around 300 basis points) is positive for this asset”, says the firm, which has a target price for Merlin of €12.65 over the next 12 months and a “buy” recommendation. (…).

Another one of the most attractive aspects is the shareholders’ remuneration. The company has announced that it has the capacity to distribute dividends of a minimum of €60 million in 2015, which would represent an EPS of €0.30 per share after the increase and therefore a dividend yield of 2.6%.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Virginia Gómez Jiménez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Blackstone To List Its Socimi ‘Fidere Patrimonio’ On MAB

25 June 2015 – El Mundo

Blackstone is going to list Fidere Patrimonio on the Alternative Investment Market (‘Mercado Alternativo Bursátil’ or MAB). The Socimi was constituted with a stock of social housing purchased by  the private equity firm in Madrid in recent years. The shares in the new Socimi will start trading on Monday 29 June, at €21.08 per share. This price represents a company valuation of €212 million.

Blackstone created Fidere Patrimonio with a portfolio of 23 social housing developments (rental properties), containing 2,688 apartments, which the fund has bought over the last few years, mainly in the Community of Madrid. (…).

With this IPO on the MAB, Blackstone seeks not only to comply with the rules governing Socimis, but also to acquire a financing mechanism for raising funds, which will to drive the future growth of the company, and will also “raise the company’s profile and attract new shareholders”.

In this sense, Fidere Patrimonio says that it will focus its investment policy on new companies with real estate portfolios owned by Blackstone’s investment funds and on “analysing new investment opportunities that arise in the market”.

‘Solvent’ tenants

However, the Socimi has said that, for the time being, it will focus on managing its current portfolio of homes “with the aim of increasing shareholders’ returns”. To this end, it has revealed that its leasing policy for social housing is based on “selecting tenants who are economically solvent and who have long-term visibility over their income”, in order to increase the occupancy rate of its homes.

Specifically, the company asks its tenants to provide their last two payslips and then checks that the percentage rental spend will not exceed 40% of their (respective) salary; it also performs checks to confirm that prospective tenants are not registered on Asnef’s credit black list. (…).

Blackstone’s Socimi is aiming to secure an occupancy rate of between 80% and 95% for its housing stock, compared with its current rate of 76% and the 2014 year-end rate of 68%.

Profits and dividends

Meanwhile, Fidere Patrimonio closed 2014 with a net profit of €1.6 million, whereby overcoming the “losses” that it had recorded in the previous year. The Socimi’s turnover amounted to €5.54 million, of which €4.6 million was generated by the social housing in Madrid that the fund purchased from the EMV.

In terms of financing, the firm has financial net debt of around €65.7 million, equivalent to 22% of the market value of its assets. The company considers that this “reduced” leverage will encourage the payment of dividends.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

Slim Would Keep Realia On The Stock Exchange And Support A Return To Dividends

18 March 2015 – Expansión

Slim has formally announced his offer to the CNMV / The Mexican investor’s counter-bid amounts to €0.58 per share, i.e. 18% higher than Hispania’s offer. He has now guaranteed control of the real estate company through FCC and the 25% stake he intends to purchase from Bankia.

Yesterday, Carlos Slim confirmed his plan to take control of Realia through his property company Carso, by confirming to the CNMV his counter-bid for the real estate company at €0.58 per share, whereby valuing the company at €186.6 million. The offer by the Mexican business tycoon, who is the majority shareholder in FCC, is 18% higher than the bid authorised by Hispania (€0.49 per share).

The two bids are well below Realia’s value on the stock exchange; its share price closed yesterday at €0.71 (having increased by 3.6%), therefore, unless there are improvements in either of the competing takeover bids, neither will receive backing from the shareholders.

But that factor is not important for Slim, since, in practice, he is already guaranteed control of the company, thanks to an agreement (he has made) to purchase the 24.9% stake held by Bankia in Realia for €44.5 million (€0.58 per share or the best price that arises from the takeover bids). With this percentage, plus the 37% indirect stake he holds through FCC, Slim will own 62% of Realia.

Shareholder agreement

Proof of the robustness of the plan set out by Slim is that his counter-bid is not conditional upon any percentage approval by the shareholders; it only requires that the agreement to purchase Bankia’s shares comes to fruition.

In the note that he sent to the CNMV yesterday, Slim ‘gave a strong signal’ to the shareholders of Realia that they should continue in the company and, therefore, not accept his offer. Carso’s objective, as well as to ensure that Realia continues trading on the stock market, is to “clean up Realia, increase its revenues and reduce its expenses, in order to undertake an active dividend distribution policy over the long term, to the extent that Realia’s financial circumstances allow it”. Through these dividends, Slim is seeking to increase Realia’s appeal to its minority shareholders, which have not received any (dividend) returns on their shares since 2008.

The only weakness in the Mexican investor’s offer is the possible reaction of the opportunistic funds that bought the majority of Realia’s debt. Specifically, Hispania signed an exclusivity agreement with Fortress, King Street and Goldman Sachs before it launched its takeover bid, whereby it committed to purchasing half of their liabilities at a discount of 21%.

The three funds hold €793 million of Realia’s total debt balance of €1,097 million. These loans, which were sold (to the funds) by Sareb, Santander and CaixaBank last year, are due to mature soon: on 30 June 2016. When the funds agreed to purchase the debt, they agreed with Realia that, in the event of a change of ownership of more than 30%, the whole amount (of the debt purchased) would have to be repaid “immediately” with one exception: the successful takeover of the company by Hispania.

The exclusivity agreement between the Socimi owned by George Soros and Realia’s funds expires after seven months, which means that Slim and these credtiors will not be able to reach any agreement until 21 September.

Despite this hurdle, sources close to the Mexican investor indicate that it will not prevent him from taking control of Realia. Firstly because there are serious doubts that more than 30% of the shareholders will agree to Slim’s takeover bid, which falls 18% below Realia’s listed share price. In addition, the same sources point out that Realia holds €450 million in cash, which it could use to repay some of its liabilities. The remaining debt could be exchanged for real estate assets owned by Realia.

Hispania has also lowered its expectations in terms of Realia. It would settle for a “financial stake” of less than 30%. Nor should an agreement between Slim and Hispania be ruled out.

Original story: Expansión (by C. Morán)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Socimis Come To The Hotel Sector’s Rescue

17 March 2015 – Expansión

Trend / Listed real estate investment companies (REITs or Socimis) are paving the way for (hotel) groups to separate the management and ownership of properties – the vehicles provide significant tax advantages and boost the professionalism of the industry.

Socimis – ‘socidedades cotizadas de inversion inmobiliaria’ or listed real estate investment companies – are playing an increasingly important role in the hotel sector due to the tax benefits they offer and also because they allow (hotel) chains to separate the ownership of their properties from the management of the facilities, in line with the Anglo-Saxon model.

These types of vehicle, which are used to purchase and refurbish assets for rental, must invest at least 80% of their funds in property and pay out at least 90% of their rental income (from said properties) in the form of dividends. They also have a special tax regime.

To publicise this alternative funding formula, the Mallorcan Hotel Business Federation (‘Federación Empresarial Hotelera de Mallorca’ or FEHM), Armabex Asesores Registrados and Garrigues have organised a seminar entitled “Socimis as an instrument for restructuring the real estate property of hotel groups”, which will be held today in Mallorca. At the event, the tax advantages of this investment vehicle will be analysed, together with their legal status and the process for incorporating Socimis into the Alternative Investment Market (Mercado Alternativo Bursátil or MAB), amongst other considerations.

The purpose is to raise awareness amongst (hotel) chains and professionals in the real estate sector of the importance of ensuring that the management of hotels and the ownership of the property are in different hands; this is the biggest challenge facing the industry. We will also analyse in more detail the value that Socimis have as a tool for reducing risk, being more competitive and efficient and also their tax advantages”, says Inmaculada Benito, Executive Vice-President of the FEHM.

Antonio Fernández, Chairman of Armabex Asesores Registrados, stresses that “the restructuring of real estate capital in the sector has been triggered by the lack of financing, the decrease in prices and the existence of an appropriate legal and fiscal framework”. On that last point, Fernández highlights that “investors may now own properties without having to manage them and hotel groups can continue with their management without having to be owners”.

José Manuel Cardona, partner at Garrigues, says that “Socimis are a tool that help to address many of the challenges facing the hotel sector in a single solution”. In his opinion, “they not only represent a funding formula; they also facilitate expansion and internationalisation, provide a solution to the problem of succession in family businesses and pave the way for integration between larger groups and small chains”. Furthermore, “they encourage greater transparency and control, the professionalization of management teams and carry the requirement to distribute minimum dividends, which results in more objective valuations of the assets and rents”.

First case

Barceló was the first company to adopt this formula, through its alliance with Hispania. Bay, the first hotel-sector Socimi, was created with 16 hotels and two shopping centres, worth €421 million. Experts believe that it will not be the only one and that there will soon be more hotel Socimis, that will own both holiday and urban hotel properties. “2014 was the year for shopping centres (in the real estate sector) and this year, hotels will be the leading players”, predicts Fernández.

Original story: Expansión (by Yvonna Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake