Spain’s Ministry of Labor to Sell its Headquarters in Barcelona

14 November 2019 – Spain’s Ministry of Labor will auction off its headquarters in Barcelona, hoping to raise at least 16.75 million euros with the sale. The property has more than 5,000 m2 of surface area and is located in central Barcelona, in the neighbourhood of Eixample. The building has nine above-ground and two below-ground floors.

The asset is located at Ronda de Sant Pere 41. The ministry first attempted to sell the site in 2017, but no bidders appeared.

Original Story: Idealista

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Mif Capital Expands its RE Business with 3 New Projects in Barcelona

14 May 2018 – Eje Prime

The property developer founded by Carles Maurí and Gregorio Ferrer Cervera will begin three new projects this year in the districts of Eixample and Sarrià. During its five year life, the real estate company has generated revenues of €20 million with developments completed exclusively in the Catalan capital.

Mif Capital will fulfil its annual objective in 2018: to start between two and three residential projects in Barcelona. The real estate company, founded in 2013 by Carles Maurí and Gregorio Ferrer, will start work on the renovation of a residential building in the Eixample district after the summer, and will also launch “two more projects at the end of the year”, both located in the Catalan capital, according to Maurí speaking to Eje Prime.

The executive, who has two decades of experience in major real estate companies, and his partner, together lead this property developer, which is finalising the handover of its latest project, in the heart of the Gràcia neighbourhood. The six renovated homes will be added to the two apartments that the company finished refurbishing recently on Avenida Diagonal. All of them are located in Barcelona because “we are based here, we like the city and we believe that it is a good location in which to develop real estate”, says the businessman.

Mif Capital’s new projects will adopt the same style as the five developments undertaken to date and will involve the renovation and sale of properties in prime locations. “In some cases, the homes are destined for rent and in others for sale”, explains Maurí, who has built up the company from nothing alongside Ferrer, and who says that “Between the two of us we take care of all the acquisitions and management of the assets” (…).

 “We want to grow organically” 

“We purchase buildings in which we would like to live”, responds Maurí to a question about what type of properties that most interest both him and his partner. In this sense, most of Mif Capital’s projects go up for sale, although the real estate company has also constructed some homes for rent. “Nevertheless, we are not interested in, nor do we own any tourist apartments”, says the businessman.

The founding partner of the real estate company knows the Barcelona real estate market well. He began his career in 1998 on the Diagonal Mar shopping centre project, when he was the Director of Business for Hines for five years. Subsequently, Maurí worked for Copcisa, the construction group owned by the Carbonell family, and then for Layetana Inmobiliaria, which built the iconic Torre Glòries, now owned by Merlin.

That experience led the co-founder of Mif Capital to Servihabitat, the servicer of La Caixa. After three years as the National Director of the bank’s real estate arm, during a time of deep recession in the sector, he decided to set up a new company with Ferrer (…).

The first asset that entered the property developer’s portfolio was a building located at number 42 Rambla Catalunya (…).

After two “very good” years, the objective of the real estate company for the next few years is “to continue with the same business plan”, with the aim of “continuing to grow organically”. With a clear focus on the city of Barcelona.

Original story: Eje Prime (by J. Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Treasury Requires Tourist Rental Platforms to Submit Quarterly Informative Returns

1 March 2018 – Expansión

The Government wants to put a stop to the fraud that is happening in the emerging market for tourist apartments. To this end, it is going to intensify the inspection of companies dedicated to the transfer of use of flats, such as Airbnb, HomeAway, HouseTrip, MyTwinPlace, Only-apartments, IntercambioCasas and Rentalia. For that, it is going to require them all to provide much more information and it will conduct a quarterly control of all of their activities. Through this, it wants to improve the “prevention of tax fraud for people and entities, in particular, the so-called collaborative platforms that mediate the transfer of use of homes for tourist purposes”, according to the draft ministerial order designed to put a stop to these kinds of irregularities, to which Expansión has had access. The text approves the so-called “model 179 informative declaration”, together with the conditions and procedures for presenting the required information before the Treasury.

The measure forms part of the strictest control that the Treasury wants to exercise over intermediaries in a rising sector, such as the tourist rental market, which has experienced a genuine boom in recent years and which now has 513,820 beds, 30% more than the sum of Spain’s hotels, hostels and B&Bs (393,838), according to data from Exceltur.

Until now, some of the main initiatives have been directed at users themselves, such as the warning issued last year by the Tax Authorities to more than 21,500 people that had leased their homes through these platforms, advising them that they must declare the money received in their tax returns.

The Treasury wants to close the door on the lack of transparency surrounding certain tourist rentals, behind which are sometimes even hotel chains, which lease homes through the platforms, and are in turn disguised as private users.

As a result, the ministerial order that the Department of Tax Management at the Tax Authority has prepared, emphasises certain concepts that may seem obvious, such as the importance of identifying the owner of the home or of the right “by virtue of which use of the dwelling is transferred”, if that is different from the rightful owner of the home. Moreover, all of the features of a property must be identified. Together with the general registry information, the specific details of each one of the operations that are carried out must be reported: the number of days during which a client leases the home and the price paid to the owner in exchange for its use.

This new order from the Treasury comes in addition to local legislation from many Town Halls such as those of Barcelona, Madrid and the Balearic Islands, which have proposed “ceilings” to stop the overheating of rental prices that has resulted from the boom of Airbnb and similar platforms. In fact, according to calculations from Urban Data Analytics for this newspaper, the upwards trend from the collaborative economy has caused rental prices to rise by an additional 6% in the Eixample district of Barcelona and by an additional 4% in the Centro district of Madrid in one year. That happens because the properties in question generate double the returns of a long-term rental property “A 40 m2 one-bedroom home in the Puerta del Sol area of Madrid generates €1,513 per month on Airbnb and a traditional rent of €700”, says the company by way of example.

Grace period

(…) This ministerial order (…) will apply to all transfers of homes for tourist purposes that take place on or after 1 January 2018.

The frequency of these returns to the Treasury will be quarterly (they must be submitted during the calendar month following the end of each quarter). But this year, in order to facilitate the process, those corresponding to the first two quarters of 2018 may be submitted up until 31 December 2018. Those corresponding to the third and fourth quarter will have to be submitted before 31 October 2018 and 31 January 2019, respectively (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Juanma Lamet)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona From The Sky: 123 Cranes At Work In The Catalan Capital

7 November 2017 – Eje Prime

Cranes and new projects are drawing a new real estate business in Spain once again. According to the study Barcelona from the sky, compiled by the real estate consultancy CBRE, the Catalan capital has 187 projects underway, requiring 123 cranes altogether. Of the total number, 75% are dedicated to residential projects and 17% to tertiary projects, whilst 8% of the cranes are being used for other kinds of projects, according to the report.

By sector, the residential market is the most active in Barcelona with 107 new build projects and 34 refurbishment projects currently underway or due to start imminently. In total, the Catalan capital is currently decorated with 77 cranes working on the construction of new residential developments, led by the largest Spanish property developers, such as Neinor and Aedas, as well as some more local players, such as La Llave de Oro and Nuñez I Navarro.

Cuitat Vella and Eixample are the districts where the most refurbishment projects are being carried out, due to the age of the housing stock there. There are eight projects (24% of the total) and eleven projects (32%) underway in those neighbourhoods, respectively. Many of these renovation projects, especially those closest to the city’s nerve centre, such as along Passeig de Gràcia and Plaça Catalunya, are high standing affairs, such as the refurbishment of Casa Burés, located at number 2 Calle Girona.

In terms of new build homes, the districts of Sarria-Sant Gervassi, Horta-Guinardo, Eixample and Sant Andreu are leading the ranking, with 18, 15, 12 and 11 new build projects, respectively (…).

The tertiary sector is also building 

(…). In the office segment, there are twelve projects underway after several years of little construction activity due to the economic crisis, in general, and in the office sector, in particular.

“The greatest number of projects, both new build and renovations, are concentrated in the 22@ area, in the district of Sant Martí, where key projects include the future Parc Glòries and the Luxa Business Park, amongst others”, according to the study (…).

Several projects are also underway in the Sants-Montjüic area, including the construction of the Campus Administratiu, which the Generalitat de Catalunya will occupy and Can Batlló, very close to Plaça Cerdà. In addition, construction work is expected to start at the beginning of 2018 on the construction of the remaining two towers that form part of the Barcelona Fira District project, owned by Iberdrola (…).

In the retail segment, four renovation projects are underway in the Catalan capital, whilst one new space is being constructed, with the development of the Finestrelles shopping centre in Esplugues de Llobregat, which will open its doors at the end of 2018. This project is being executed by the Belgian property developer Equilis and has a gross leasable area of 25,700 m2.

Moreover, renovations are being carried out on several of the city’s main shopping streets, such as Las Ramblas, Fontanella and Paseo de Gracia, as well as in some of the large retail spaces such as the Glòries Shopping Centre.

Hotels and others 

“More than two years have now passed since the implementation of the hotel moratorium, which has negatively affected the number of hotel developments”, says CBRE’s study. Nevertheless, the construction of new hotels has not stopped in Barcelona, given that some players obtained their building permits in time. There are currently fourteen projects underway, with six cranes working on them in total (…).

According to CBRE, a small number of the projects currently being carried out in the city do not form part of the residential or tertiary sectors. Fifteen projects are underway at the moment involving twenty cranes to build or renovate parks, churches, schools, gyms, infrastructure work and nursing homes.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

UNIQ Residential Hits The Ground Running

13 May 2017 – Press Release

Two and a half years after the creation of UNIQ Residential, its first project is in the process of being handed over in the heart of Barcelona.

RS257 (www.rs257barcelona.com), a project in the “Mayfair” equivalent of Barcelona located between the prime streets Paseo de Gracia, Diagonal and Rambla Catalunya was always going to be in high demand due to its location, but in addition, the thought that the UNIQ team has put into efficient layouts, flexibility of design and sustainability make this one of the most emblematic residential projects of 2017 in Spain.

The building had a protected facade originally designed by Robert Terradas, a Catalan rationalist architect who developed the original building in 1958, which OAB, the award-winning architectural office of Carlos Ferrater, managed to further enhance by keeping the original spirit, but creating bespoke windows which allow the apartments to have 14m of uninhibited light entering the living spaces.

RS257 is a project with 15 units, including 3 penthouses with unparalleled views of Barcelona overlooking the Tibidabo mountain, and the main streets of the Eixample district. The ground floor unit of RS257 is currently under negotiations to be let to an exciting global retailer and the project has received the first LEED silver certificate for a multi-residential building in Barcelona.

While UNIQ Residential is young as a company, the team has a vast experience in development projects. Its creation was the result of merging an executive team that over 40 years had developed over 100 projects in their prior life, with Urban Input, a boutique real estate asset management firm focused on commercial real estate for institutional investors and Mario Chisholm, a real estate investor who had spent his time in London previously, often focusing on the Spanish market.

“We are extremely excited by the completion of this unique project” says Mario Chisholm, one of the co-founders and board members of UNIQ, “We knew we were buying in a great location, but the success has exceeded expectations as we bought the building before the perception of Spain had changed, in early 2014. Since then, the economy has strengthened, banks are lending again and demand is strong for well-designed and well-delivered products in good locations. We are also thrilled about the progress UNIQ has made since its inception; the integration of the different teams has been incredible and the positivity, energy and drive UNIQ has to deliver future projects sets out an exciting future.”

Other than RS257, UNIQ is developing another 4 prime residential developments in Madrid and Barcelona. Keep an eye out, more to come soon!

About UNIQ Residential

UNIQ Residential is an urban developer founded in 2014 with a strategy and purpose to respond to a more informed flat buyer by focussing on the quality of projects through design. UNIQ’s management team has a breadth of experience in all areas of real estate development, from conception to completion and have been working together for 20 years, building over 100 developments. Currently, UNIQ has 6 live developments in Barcelona and Madrid and is looking to expand further across Spain.

Original story: Press Release

Edited by: Carmel Drake

 

British Investors Buy Up Entire Residential Buildings In Barcelona

7 December 2016 – La Vanguardia

They used to own a flat in a good location in the centre of London. They sold it and with the profits they bought an entire four-storey building in Barcelona. That is the story of a British family, which has become the new owner of number 68 on Calle Hospital in the heart of the Raval neighbourhood. The property, constructed more than a century ago, needs to be completely renovated. Once that has been done, the four floors will be put on the market for rent, whereby benefitting from the current market of rising prices and within a few years, the owners will sell the property.

That is how British families with investment potential are managing to generate guaranteed returns from real estate assets. A property like the one on Calle Hospital costs around €1 million. After the renovation, the rental income is unlikely to fall below €1,000/month. Such properties can be sold subsequently for more than €1.5 million, at least.

This real estate “play” is not a unique case. The consultancy firm Aguirre Newman has closed the sale of two buildings in Eixample to a British investor group within the last few weeks. “The property is in a bad condition, but they will take care of the renovation, and then put it up for sale straight away”, explained Anna Gener, Director General of the firm in Barcelona.

Over the last year, Brits have realised that Barcelona offers them high returns, regardless of whether they buy or rent. “Brexit has meant that there are increasingly more investors who are interested in buying assets here”, said Albert Sarrias, Commercial Director at Engel&Völkers in Barcelona, although he recognised that “we will only see the real effects in the long term, for the moment, they are browsing more than they are buying”.

By contrast, for Miquel Laborde, owner of the real estate management company Laborde Marcet, the divorce between the UK and the EU is not the driver behind the latest phenomenon. “It is a simple matter of returns. British investors can earn more money here from investing and selling than they can in London”. The reason, beyond any fluctuations in the euro-sterling exchange rate, is that prices in the residential sector in the British capital are at historical highs and they seem to be peaking. The price per square metre of a new home in the centre of the British capital ranges between €10,000/m2 and €15,000/m2. (…).

17.66% of house sales to foreigners in Spain are made to Brits, according to data from the College of Registrars. They are followed, at a considerable distance, by wealthy French, German, Swedish and Belgian investors.

These types of operations in the residential sector are mainly concentrated in the centre of Barcelona Raval, Born and Eixample are the preferred locations although the real estate agents lament the limited supply of products on the market. (…).

Small investors prefer to put their money in the residential sector. Offices and buildings, measuring more than 5,000 m2, generate more rental income but only Socimis and large investment funds can afford them. (…).

Original story: La Vanguardia

Translation: Carmel Drake

Optimum RE Debuts On MAB With A €50M Residential Portfolio

28 September 2016 – Idealista

Optimum Re Spain is set to debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) today (28 September). (…).

According to its market entry document, Optimum currently owns a portfolio of 14 residential buildings located in prime areas, which also receive high numbers of tourist visits. 13 of the buildings are located in Barcelona and the other one is in Madrid. The Socimi has also signed a purchase commitment to add another property to its portfolio on 31 October, located in the Catalan capital. These buildings comprise 186 flats in total and 30 commercial premises.

The document also reveals that the Socimi has paid €57 million net for those 14 properties, although their market value is estimated to amount to €108.4 million, using prices per sqm from specialist online portals such as Idealista as the benchmark. Moreover, their average occupancy rate is 75%.

The company’s strategy is to acquire entire residential buildings and then to sell them off subsequently, flat by flat, to obtain greater profits. “The company’s aim is to offer profitable investments with controlled risk and an absolute return based on a rising market driven by economic recovery: rental income and capital appreciation are being generated on the basis of selective acquisition and active management of the residential properties in Barcelona and Madrid”, said sources at the company.

The company added that, “we are diversifying our property portfolio, focusing on central areas, with a special emphasis on prime areas such as Sarriá, Eixample and Ciutat Vella in Barcelona. Similarly, we invset in mid-range areas with high demand and in tourist areas, such as the popular Gracia area in Barcelona”.

The company also admitted that its main business involves buildings, which are leased out partially or in their entirety, and that it has a limited exposure to commercial premises. “Optimum’s approach involves seeking out purchase transactions at below market prices, obtaining discounts of approximately 20%, acquiring entire buildings and, after making an investment to optimise the homes and after leasing them for 3-4 years, selling them flat by flat in order to increase the sales price”, it added.

Who are its shareholders?

This Socimi is backed by several companies, such as BMB Investment Management, Anangu Grup, Orca Invest, Finicon and Body of Knowledge, along with more than fifty minority shareholders.

And those companies are in turn owned by Catalan investors and businessmen, such as for example, the Gallardo family, owner of the pharmaceutical firm Almirall, and Ángel Javier Mirallas, Head of Prosegur in Cataluña and Chairman of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in the autonomous region. Other shareholders include: Joan Plensa, a relative of the Catalan sculptor Jaume Plensa, and Marc Sabe Richer, Director of Fujitsu in the UK. Josep Borrell Daniel is the Chairman and CEO of Optimum Re Spain – he is a professional investor who leads the firm BMB Investment Management.

With Optimum’s debut on the MAB, there are now 24 listed Socimis in Spain, with the Socimi Keka expected to join the ranks soon. That company manages a portfolio of commercial premises and garages in Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla, worth €14 million and is owned by two members of the Borbón family.

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona Cracks Down On Illegal Tourist Accommodation

19 January 2016 – El Economista

The Town Hall of Barcelona has ordered the cessation of activity in 388 tourist apartments, has sealed off another 16 for not adhering to the order to cease their activity and has confirmed that another 17 are in the sealing period.

At a press conference on Monday, the Deputy Mayoress for Urban Planning, Janet Sanz, explained that 482 disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the owners of apartments that have been operating illegally and the revocation of 400 licences has been initiated in cases where the licence holder has been identified to not be the owner of the property.

Alerted by complaints

2,108 disciplinary procedures have been filed against the owners of tourist apartments and the Call Reception Centre set up by the Town Hall has handled more than 3,000 complaints about around 2,400 lodgings, which have allowed the City Police to begin the inspection of 1,816 unlicensed apartments.

The inspections have also allowed 226 disciplinary files to be opened against the owners of tourist apartments that do have licences, but which have not dealt with or resolved an incident when required to do so.

In total, the authorities have identified 1,080 flats in breach of the legislation, but have only fined 482 because they are waiting for a second round of inspections to be carried out to confirm that illegal tourist activity is being undertaken in the properties.

The Deputy Mayoress has also highlighted that the vast majority of the illegal apartments identified are located in the district of Ciutat Vella, followed by Eixample.

These actions to alleviate problems for tourists are included in the report “Municipal actions to counter the illegal supply of tourist accommodation 2015”, which will be presented to the Committee for Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility on Wednesday.

Sanz explained that she would like to have more inspectors to detect this kind of activity, but added that the Town Hall has a very “limited” recruitment strategy, restricted by the Law of Budgetary Stability.

Reinforcement in la Barceloneta

She also said that the neighbourhood of la Barceloneta, which is one of the most affected areas, has been visited in a “proactive” way to detect illegal tourist apartments…8,553 visits have been made in total in recent months.

In addition, the neighbourhood has had its own office since November to facilitate complaints from local residents. Furthermore, 33 identification plaques have been installed in apartments that do have licences – there are 72 in total – showing details of the corresponding licence and telephone number.

The objective of the initiative is to identify those apartments that are operating legally and those that are not.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake