Three New Tenants Move into Torre Espacio

25 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Torre Espacio is almost completely full. The Spanish group Villar Mir has added three new tenants to its property on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid. The companies have leased 3,019 m2 in the property.

Thanks to this operation, the Spanish group led by Juan Miguel Villar Mir has leased 94% of the total surface area of Torre Espacio, the fourth tallest skyscraper in all of Spain. The supermarket cooperative Coviran, the application design firm Mobetia and the fibre optic operator Ufinet are the three companies that will now carry out their activity in the building.

The property is distributed over 57 floors and is currently owned by the Philippine group Emperador. Its tenants include several embassies, such as those of Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as the Spanish Banking Association (AEB) and firms such as Red Bull and Equifax.

The arrival of the new companies in Torre Espacio comes in the middle of the divestment plan in which Villar Mir is immersed. A few months ago, it sold 12.2% of its shareholding in OHL, reducing its stake to 38.2%. The main reason for that move was to decrease the group’s debt.

In August, Villar Mir sold the 32.5% stake that it held in the share capital of Project Canalejas to OHL, the construction firm owned by the holding company, for €50 million, according to a statement filed by the company with Spain’s National Securities and Market Commission (CNMV).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Villar Mir Guarantees Torre Espacio’s Buyer Rent Of €26M

3 July 2015 – Cinco Días

Inmobiliaria Espacio, which forms part of the Grupo Villar Mir, wants to generate the maximum amount from the sale of the iconic Torre Espacio, one of the four skyscrapers constructed on Real Madrid’s former Ciudad Deportiva. To this end, it is willing to guarantee 100% of the building’s rental income, and pay the difference if the new owner does not reach the maximum occupancy rate.

According to sources close to the operation, Villar Mir has put a figure on the table of €26.4 million per year. This means that the purchaser will receive the same monthly rent, regardless of the occupancy rate of the building.

Torre Espacio, which has 57 floors and is 230m high, has a total leasable area of 60,142m2, as well as 1,173 parking spaces. The building currently has an occupancy rate of 85%. Companies in the Grupo Villar Mir occupy 55% of the leasable area and the corporation, which is controlled and chaired by Juan Miguel Villar Mir, will continue to rent offices in the skyscraper. The other tenants include four embassies: Canada, UK, Australia and the Netherlands.

The real estate company has offered to guarantee rental income of €35 per m2 per month, which represents an annual rent of €25.2 million. In addition, the rental cost of the parking spaces amounts to another €1 million, which takes total annual rent to €26.4 million. Inmobiliaria Espacio would retain control of the rental management of the property and of finding tenants. Nevertheless, it is likely that some investors will waive their right to the guarantee, as they will prefer to take care of the management side themselves.

With this commitment, the real estate company thinks that it will come close to the €600 million asking price for the sale of the tower. That would represent an annual yield of 4.40%, but that is rather low, according to market sources; if interest rates rise over the next few months, the viability of the tower’s financing may be put at risk.

Villar Mir has set a minimum asking price of €500 million, which represents a valuation of around €8,500/m2. The market considers that price to be high, since Pontegadea, the family office owned by Amancio Ortega, paid around €5,000/m2 for its acquisition of Torre Picasso, and the March family paid around €7,500/m2 for Ahorro Corporación’s headquarters in Castellana, 89.

On the plus side, Villar Mir’s real estate group may benefit from increased liquidity in the market and the interest shown by international funds in the recovery of the country. Even so, analysts do not expect that many candidates will have the capacity to invest €500 million or €600 million in an asset that is not in Azca, the prime business district in Madrid. (…).

‘Due diligence’

The group chaired by Villar Mir has launched an accelerated process for the sale of the building. Anyone wishing to becoming the new owner must submit non-binding offers by next Tuesday. The real estate company expects to choose the best offer during the course of the week.

Then, the candidate with the best offer will begin the due diligence process, which will last for three weeks, until 29 July – all of the experts in the market consider this timeframe to be tight. The binding offer will be made by 29 July and the transaction will be closed during the first week of August.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Villar Mir Puts ‘Torre Espacio’ On The Market For €700M

30 June 2015 – Expansión

A new mega real estate transaction is taking shape in Spain, involving ‘Torre Espacio’ – the 236 metre tall skyscraper that the Villar Mir Group owns in the Cuatro Torres Business Area, in Madrid.

The Villar Mir Group, owner of the OHL construction company and the Espacio real estate company, has just put one of the most iconic buildings in the capital up for sale. According to sources close to the process, the property, which contains 60,140 m2 of office space, has an asking price of between €650 million and €700 million.

Villar Mir’s decision to sell the building, through a process organised by the consultancy Aguirre Newman, comes barely a month after the company was awarded the plot of land adjoining the Cuatro Torres, where it will construct a new skyscraper.

The sale of Torre Espacio, which opened in 2007, will generate significant capital gains for the company owned by Juan Miguel Villar Mir, which invested €400 million to buy the site and construct the building. That amount includes the €187 million it paid to purchase the land, as well as all of the financial expenses incurred during the construction period.

Torre Espacio, which was the first of the four buildings in the complex to open, has an occupancy ratio of 85%. Its tenants include the Villar Mir Group, some of its subsidiaries (Fertiberia, Ferroatlántica and Espacio), as well as the embassies of the UK, Netherlands, Canada and Australia.

According to initial calculations, when the tower is fully leased, it will generate annual income of €28 million.

Original source: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake