Tag: entrepreneurs

Amazon Opens its Support Centre for SMEs in 22@ (Barcelona)

23 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Amazon’s support centre for SMEs has opened its doors in the 22@ district of Barcelona. From its Sell Support Hub facilities, the US company is going to offer support services to small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in Spain, Italy and France that sell their products through Amazon Marketplace.

The facilities, which house more than 200 employees, are also going to be home to Amazon’s Research and Development Centre, specialising in machine learning. The date for the opening of that centre has not been released yet, but its doors are expected to open within the next few months.

From its new centre, Amazon is going to help companies understand how to use its tools to sell globally through its different web platforms. According to François Saugier, Vice-President of Amazon Marketplace in Europe, it is laying the foundations for companies to make the leap into the digital economy.

Seller Support Hub is going to facilitate the creation of 500 jobs over the next three years. Regarding the choice of Barcelona as the location for this centre, François Nuyts, Vice-President and Director General of Amazon.es and Amazon.it, said that “it is a city that combines international talent with a dynamic and innovative network of SMEs, entrepreneurs and startups”.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Twisttt: Merlin Launches New Co-Working Brand Together with Loom House

20 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Merlin doesn’t want to get left behind in the race between the real estate companies in the co-working sector and so has taken the lead. The Socimi led by Ismael Clemente is going to launch a new co-working brand, under the name Twistt, together with Loom House, the company specialising in shared work centres, in which the Socimi acquired a stake of more than 30% last May. As sources at Merlin have explained to EjePrime, the first space under this new co-working brand is going to be opened in a building that the Socimi owns in Calle Princesa, Madrid.

The Socimi is going to open its first Twisttt space at number 5 Calle Princesa, in a building that it already owns. “Under this new brand, Merlin is going to contribute the assets and Loom House is going to be responsible for managing the co-working space”, explain the sources. There will be 1,100 m2 of shared office space, which can house up to 150 users. Twisttt’s first space is expected to be fully operational by June.

Although the sources at Merlin are not yet able to define the route map that the two groups will adopt with Twisttt, the plans involve opening at least one more co-working centre before the end of the year. “Unlike Loom House, which is an ecosystem focused on innovation, Twisttt is a much more practical ecosystem”, explain sources at the group. Twisttt will belong to the same company as Loom House, Innovación Colaborativa, and so will not be a new company.

This new project comes almost a year after Merlin purchased a 31% stake in Loom House. Paula Almansa and Jose Almansa are the founders of Loom House, a concept that seeks to differentiate itself from a “simple co-working because we wanted to go one step further”, explained its co-founder. “It is a space destined to innovation, to sharing ideas, that allows you to reflect” – explains Almansa-; if all you want us a workspace with wifi and a coffee shop, there are other options ahead of Loom House”.

Loom House is the spin-off of Impact Hub, the first co-working that was created in Spain by ten entrepreneurs (including the Almansa siblings). “After seeing that the co-working concept was starting to be accepted in Spain, we got down to work with Loom House, opening our first space in the ‘Real Fábrica de Tapices’ in 2016”, say sources at the group (…).

Now, the company is preparing to go one step further with the launch of its second Loom House space. This new centre, which will span 1,500 m2 and which will be able to house more than 190 users, is going to be located at number 9 Calle Huertas, in the Las Letras neighbourhood, in the former Chamber of Commerce building. Work to remodel the asset has already begun and is expected to be completed by in June.

The co-working war 

The entry of Merlin into the co-working sector is not an isolated or anecdotal event. Ismael Clemente’s Socimi is following in the footsteps of Colonial, which acquired a majority stake in the Madrilenian based firm Utopicus (specialising in coworking) last October, to develop a new branch of its business, as Eje Prime revealed.

Currently, Utopicus has three centres in Madrid, located on Calles Duque de Rivas, Colegiata and Doctor Esquerdo (…).

Now, with the objective of generating a profit from its investment, Colonial is going to open three more Utopicus centres, on this occasion in Barcelona (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Princeton Acquires c/Mazarredo 7, Next To Google Campus

9 March 2016 – Noticias CBRE

The British family office Princeton has closed the acquisition of the building on Calle Mazarredo 7, in Madrid, in a deal advised by CBRE, the world leading real estate consultancy and services company. The property, situated in a strategic location next to the headquarters of the Google Campus, has a surface area of 4,000 m2 spread across 5 floors.

It is a unique, listed building next to the Manzanares River, located in the new technological area of Madrid that has become fashionable thanks to the arrival of the Google Campus. The building will be leased to companies who want to be located in the area of influence around the technology giant’s headquarters.

Princeton is the investment vehicle of the Lee family, the former owners of the company Imry Property Holdings, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange for more than 25 years. Since the sale of the company, the Lee family has undertaken significant investments in Europe, the UK and the USA, often in partnership with major institutional investors. In April 2015, it acquired a building measuring 10,600 m2 on Calle Fomento, 2, in the Plaza de Santo Domingo, close to Gran Vía, which shows this investor’s commitment to the Spanish market. Following that operation, its purchase of the building on Calle Mazarredo, 7, next to the Google Campus in Madrid, constitutes Princeton’s second acquisition in Spain.

In this way, we are beginning to see the impact of the Google Campus on the area. The headquarters of the technology firm opened its doors last June in the Madrilenian district of Arganzuela, with the aim of becoming a meeting point for entrepreneurs and creatives, and in response to the growing demand in the city for shared work spaces. According to Paloma Relinque, the National Director for Capital Market Foreign Investments at CBRE, “the arrival of the Google Campus is generating an environment of entrepreneurship and a technological meeting point that is impacting the whole area. Demand is very high and it is unlikely that the Campus will be sufficiently large to satisfy it, which means there will be entrepreneurs looking for co-working spaces in the surrounding area”.

Original story: Noticias CBRE

Translation: Carmel Drake