Tag: expansion plan

Galil Capital Completes a €7.9M Capital Increase

5 February 2019 – Eje Prime

Galil Capital is raising funds to continue growing its portfolio. The Socimi is going to increase its share capital by €7.9 million, compared with the figure of €8.74 million planned initially, according to a statement filed with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

Once the term for the preferential subscription and discretional allocation of shares has ended, Galil explained that the share capital will be increased by €6.59 million, corresponding to 658,710 new shares and to a total disbursement of €7.9 million.

The shareholders of the Socimi, controlled by the Israeli businessman Gil Avraham Shwed, approved the capital increase of up to €8.74 million last November. With this operation, promoted just one month after it raised €4.5 million in bank loans, the company is intending to finance the purchase of new assets.

Galil Capital started life in 2015 and specialises in the investment and management of properties in Madrid and Barcelona. The Socimi is led by Jerry Mandel, former CEO of Merrill Lynch, who is the founder and owner of GC Nadlan, the company that manages the real estate firm (…).

According to the latest available information, corresponding to June, Galil Capital’s portfolio comprises six assets, all of which have residential use, worth €31.36 million (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Marta Casado)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Iberostar will Add 1,500 Rooms to its Portfolio in 2019

24 January 2019 – Expansión

Grupo Iberostar is continuing with its expansion plans and intends to add seven new hotels to its portfolio this year, containing 1,500 rooms in five countries. The new establishments will open in Palma de Mallorca and Madrid, in Spain; in Monastir and Sousse, in Tunisia, where the Spanish hotel chain already has a presence; as well as in Istanbul (Turkey), Rome (Italy) and Lagos (Portugal), where the group will make its debut.

The company, which opened 13 establishments last year, explained that 2019 is going to be “key” for the consolidation of the projects it has underway in Los Cabos and Litibú (Mexico) and for others, which are more advanced, in destinations such as Montenegro, Aruba, Albania and Cuba.

The chain, which is owned by the Fluxá family, owned 96 hotels around the world containing 31,720 rooms at the end of 2018. In Spain, the company owned 35 hotels and 9,888 rooms at the end of last year.

In terms of operational data, Iberostar closed 2018 with revenues of €2.659 billion, which represented an increase of 9% YoY, and it created around 4,000 jobs (…).

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Habitat Debuts in A Coruña with a €19M Investment in a 96-Home Development

16 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Habitat has arrived in Galicia. The property developer is making its debut in the region with a development comprising 96 homes in A Coruña and an investment of €19 million, according to reports made by the company to EjePrime.

The company has acquired a plot of land with a buildable surface area of 10,500 m2, on which it is going to build a seventeen-storey tower. The marketing of the homes, located on Calle Aurelio Aguirre Galarraga, in the San Vicente de Elviña neighbourhood, will start during the first quarter of this year.

“With the start of this new project in A Coruña, Habitat has launched itself in Galicia, an area with a high degree of urban development and which has enormous potential for growth over the coming years”, as highlighted by José Carlos Saz, the CEO of the company.

This latest acquisition forms part of Habitat’s business strategy, which will involve an investment of €500 million by 2021. The company’s plans involve constructing new developments with the objective of delivering more than 2,000 homes per year from 2021.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grupo Lar Purchases 36,000 m2 of Logistics Land in Valencia

17 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Grupo Lar is starting to expand in the Spanish logistics sector. The company has completed the purchase of 36,000 m2 of logistics land in the municipality of Quart de Poblet, in Valencia with the aim of constructing two warehouses and an additional block of offices.

The two logistics centres will have surface areas of 5,000 m2 and 17,000 m2, respectively. Meanwhile, the office building will span approximately 1,300 m2. The building work is expected to start during the second quarter of 2019 and finish during the first quarter of 2020.

The land is located close to the Riba-roja logistics hub, 15km from Valencia and 10km from the Manises airport. Moreover, its proximity to the city’s main arteries gives it a privileged position when it comes to moving goods.

Currently, Grupo Lar is working on an expansion plan for its logistics platform with Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Sevilla and País Vasco all in the spotlight. The company plans to invest €250 million between now and 2021 in the acquisition of 500,000 m2 of industrial land.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barings Acquires 2 Logistics Assets in Madrid for €17.6M

11 December 2017 – Eje Prime

Barings Real Estate is closing its ambitious expansion plan for Spain in 2017. Just weeks after it purchased a 29,000 m2 logistics centre in Zaragoza, the international manager has acquired two assets in Majadahonda (Madrid) for €17.6 million; the same amount it spent on the operation in the Aragonese capital.

The fund has acquired a warehouse and a gas station, which span a combined land area of 10,900 m2. The company has also announced that it will lease the centre to the multinational furniture retailer Conforama under a ten-year contract.

With this new acquisition, Barings has accumulated a portfolio of non-residential assets in Spain worth almost €100 million during 2017. In April, the manager purchased a logistics space in Madrid measuring 56,000 m2 for €35 million and in July it bought an asset measuring 1,600 m2 for €21.6 million. In addition to the two centres it acquired in the last month, the company has now spent €90 million in Spain.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axel Hotels Plans To Triple In Size In 5 Years & Enter US Market

5 October 2017 – Expansión

Axel Hotels, the gay-oriented hotel chain, has just opened its first hotel in Madrid together with HI Partners, the subsidiary of Banco Sabadell, and is now preparing to enter new markets in Europe, as well as branch out into the United States of America.

The firm, founded in 2003 by Juan Julià with its first hotel in Barcelona, has almost doubled in size in the last year, from four hotels to seven and from a turnover of €16 million in 2016 to €23.5 million, the forecast full-year figure for 2017.

Currently, the group has a presence in Barcelona, Berlin, the Canary Islands, Ibiza and Madrid and it expects to close four new projects this year.

“We are analysing the East Coast of the USA, which is currently our largest source market, as well as France, the UK, the Netherlands and Italy”, explains the President and founder of Axel, Juan Julià, to Expansión.

Specifically, the group’s expansion plans include adding ten more hotels to its portfolio over five years and reaching a turnover of €70 million by the end of that period.

Last year, the company welcomed the investment firm Aristaeus into its share capital; that firm, which is a subsidiary of Global Investment Holdings, injected €11 million and now controls a 35% stake. “In theory, we are not planning to receive any new investors. The contribution from our shareholder will allow us to open one or two hotels in first-rate cities and with the cash generated from those, we will have the resources necessary to strengthen our growth”.

Julià is also open to strengthening its relationship with HI Partners, with which it has signed a management agreement for the new hotel in Madrid. Located at number 49 Calle Atocha, this building, converted into a hotel, has 88 rooms and Sabadell’s subsidiary invested €9 million on its launch. To supply the gastronomic offer, the hotel restaurant has engaged Grupo Iglesias, owner of Rías de Galicia.

Axel’s business model includes closing rental and management agreements with the owners of hotels and implementing its “hetero-friendly philosophy”. “This is a niche business with great potential and we do not have any real competitors. According to data facilitated by LGTB Capital, gay tourism generates more than €6,300 million in Spain, almost 40% more than business tourism. It is a public that travels four times more and that also spends more than its heterosexual counterparts”, he explains.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Be Mate Launches Tourist Apartment Management Business

14 September 2017 – Expansión

Kike Sarasola (pictured below), owner of the Room Mate hotel chain, has taken a new leap forward in his activity as a tourism entrepreneur by taking over the management of a premium building in the centre of Madrid comprising tourist rental apartments. The operation is being undertaken through Be Mate and is the pre-cursor to a new line of business that involves the exclusive management of apartments for third parties, which is expected to grow to include 600 units. As part of its strategy, Be Mate is already considering taking over the reins at two other tourist buildings in Madrid, as well as at another two in Barcelona.

“They might be the best 36 tourist apartments in Madrid”, said Sarasola after announcing the deal, which sees him get ahead of the competition. The building is located on Calle Cadarso, opposite El Tempo de Debod, a premium area in the capital.

The property has a surface area of 3,500 m2 spread over eight floors, two of which, the sixth and seventh, are going to house the most exclusive apartments. The decoration has been entrusted to the architecture and interior design firm ‘Cat in a square’.

The property has already been restored and is owned by a real estate company, which has transferred the management to Be Mate. “Several large funds are interested in this formula”, which generates returns, explains Sarasola. His company will provide the personnel, technological know-how, revenue management and other tools that are synonymous with Be Mate.

Sarasola distinguishes his business from the Airbnb model and says that his facilities have not been included in any of the administrative actions filed against tourist apartments. “We are in favour of smart regulation where good solutions can be found for everyone”.

As it celebrates its third anniversary, Be Mate is getting ready to tackle an “ambitious expansion plan”, which includes opening new properties in London, Rome and San Sebastián, where the hotel chain Room Mate, also founded by Sarasola, plans to also open a new hotel in 2018.

In 2017, Be Mate expects to multiply its turnover nine-fold, to €6 million, by selling more than 80,000 room nights. Its portfolio of apartments has grown to 10,000, and has hosted more than 30,000 guests. 30% of its revenues come from international markets (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Iñaki de las Heras)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Meliá Will Open 23 New Hotels In 2017

19 January 2017 – Cinco Días

The hotel chain Meliá plans to open at least 23 hotels this year as part of its expansion plans. Six will be opened in the Asia-Pacific region, with inaugurations planned in Vietnam, China and Indonesia.

The Vice-President and CEO of the group, Gabriel Escarrer, said that the company will continue the pace of signings and new openings this year, after several years during which it has opened between 20 and 30 hotels a year, which represents one new property every two or three weeks.

Six new hotels will be opened in Latin America and the Caribbean. They will include the Gran Meliá Nacional Río de Janeiro, which is looking to revolutionise the luxury hotel market in the Brazilian city and which will be open soon. In Europe, Meliá will also open another five hotels, three in Spain, whereby strengthening its commitment to major cities and urban destinations that are oriented towards leisure.

The group is also planning to open three hotels in the Middle East: one in Doha, one in the Maldives and the ME Dubai, which will open in December and which was designed by the architect Zaha Hadid. Meanwhile, in Africa, it will open another three establishments, in its first foray into the holiday segment, in Morocco, Cape Verde and Tanzania.

The company has also announced the signing of two new hotels, which will open in 2019. The first will represent Meliá’s debut in The Netherlands, with a 328-room property in Amsterdam. The second will be located in Terminal 3 of the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and is the result of the hotel chain’s agreement with the French group ADP, which manages the airports in the French capital.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Laura Salces Acebes)

Translation: Carmel Drake