Tag: facilities

BBVA Puts Torre Puig Building Up For Sale

6 October 2016 – Expansión

BBVA has put the building that houses the corporate headquarters of the perfume and fashion group Puig up for sale. The property is located in Plaza Europa in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona).

The family-backed Catalan multinational company, which leases this building, has the option to purchase it in the event that it is put up for sale, as has now happened, according to sources close to the operation.

Sources in the real estate sector calculate that the skyscraper could be sold for between €55 million and €65 million.

The operation, known as Project Torre, is being advised exclusively by the real estate consultancy Aguirre Newman.

The corporate building in Plaza Europa, which was opened two years ago, to coincide with the centenary of Puig, was taken over by BBVA as a result of its acquisition of CatalunyaBanc (CX).

Designed by the architect Rafael Moneo, the skyscraper is located in Barcelona’s new corporate and business centre and has a surface area of 14,288 sqm distributed over 21 floors. In addition, the building has three basement floors.

Puig’s corporate headquarters houses an auditorium, gym, meeting rooms, cafeteria and restaurant, amongst other spaces.

Torre Puig has a LEED Gold energy efficiency certificate, which is an international hallmark of excellence granted by the Green Building Council of the USA that recognises the environmental quality of buildings.

Original story: Expansión (by J.O. and S.S.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Marina d’Or Launches Aggressive Marketing Campaign

4 October 2016 – Cinco Días

The former hotel and real estate empire Marina d’Or has launched an aggressive marketing campaign to raise revenues. It has put apartments up for sale from as little as €130,000 and retail premises from €200,000, with a “guaranteed” return of 7%.

The empire created by Jesús Ger began to crumble at the same time as the real estate bubble burst in Spain. The Holiday City, which was advertised in the City of London as the best place to spend the summer and as a golden retirement destination for British pensioners, is resorting to aggressive marketing techniques once again to increase its sales in the short term.

The key to the campaign, which is featuring in most national newspapers, is the slogan… “Guaranteed returns of 7%”. The small print explains that these investment opportunities relate to fully operational retail premises, with an established client base, as well as beach-front apartments. It specifies that the return of 7% with guaranteed rent will be over “1, 2 3 or more years, depending on the agreement”.

The reality is that the entity selling these assets is the hotel subsidiary of the group, which has not filed for bankruptcy, unlike its property developer associate.

Hoteles Marina d’Or has been selling homes and retail premises from €130,000 and €200,000, respectively, since the summer. In theory, the guaranteed return used to be 4%, but in September, that figure was increased to 7%.

How does it work?

The mechanism is simple. The company undertakes to pay that percentage over the purchase price on the basis of a signed contract, if the owner grants it the right to rent out its property in return. “In reality, they are apartments that the hotels already manage and given their locations, it is almost certain that they will be occupied; and as such, we are able to promise such returns”, said a sales agent from Marina d’Or. A spokesperson for the firm added that the sale of these apartments represents a direct cash injection and allows them to consider using this formula with more homes in the future. (…).

The hotel and real estate complex, which has half a dozen hotels, ranging from three- to five-star categories, is also home to several leisure facilities and a large spa. (…) The company, which guarantees annual interest of more than €9,000 per year for a flat costing €130,000, held own funds amounting to €86.2 million at the end of 2014, the last period for which accounts have been deposited in the commercial registry.

The company generated revenues of €38.6 million in 2014, in line with the preceding year. Its profit amounted to €627,000, compared with a loss of more than €1 million in 2013. The debt repayment calendar of Hoteles Marina d’Or, a limited company that is fully owned by Jesús Ger, was clear at the end of 2014. Last year, it had to repay €1.2 million; this year €1.4 million; and in 2017, €2.8 million. In 2018, the amount will increase to €4.6 million and from 2019, to €87.5 million. In total, the company’s debt amounts to almost €100 million. (…)

The return means multiplying the average interest rate on one- and two-year deposits by 30, given that on average such deposits paid out 0.23% in July. Nevertheless, the return is not quite so far-fetched in the real estate world. Sources in the sector acknowledge that it is high, given that holiday apartments offer around 4% in their contracts, and that it depends on the tourist occupancy rates in the area. In any case, there is a risk, given that the hotel company is responsible for paying that interest rate.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Pablo M. Simón y Laura Salces)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ayco Buys Hotel Byblos In Mijas For €60M

26 September 2016 – Real Estate Press

As a result of this operation, Hotel Byblos hopes to restore its reputation as a luxury establishment in the health and family tourism sector, focused on the world of golf.

Ayco’s representatives have communicated that the real estate group plans to completely rebuild the property, which houses one of the largest five-star luxury hotels on the Costa del Sol. They plan to retain the hotel’s characteristic features, as well as incorporate new elements, such as a health and beauty area.

The five-star Hotel Byblos Hotel is an icon of the tourism industry on the Costa del Sol, since many internationally famous personalities have passed through its facilities, including the mythical Rolling Stones and Lady Di, amongst many others.

The establishment, opened in 1986, achieved enormous international fame as an icon of high quality tourism until it was acquired by the real estate group Aifos, which then led it to ruin, until its closure on 31 May 2010. In 2009, the British magnate Lord Sugar, founder of the mythical information technology company Amstrad, acquired the hotel and considered the possibility of reopening it in 2013, but that did not end up happening.

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

GreenOak Purchases Las Mercedes Business Park For €140M

24 June 2016 – Expansión

The US fund GreenOak Real Estate has purchased the Las Mercedes business park in Madrid from Standard Life Investments for around €140 million, according to sources close to the deal.

In 2004, Standard Life Investments invested around €150 million in the construction of the business park, located on the outskirts of Madrid next to the A-2 motorway. The business park, located on Calle Campezo 1, opposite Madrid Barajas airport, is just a few metres away from the Plenilunio shopping centre – measuring 70,000 sqm – owned by Klepierre.

Covering 78,500 sqm, the business complex comprises nine office buildings and a private garden. Constructed on a plot of land measuring four hectares, the complex includes a common area with two cafeterias, a restaurant, a supermarket, a courier service and a gym. The business park is served by public transport and a shuttle bus, which connects it with Madrid. In addition, the business park has parking spaces with capacity for 1,652 vehicles.

The Las Mercedes business park is currently occupied by tenants such as Altran, Applus, la Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Reguladora and Xerox. Clifford Chance, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and Gleeds have advised the buyers, whilst Gomez-Acebo &Pombo and CBRE have advised the sellers.

GreenOak, which opened its office in Madrid in 2015, has been very active in Spain. Last year, it acquired the Sevilla Factory shopping centre and a building on the Madrilenian Calle Fuencarral. In addition, in 2014, it joined forces with Baupost and Lar to purchase seven properties located in Madrid, Málaga, Barcelona, Burgos and Alicante.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

RTVE Seeks RE Agent To Help It Sell 32 Buildings For €85M

7 June 2016 – Voz Pópuli

Spain’s national broadcaster, Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE), wants to sell 32 plots of land and properties, distributed across Spain, for which it hopes to obtain proceeds of €85.6 million. The corporation has launched a competition, with a budget of €3.1 million, which aims to find an estate agent in the market of these buildings, which in several cases are empty or offer services that could be carried out in another one of its work centres. The so-called “idle assets”.

The jewel in the crown of this package of public goods is the plot of land measuring 245,000 sqm that RTVE owns in the Madrilenian suburb of Las Rozas, which is valued at €49.3 million and which is currently used as the broadcasting centre for Radio 1 and Radio 5 MW. The corporation plans to move these facilities (including the antennae, which are approximately 200 metres tall) to a cheaper, less densely populated area, which would allow it to generate profits from this real estate operation.

The real estate portfolio that will go up for sale also includes the headquarters of Radio Nacional de España, located in Calle de Roc Boronat in Barcelona, and inaugurated in 2007, when Luis Fernández was President (of RTVE) and the PSOE was in Government in Moncloa. The idea is to transfer this media centre to TVE’s studios in Sant Cugat del Vallès – which will cost €3.5 million – and sell off the headquarters.

The Directors of the corporation want the estate agent who ends up being awarded the contract to take care of the necessary legal procedures to change the urban classification of this estate to obtain higher revenues from the operation, according to details specified in the competition tender document.

Buildings all over Spain

The list of properties that RTVE wants to get rid off also includes a 26,000 sqm plot of land in the Madrilenian suburb of Majadahonda (€5.3 million), a building on Calle de Colón in Valencia (€4.57 million), another on Calle de la Albareda in Zaragoza (€3.4 million) and another on Avenida Ranillas, also in the Aragonese capital, which has been valued at €4.57 million.

The following assets in the portfolio also have prices that exceed the one million euro threshold: the RNE headquarters in Valladolid (€1.02 million), the corporation’s facilities at the Edificio Venus in Murcia (€1.47 million) and the office in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (€1.46 million). The portfolio due to be sold also includes buildings and plots of land in Alicante, Mérida (Badajoz), Cádiz, Gerona, Granada, Jaén, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Lérida, Monforte de Lemos (Lugo), Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, Pontevedra (Vigo), Santander, Tarragona, Teruel and Talavera de la Reina (Toledo). (…).

Original story: Voz Pópuli (by Rubén Arranz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Segro Acquires Coslada II Logistics Centre From Royal Premier

27 April 2016 – Press Release

The British company Segro has acquired the Coslada II Logistics Centre, located on Avenida de la Cañada in Coslada, from Royal Premier in an operation advised on the buy-side by Proequity and on the sell-side by CBRE.

Through this acquisition, Segro becomes the owner of one of the most emblematic industrial parks in the Corredor de Henares: the industrial, business and residential hub located between Madrid and Guadalajara. The asset, one of the most flexible parks in the prime market in Madrid, has a constructed surface area of 16,202 m2, divided into four platforms measuring approximately 4,000 m2 each. Currently, the property is leased to several tenants occupying modules with a minimum surface area of around 1,000 m2 each.

Marco Simonetti, Business Director at Segro for Southern Europe said that: “This is a major operation for Segro, in line with our strategy for expansion in Southern Europe. We believe in the potential and growth of Spain, and so we have acquired this industrial park, which has an ideal location, in one of Madrid’s most important hubs”.

Segro will carry out an improvement plan at the park this year to upgrade the existing facilities and offer better services to the property’s current and future tenants.

Original story: Press Release

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Hotusa Group Buys The Sheraton Madrid Mirasierra Hotel

11 December 2015 – Cinco Días

The Hotusa Group has bought the Sheraton Madrid Mirasierra Hotel & Spa, which it will incorporate into its Eurostars Hotel chain. It will operate the establishment as a 5-star hotel under the commercial name Eurostars Suites Mirasierra, as part of the on-going growth strategy of its hotel division, pursued since its creation in 1994.

With this acquisition, whose consideration has not been disclosed, Eurostars Hotels adds its eighth establishment in Madrid, where it already owns the ‘Eurostars Madrid Tower‘ (5-star), the ‘Eurostars Monte Real’ (4-star), the ‘Eurostars Plaza Mayor’ (4-star), the ‘Eurostars Zarzuela Park’ (4-star), the ‘Eurostars Gran Madrid’ (4-star) in Alcobendas, the ‘Eurostars Arenas De Pinto’ (4-star) in Pinto and the ‘Eurostars I-Hotel’ (4-star) in Pozuelo de Alarcón.

As a result, the company’s hotel division will operate a total of 18 hotels in the Community of Madrid, of which seven are operated under the umbrella of its other chain, Exe Hotels. In total, the group owns 148 establishments in 18 countries.

“We are committed to the organic growth of our portfolio, based on the incorporation of establishments that we believe we can apply our model to, in order to further boost their growth”, confirmed the President of Grupo Hotusa, Amancio López Seijas, un a statement.

López stated that the chain is open to all types of formula, from purchases, such as in this case, to management, depending on the particulars of each project within its expansion plan.

The 5-star Eurostars Suites Mirasierra has 182 rooms and suites measuring at least 60 m2, and is one of the most important establishments in the capital for holding events, with 17 independent meeting rooms, and the capacity to host up to 850 people. Its accommodation options are complemented by a restaurant and terrace, several bars, an outdoor swimming pool and spa, a gym and health treatment services.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

Inbisa Sells 1,600m2 Of Office Space In Barcelona

31 July 2015 – Noticias Logística y Transporte

Inbisa Inmobiliaria has sold 1,600 m2 of office space, 9 parking spaces and 2 store rooms in the Torre Inbisa Plaza Europa, in Barcelona to a Russian private equity investor. The building’s occupancy rate will increase to 80% as a result of the sale.

According to Inbisa Inmobiliaria, “the buyer, which has been advised by Residae Barcelona Real Estate Consultancy, has valued the investment on the basis of the solvency of the tenants, the stability of their contracts, the characteristics of the asset and the potential for the growth in value of the property”. (…).

Plaza Europa has consolidated its position as a strategic area in Barcelona thanks to its proximity to the Barcelona-El Prat airport, the port, the AVE station and the city centre; and many companies have chosen to locate their headquarters there. Torre Inbisa Plaza Europa is the only building in the area that offers to sell offices, with spaces available measuring as little as 200 m2.

The tower is more than 100m tall and has a total above-ground constructed surface area of more than 19,500 m2 over 25 floors, measuring 800 m2 each. It also has 2 underground floors with capacity for 237 parking spaces, 700 m2 of store rooms and a dining room, which may be used by the building’s occupants. (…).

Inbisa Inmobiliaria confirmed that “special care was taken with the design (of the tower) from the start to control the climatic exposure,  the light, ensure the correct thermal and acoustic insulation and natural ventilation, with the aim of optimising the facilities”.

At the end of June, Inbisa Inmobiliaria sold industrial warehouses measuring more than 3,700 m2 in Vizcaya in the Centro Empresarial Inbisa Derio.

Original story: Noticias Logística y Transporte

Translation: Carmel Drake