La Generalitat Resumes the Auction of Various Rental Homes in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat

12 June 2019 – El Confidencial

La Generalitat de Cataluña is resuming the public auction of a rental home portfolio for which it hopes to obtain proceeds €6.2 million, having applied a discount of 20% to the asking price last year (€7.7 million).

The assets in the portfolio are all located in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) on Calle Ciencies 15-23, next to Plaza Europa and the Gran Vía 2 shopping centre. They comprise 16 homes, 2 commercial premises, 23 parking spaces with storerooms plus 3 terraced single-family homes located in the urbanisation behind that building on Calles Mileva Maric 33 and 49 and Hanna Arendt, 3. In total, the assets have a combined surface area of 2,448 m2 and are leased almost in their entirety, with just one home and the commercial premises vacant.

The assets are owned by Fira 2000, in which the Catalan government holds a 50%, alongside the Town Halls of Barcelona and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.

The deadline for bids is 22 July and the online auction will be held on 29 July through Addmeet.  

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

El Corte Inglés to Sell its Centres in Xanadú and Francesc Macià

22 April 2019 – Eje Prime

El Corte Inglés is continuing to divest its real estate. The department store group has put its shops in Xanadú (Madrid) and Francesc Macià (Barcelona) up for sale.

They will be joined by others in San Juan de Aznalfarache (Sevilla), Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Ademuz (Valencia), Navarra, Independencia (Zaragoza), Málaga, Marineda City (A Coruña) and Siete Palmas (Gran Canaria).

In total, the group’s portfolio for sale comprises 14 properties, 16 plots of land and 65 assets of various types, including flats and parking spaces, spanning a combined surface area of 1.2 million m2.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

El Corte Inglés Reduces the First Phase of its RE Sales Process to €1bn

29 March 2019 – El Confidencial

El Corte Inglés is refining the plan for its real estate divestment strategy. After hiring Javier Catena as the new Director of Real Estate, the group has decided to sell off its assets in phases and will begin by activating the sale of 95 assets, from an initial perimeter of 130.

The department store giant has engaged PwC to open the tender process for investors, with the aim of receiving final offers by the end of April.

The revised portfolio includes 14 commercial premises, 16 plots of land and 65 assets of various types, such as flats and parking spaces, which together span a total surface area of 1.2 million m2 and which are primarily located in Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and Sevilla.

Investors may bid for all or part of this first portfolio, or even for specific assets only. Most of the properties for sale are being offered with the option of a sale and leaseback arrangement, whereby the vendor would remain as the tenant following the sale.

By reducing the perimeter of this first phase to 95 properties, ECI has decreased the proceeds that it expects to receive from RE sales this year to €1 billion, compared to the figure of between €1.5 billion and €2 billion that it had announced in December.

Original story: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Ibosa Sells the 85 Flats on Madrid’s Most Sought-After Plot in Record Time

18 March 2019 – El Economista

Last year, Ibosa was awarded one of the most sought-after plots of land in Madrid following a closely fought battle. This year, the property developer is in the news again as it has managed to sell all of the future homes that are going to be built on the site in less than two months.

The cooperative manager was awarded the plot, located on the corner of Calle Doctor Esquerdo and Calle de los Astros, just 800m from the Retiro Park, in November 2018 after submitting the highest bid (€33.5 million) and fighting off competition from 16 other players.

The competition for the homes themselves has been just as fierce with all 85 being sold in just 50 days. That achievement is all the more impressive when you consider that the homes have an average price of €5,000/m2, including parking space and storeroom.

The development, known as Residencial Becrux, is going to comprise 85 homes with between one and four bedrooms, with constructed surface areas of between 52 m2 and 245 m2. The total budgeted investment amounts to €55 million and the homes are expected to be handed over during the first quarter of 2022.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Unicaja Sells Problem Assets to Cerberus & AnaCap for €120M

23 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Unicaja is divesting its toxic assets. The Málaga-based entity sold two portfolios of problem assets amounting to €330 million to Cerberus and AnaCap at the end of 2018. In this way, it managed to clean up its balance sheet and improve its accounts for last year, ahead of the merger with Liberbank, reports El Confidencial.

The problem assets consisted of one portfolio of mortgages amounting to €230 million, which were sold to Cerberus and another portfolio containing property developer loans amounting to €100 million, which was acquired by AnaCap.

According to the latest published accounts, Unicaja held €3.9 billion in problem assets (flats, land and unpaid loans) as at September 2018, and so the two portfolios sold account for more than 8% of the total. In the market, it is estimated at the Málaga-based bank obtained proceeds of around €120 million in exchange for the sale of the two portfolios.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ministry of Development: New Housing Permits Rose by 23.2% in October

29 December 2018 – El Economista

The permits authorised for new residential construction in Spain amounted to 83,882 units between January and October 2018, which represented an increase of 23.2% in comparison to the same period a year earlier (68,084 units).

According to data from the Ministry of Development, of the total number of permits approved, 66,032 were for flats in housing blocks (a YoY rise of 27.7%) and 17,831 were for single-family homes, up by 9%. Moreover, 19 permits were requested for other types of buildings.

The new build permits authorised are following a positive path so far in 2018, after four years on the rise to reach 80,876 units in total in 2017, which represented an increase of 26.1% compared to the previous year.

In the past, in 2016, permits rose by 28.9%, after increasing by 42.5% in 2015, which consolidated the recovery initiated in 2014, the year that broke seven consecutive years of decreases with a slight rise of 1.7%.

This real estate indicator reached a historical minimum in 2013 (34,288 units), a figure that represented a slump of 96% from the peak registered in 2006 with 865,561 permits.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Metrovacesa to Invest €40M in the Construction of 180 New Homes in Córdoba

27 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Metrovacesa has already set up its first cranes in Córdoba. The Spanish property developer has started work on the Las Terrazas de Poniente Sur Residential complex, the first in a series of three projects that the company has underway in the city. In total, the real estate firm is going to build more than 180 homes, with an investment of €40 million in the capital of the Andalucian province.

The company is going to build 120 homes in its first development in Córdoba. On that site, located in the Parque Cruz Conde neighbourhood, the company is going to build flats with between one and five bedrooms, in a building comprising a ground floor and six upper floors. In the common areas, the development will have an outdoor swimming pool, a padel court, a garden and a children’s playground.

Metrovacesa’s commitment to the Andalucían city reflects the fact that Córdoba is “one of the Spanish cities with the highest demand for residential properties at the moment”, said the property developer in a statement.

Besides the Las Terrazas de Poniente Sur Residential development, the company is already marketing Villas de Alhakén, a development comprising 21 single-family homes in the El Brillante neighbourhood. Meanwhile, it is finalising matters to obtain the urban planning licence for Mirador de la Albaida, a residential development comprising forty homes, which will have views of the mountains in Córdoba.

Commitment to Andalucía 

The start of the work in Córdoba is strengthening Metrovacesa’s commitment to Andalucía, where 45% of the company’s land portfolio is located. In Eastern Andalucía alone, the property developer has land on which to build 6,000 homes, of which 4,000 units will be promoted along the Costa del Sol.

The objective of the property developer over the medium term is to generate revenues of €1 billion by 2020, and to increase that figure to €1.5 billion over the following years, according to sources speaking to EjePrime.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Socimi VBare Enters Málaga, Expands in Madrid & Increases its Share Capital by €3.2M

13 June 2018 – Eje Prime

VBare is embarking on a new phase and is branching out beyond Madrid. The Socimi is finalising the purchase of its first assets outside of the Spanish capital, in Málaga, and is continuing to expand its portfolio in Madrid, according to explanations provided by Fabrizio Agrimi, Director General of VBare, speaking to Eje Prime. Moreover, last week, the group closed a capital increase through which it raised €3.2 million to finance new purchases.

The Socimi, which ended the first quarter of the year with 210 assets under management, has set itself the objective of expanding its portfolio to include 261 residential units under management. To this end, the company is on the verge of signing the purchase of two assets, one in Málaga, which will be VBare’s first venture outside of Madrid, and the other in the Spanish capital.

“We hope that the asset in Málaga will be incorporated into our portfolio before the end of June”, says Agrimi. The asset is situated “in a central location” and comprises fourteen residential units. VBare is going to pay around €1.5 million for the asset, including the cost of the renovation that it will undertake before putting it on the market.

The second property is located in the centre of Madrid, and although sources at the Socimi are not able to provide many details about that acquisition, they say that it will comprise around 35 units located “in the city centre”. Currently, 91% of VBare’s portfolio is occupied and “if it weren’t for the renovation projects underway, the occupancy rate would be 95%”, according to the director.

In order to undertake all of these purchases, VBare recently completed a capital increase that could have amounted to €14 million, as disclosed by Eje Prime, but which ended up raising €3.2 million, with the sale of 240,457 new shares.

“It will not be long before we carry out another capital increase given that, due to the timings, several shareholders, possible investors close to the Socimi and other new players missed out on the opportunity to contribute capital this time around”, explains Agrimi (…).

With that capital increase now completed, VBare is going to study the acquisition of “whole buildings, portfolios of dispersed assets and portfolios of assets in single complexes, with the aim of maintaining a balanced portfolio to avoid concentration risks, and obtaining a competitive advantage over the other players in the market consistent with the identification of opportunities with little competition and at below market prices”.

Moreover, the company’s route map includes acquiring assets with a net direct yield of “no less than 4%, as well as properties for which we can obtain an acquisition price with an average discount on the market value of no less than 10%”.

In March, the company acquired a package of assets comprising twelve homes and a commercial premise at number 5 Calle Concordia in the Madrilenian town of Móstoles, according to a statement filed by with group with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

Of the twelve homes that it acquired from the Eureka business group, five have tenants and the others are “in optimal conditions for their immediate rental”. The net yield of these assets is estimated to amount to 5.9% once they reach fully occupancy.

VBare is a real estate investment vehicle specialising in the acquisition and management of residential assets for rent. The company was constituted in March 2015 with the aim of generating high returns for its shareholders through the implementation of a value-added strategy and to take advantage of opportunities in the Spanish residential market, which is showing clear signs of recovery.

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Teleno Real Estate Buys a Residential Building in Madrid for €16M

12 June 2018 – Idealista

The real estate consultancy firm BNP Paribas Real Estate has advised on the sale of a residential building in the north of Madrid, worth €16 million. The property comprises 59 homes, 42 storerooms and 96 parking spaces. Teleno Real Estate is the company that has acquired the asset; it has been advised by Jesús Segado and Javier Escudero, partners of Smart Invest.

The asset is located in the north of Madrid. The firm that has undertaken the purchase, the former Tauro Real Estate, invests in the purchase of real estate assets and is led by José María Xercavins. Tauro Real Estate was acquired in April by the Israeli millionaire, Teddy Sagi (pictured above), who paid €180 million for the company. Currently, it owns 600 flats in Madrid and Barcelona.

David Forteza del Rey, Head of Residential Investment at BNP Paribas Real Estate, explains that “these types of operations confirm the continued dynamism of the residential market, which is still offering attractive returns for investors in a low-interest rate environment”.

Last month, the consultancy firm also advised the investment fund Eurostone on the purchase of two real estate assets, in that case in the upper area of Barcelona, on Calle Tuset and Calle Aribau. Those properties have surface areas of 4,786 m2 and 7,461 m2, respectively. The first is a residential asset with a commercial premise on the ground floor. The property on Calle Aribau contains homes for residential use and tourist rental (…).

Original story: Idealista 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Town Hall of Barcelona Buys a Building in the City Centre for Social Housing Use

7 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Ada Colau is continuing with her plan to increase the portfolio of residential property owned by the Town Hall of Barcelona for social housing purposes. In this case, the Town Hall is going to invest €2 million in the purchase and renovation of a building in the centre of the Catalan capital.

The property, located in El Eixample, at number 317 Calle Aragó, has been acquired through a right of first refusal arrangement, a preferential purchase that the Town Hall of Barcelona is allowed to exercise by law. The building contains eleven homes, four of which are empty. Moreover, the asset has a commercial premise on the ground floor, which will be allocated for “residents’ use”, according to comments from municipal sources.

The councillor for El Eixample and spokesman for the Town Hall, Gerardo Pisarello, explained that the goal of the purchase is, in addition to increasing the stock of social housing rental properties as Colau promised during her election campaign, “to avoid residents from ending up in the hands of financial institutions and vulture funds that want to acquire properties for speculative purposes”. Since becoming the mayor of Barcelona, Colau has purchased 500 flats that have been subsequently destined to rent.

At the beginning of 2018, the municipal government announced that it would invest up to €36 million in the purchase of seven private plots for the construction of public housing developments, primarily for social housing purposes, which are in constant demand in light of the rising rental prices in Barcelona, which increased by 18% in 2017.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake