Tag: Foncière des Régions

Colonial, Merlin and Lar Rotating Assets Worth €2.5 Billion

20 August 2019

Spain’s largest socimis have all been taking advantage of the benign economic climate to implement a strategy of asset rotation, selling off non-strategic assets to raise funds for further investments. Colonial, Merlin and Lar España have completed more than 2.5 billion euros in divestments over the past two years.

Of the four, Colonial has been most active in this regard. The socimi has sold assets worth approximately €1.5 billion in the last two years, more than half stemming from its acquisition of Axiare. In October 2018, Colonial sold seven office buildings to Tristan Capital Partners and Real IS, as well as a development under construction in Madrid to Grupo Catalana Occidente, for 441 million euros. Of the seven properties sold, five originated with Axiare.

Colonial also recently sold a portfolio of 18 logistics assets, covering an area of 473,000 square meters, to Prologis for an estimated €425 million. What’s more, the socimi sold an office building in Paris for €450 million in mid-2017. The firm is investing the proceeds of some of its sales, allocating €468 million in twelve projects under development in Madrid, Barcelona and Paris, the three markets where the company operates.

Merlin, for its part, sold its 17% stake in Testa to Blackstone last September for €321 million. The firm also sold its portfolio of hotels to Foncière des Regions for €535 million. Lar has also sold €425 million of assets in the last 18 months. Of that, €120 million stemmed from the sale of a logistics portfolio to Blackstone, while another €190 million resulted from the sale of four office buildings in Madrid and Barcelona and some small retail assets.

Original Story: Expansión – Rebeca Arroyo

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Funds Snatch Leadership in Hotel Investment from Socimis

2 November 2017

The Spanish sector is experiencing its moment of glory this year. Forecasts indicate that the number of visitors will reach 80 million, a record that will place Spain ahead of France in the rankings. This, added to the positive operational data coming from the hotels, has led investment funds to intensify their commitment to hotel assets, taking the lead from socimis as the principal investors in the sector. Thus, compared to last year, the disbursement of funds to acquire hotel establishments or platforms has grown by 119%, to exceed €1.25 billion at the end of October, compared to 569 million that was transacted throughout 2016.

In the same period, the socimis have decreased their activity by 76%, going from being the leading investor in the area last year, with 26.3% of the total investment amount, to accounting for only 5.26% of the total disbursed by the end of October this year, according to JLL’s data.

The leadership of the socimis in recent years has been buoyed by Hispania’s intense activity, which in just three years has managed to position itself as the principal non-operating owner of hotels in Spain, with 11,296 rooms spread over 39 establishments. The company owned by George Soros has until the end of the year to continue to increase its portfolio, and as explained Javier Arús, the socimi’s director of investments in the hotel segment, it has 200 million euros for new purchases during this period.

However, another socimi, Foncière des Régions, starred in the most significant operation of last year. The French company took over Merlin Properties’ hotel portfolio for 539 million euros, and positioned itself as the primary investor of 2016, snatching at the last moment the title from the platform HI Partners (HIP), which at that time still belonged to Sabadell and had closed operations for a volume of just over 223 million euros. This year, the firm has slowed down a bit and to date has paid out 179 million for new assets.

In 2017, however, the funds have been the undisputed leaders, and Blackstone has managed to position itself first by buying, precisely, HIP for €630 million, attracted by its mainly tourism-based portfolio. With this, the fund retained the necessary structure to manage other hotel assets that it already had in its portfolio, such as those of Banco Popular and future acquisitions that could be made in other countries such as Italy and Portugal.

KKR is another of the funds that have moved into the market by purchasing the Mallorcan chain Intertur Hotels together with Dunas Capital. Its portfolio of five hotels will be managed by Alua Hotels & Resorts, which is backed by another fund, the British Alchemy Special Opportunities. The also British Benson Elliot entered the hotel rankings at the beginning of the year with one of the most sizeable operations of 2017, when it acquired the hotel Silken Diagonal, in Barcelona, for 65 million euros.

On the other hand, the activity of private investors has been growing year after year, with an increase of 78% over the last two years, nearly assuming the dealership position, only losing out to investments funds after Blackstone’s operation.

Original Story: elEconomista.es – Alba Brualla

Translation: Richard Turner

The Race To Buy Hotels On The Costa del Sol Intensifies

29 August 2017 – Málaga Hoy

More than 20 hotels along the Costa del Sol and in Málaga have changed hands in just three years. The exceptional data in the tourist sector and the lack of interest in other assets have converted hotel investment into a highly disputed prize. At the beginning of August, Internos Global Investors, a real estate investment fund founded in 2008 by Jos Short and Andrew Thornton, two Brits with prior experience in the real estate sector in the USA, confirmed the purchase of Vincci Posada del Patio, a five-star property located in the centre of Málaga, for €26.7 million. This is just one example of a phenomenon that seems unstoppable right now.

In July, the Hotel Príncipe Sol de Torremolinos changed hands for the second time in two years. The Meliá group sold it in 2015 to the US investment fund Starwood Capital. That operation formed part of a global agreement comprising seven hotel complexes in Spain. Nevertheless, the US firm held onto the property for just 24 months and sold it in July to the British fund London Regional Properties.

At the beginning of the year, Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios (….) acquired its third hotel in the province: namely, the NH Málaga, a complex for which it disbursed €23 million with the commitment of undertaking an extension amounting to an additional €18 million. In 2015, it acquired Vincci Málaga (€20 million) and in 2014, it purchased the four-star Hotel Guadalmina from the Moroccan businessman Judas Azuelos in an operation estimated to be worth €21.5 million.

(…) One of the Hispania’s rivals in the hotel market is HI Partners, created by Banco Sabadell in 2015 (…). That entity currently owns more than 30 establishments, of which three are located in Málaga. In 2015, it purchased the Hotel Silken Puerta Málaga, which has been renamed Sercotel Málaga (…). In 2016, it acquired Incosol (…) and at the end of last year, it bought the four-star Hotel Málaga Palacio from the AC Group (…).

In addition, at the end of 2016, the French fund Foncière des Régions spent more than €500 million on 19 hotel establishments that Merlin Properties owned in Spain, including the Tryp Alameda in Málaga. That operation was signed almost at the same time as the arrival of Activum SG Capital (….), which acquired the Marqués de Sonora building located on Calle Granada from the Azucarera Larios company, which it plans to convert into a luxury hotel with 82 rooms.

Moreover, Mazabi, an investment fund that manages the wealth of eight Spanish families, acquired the former Hotel Senator de Estepona at the end of 2015 (…).

Plenty of other groups have also expressed their interest in joining the ever-expanding list of investors with properties along the Costa del Sol, including the Mallorcan entity Logitravel, the hotel group Palia and the Catalan firm Estival Group (…).

Original story: Málaga Hoy

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin Rationalises Its Portfolio & Backs Logistics Sector

7 April 2017 – Expansión

Following two years of intensive investments, Merlin is now preparing to rationalise its portfolio and extract greater value from its assets. The Socimi led by Ismael Clemente (pictured above) has set itself the challenge of improving the occupancy rates of its offices and shopping centres, as well as strengthening its presence in the logistics sector.

In February, the company announced its plans to increase its stock by more than 500,000 m2. The company has also started to rotate its assets and, following the deconsolidation of the residential business, it closed the sale of its hotel portfolio to Foncière des Murs for €535 million at the end of December.

Another one of the firm’s objectives is to maintain a balanced level of debt. In this way, last October, it placed €800 million in 10-year bonds to cover a bridge loan to Metrovacesa.

Original story: Expansión 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin Buys Torre Agbar In Barcelona For €142M

13 January 2017 – Cinco Días

The company General Aguas de Barcelona has sold Torre Agbar to Merlin Properties for €142 million. As such, the project announced by Emin Capital in 2013 to convert the property into a luxury hotel has been abandoned, given the difficulties involved. In theory, the plan was for a hotel to be opened there and managed by Hyatt, but the hotel moratorium imposed by the mayoress Ada Colau made that project impossible, according to sources at the fund.

In the end, Merlin pipped the Andorran investor group Emin at the post and purchased the iconic skyscraper, which will be used for office space. As such, the Socimi will not need to request any change in its designated use. Meanwhile, yesterday, Emin asked the Town Hall of Barcelona to cancel the request it had filed to change the designated use of the building to allow it to open a hotel.

Located at number 211 on Avenida Diagonal, the building designed by Jean Nouvel has become a symbol of the city and marks the entrance to Barcelona’s technological district, 22@. The pace of activity in the office market in the district has caused the number of operations to double in the last two years, establishing it as the city’s business hub.

At 142 m, Torre Agbar is the third tallest building in the city and has a gross leasable area of 37,614m2, spread over 34 floors and an auditorium with capacity for more than 350 people. In addition, it has 300 parking spaces on four underground floors and until July 2015, it housed the headquarters of Aguas de Barcelona.

Merlin – listed on the Ibex 35 – is the largest Socimi in Spain. It has a portfolio of assets worth €9,600 million, following its acquisition of Testa from Sacyr and the integration of Metrovacesa’s portfolio of commercial properties. Its main shareholders include Santander and BBVA, as well as international funds.

The company, led by Ismael Clemente, sold 19 hotels to Foncière des Regions for €535 million at the end of December, given that that type of property does not form part of its strategy. It has announced that it will allocate the resources raised to reducing its debt and to possible acquisitions. It also revealed that it wants to grow its presence in Barcelona, which accounts for just 13% of the value of its portfolio. On this occasion, it has been advised by Savills. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz and Laura Salces)

Translation: Carmel Drake

JLL: Hotel Inv’t Reaches Almost €5,000M In 2 Years

11 January 2017 – El Independiente

The tourist boom (which saw record numbers of tourist arrivals and a recovery in demand from Spanish clients) was followed by a boom in the hotel sector (with record occupancy rates and tariffs); and both have been supported by a boom in investment in hotel properties. With tourist activity at record highs and no signs of a slow down in sight, the purchase of hotel buildings has become a cushy deal for investors.

In two years, real estate investment in hotels in Spain has amounted to almost €5,000 million. Following a historical record in 2015, when operations were closed amounting to €2,650 million, last year, transactions were signed amounting to €2,155 million, the second best year ever, according to the latest report compiled by the consultancy firm JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.

Several major operations have sustained the pace of investment. Just before the end of 2016, Merlin Properties sold off its hotel portfolio, transferring it to the fund Froncière des Règions for €535 million. The sale of the hotel Villa Magna de Madrid by Sodim SGPS to Dogus Group for €180 million represented a new national record in the price paid per room (€1.2 million per room, compared to €800,000 per room in the case of the Ritz in 2015, which had held the record since then).

Other large transactions included the sale by AXA Investment Managers of the Pullman Barcelona Skipper Hotel to Shaftesbury for €93 million; and the purchase of the historical headquarters of Caja Madrid by KKH Capital Group and Perella Weinberg RE for €80 million, which it will convert into a luxury hotel.

In total, investors purchased 130 hotel assets in Spain last year, in addition to the 143 hotels that they bought during the record year of 2015. Madrid led the ranking as the main location for investment, accounting for 28% of the total volume with €597 million. It was followed by Barcelona with €344 million (16%), despite the hotel moratorium declared by Ada Colau’s Town Hall, and Las Palmas (7.4%), Fuerteventura (7.4%), Málaga (7.4%), Valencia (7%) and Mallorca (6.1%).

Investments funds take over from the Socimis

During 2015, the major stars of the hotel investment segment by far were the Socimis (…), which accounted for almost €1,000 million of transactions during that year. But they have been replaced by investment funds, which have become the major players in the hotel investment market, accounting for 51.5% of total volumes.

The investment funds that have accounted for most of the transaction volume have been: Foncière des Régions, with 19 hotels and a total investment volume of €535 million; HI Partners, which has purchased eight assets for €200 million; KKH Capital Partners, which together with Perella Weinberg RE, bought the Celenque building for €80 million; and Internos Global Investors, which purchased Hotel Innside Madrid Suecia for €45 million.

According to JLL’s forecasts for 2017, the hotel investment market will continue to be active and investment volumes will remain similar to those seen in 2016, thanks to interest from international investors. The consultancy firm thinks that the requirement for owners to continuing to reduce the debt on their balance sheets, the strengthening of the strategy by national hotel chains to sell off properties and continue to operationally manage establishments, and the strong outlook for the tourist sector in general place the Spanish hotel market in the investor spotlight.

Original story: El Independiente (by David Page)

Translation: Carmel Drake