Tag: Four Seasons

Madrid’s Luxury Hotels Delay their Debuts

The openings of the Four Seasons hotel, the renovated Mandarin Oriental Ritz and the Marriott in Madrid will all be delayed due to the crisis caused by Covid-19.

Several luxury hotels in Madrid are delaying their openings due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus. In this way, the Canadian luxury chain Four Seasons had planned to open its first hotel in Spain in Madrid’s Centro Canalejas on 15 May, but the new date for the inauguration will be 1 September, if the Covid-19 pandemic allows it, according to Cinco Días.

This five-star establishment has 200 rooms and is located within the Canalejas complex. It is owned by OHL (50%) and Mohari (50%), a company owned by Mark Scheinberg, the founder of Poker Stars. The Four Seasons website only allows reservations from 1 September, with prices starting at €750 and rising to €2,025 in the case of a suite.

OHL Negotiates the Sale of Canalejas for €200M to Raise Liquidity

15 April 2019 – Expansión

The construction group OHL is considering selling its 50% stake in the Canalejas complex in order to raise cash. The other half was acquired by the PokerStars founder, Mark Scheinberg, in February 2017.

Canalejas, which is located in the centre of Madrid, just a stone’s throw from Puerta del Sol, and which is going to house Spain’s first Four Seasons hotel, with 200 rooms and a 15,000 m2 high-end shopping arcade, is one of the jewel’s in OHL’s crown. Nevertheless, the construction company chaired by Juan Villar-Mir de Fuentes, needs funding to undertake new projects and return to growth, and so it is considering selling its 50% stake in the complex.

Although no formal competitive process has been opened, sources report that preliminary conversations are being held with interested investors, including one international fund.

Canalejas spans a surface area of 50,000 m2 and its development has involved the investment of €525 million. The complex is due to open in the final quarter of this year.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo & C. Morán)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Plans are Afoot to Refloat Marbella’s Former Incosol as a Hotel

26 November 2018 – Diario Sur

It is one of Marbella’s historical tourism buildings, it has been closed since 2013, and for years the most famous of the famous passed through its doors. It is the Incosol. Now, five years after it definitively closed its doors when its last owners filed for creditor bankruptcy, something is starting to move in the great establishment, located to the East of the town and surrounded by gardens and unbeatable views.

According to information obtained by this newspaper, Hotel Value Added Primera, linked to the subsidiary that the Sabadell Group used to acquire the building in 2017, is studying the feasibility of refloating the property as a hotel. For that, it has made contact with the local Administration to consider, in the first instance, the possibilities that the plans would have from an urban planning point of view. In theory, the plans involve a hotel project without the healthcare features that the iconic Incosol used to offer.

Although no specific plans have been presented to the Town Hall yet, the Urban Planning department has started to evaluate the investors’ proposals. From the outset, the exclusive hotel use would require a modification of the elements of the General Urban Plan (PGOU) in force, that of 1986. For the time being, the case is being studied technically.

The sources consulted by this newspaper underline that the urban development plan reflects that this land “would not form part of the municipality’s healthcare model”, which would open the door to the proposed change. In any case, and with the aim of understanding the feasibility of the idea presented to the Municipal Administration, the investors are not taking any risks and have resorted to those who best know the urban development plan in force, namely, the team that drafted the PGOU of 1986.

Since the hotel’s closure in 2012, and after many incarnations in the courts, last year, it was the Sabadell Group, through its real estate subsidiary, who took ownership of the property and the brand. Just a few weeks ago, the doors of the old hotel were opened again to clear the facilities of all of the furniture and furnishings that had been left intact since its closure and which have now been donated to Cáritas (…).

The legendary spa of the jet set of the 1970s and 1980s in Marbella (through whose doors passed Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sean Connery, Rainiero of Mónaco and Camilo José Cela, amongst others) closed in 2013, on one of the saddest days in its history, since it opened its doors in 1973. The failure led to a creditors bankruptcy (…). And after much to-ing and fro-ing, in the end, one of its creditors, Sabadell, acquired the establishment a year ago.

If the plans of the investor group interested in recovering the property – which are still in a very early phase – come to fruition, Marbella could include the mythical Incosol in its list of new luxury establishments after the upcoming arrival of the prestigious Four Seasons, the arrival of W Marbella and the re-opening of the former Don Miguel establishment, thus confirming the growing interest in investing in the city, especially to create new tourist infrastructure.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Mónica Pérez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Mexican Millionaire Sanginés-Krause Acquires Hotel Villa Magna in Madrid for €210M

20 November 2018 – El Confidencial

The finishing touches still need to be agreed but the parties have already shaken hands. The Mexican millionaire Allen Sanginés-Krause has just surprised the Spanish hotel sector by signing the purchase of the luxury hotel Villa Magna for a whopping €210 million, according to confirmation from sources familiar with the transaction. In reality, the vehicle that is finalising the acquisition is the Mexican Socimi specialising in Caribbean resorts, RLH Properties, of which the banker is President and a major shareholder.

Hotel Villa Magna was put up for sale in hurry just a few months ago, after its current owners, the Turkish emporium owned by the Sahenk family, was forced to divest several of its real estate assets around the world to complete the refinancing of its holding company, which was affected by the collapse of the Turkish lira. The process, which has been entrusted to JLL, has progressed in the fast lane, with several other Latin American magnates invited to bid.

Although the final completion of the deal is pending several details, the price exceeds all expectations. RLH Properties is going to acquire Villa Magna at a ratio of €1.4 million per room (the hotel has 150), a figure never achieved before in the Spanish market, according to hotel experts. The profitability of an investment such as this is beyond the magnitude that the real estate funds manage, taking into account that there are five-star hotels available in Madrid from €300 per room.

The buyer has thrown the chequebook to acquire this trophy property. Besides money, it has experience as a manager of hotel assets for luxury brands such as Four Seasons, Rosewood and Fairmont. In fact, it completed one of its closest acquisitions with OHL, from which it purchased its Mayakoba Caribbean complex (a resort with a golf course in the Riviera Maya) in two phases (between 2016-2018), for which it paid €470 million in total.

Sanginés-Krause’s relationship with the Spanish world transcends the sphere of business. His name was in the news a few months ago after it was revealed that he had hosted King Juan Carlos at his castle in Ireland. That private visit came to the attention of the press and it was discovered that the monarch was accompanied during his stay by his Mallorcan friend Marta Gayá. The meeting shows the degree of confidence that the emeritus has with the Mexican banker (former of Goldman Sachs and now head of BK Partners).

If this investment goes ahead, the list of Mexican companies taking roots in Spain will continue to grow. The second-to-last major operation saw the acquisition of Grupo VIPS by the restaurant holding company Alsea, which paid almost €500 million to acquire the company founded by Plácido Arango and his family. And based on the rate of purchases, it will not be the last big deal to star money proceeding from Mexico.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Carlos Hernanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Four Seasons to Invest €600M in a New Resort in Marbella

27 September 2018 – Diario Sur

The Four Seasons hotel chain, one of the world’s leading luxury tourism companies, is preparing to make its debut on the Costa del Sol with a resort in which it plans to invest €600 million. Although this will be the brand’s second project in Spain, given that it has been working on the construction of a 22-room hotel in Madrid since last year, this latest initiative is much more ambitious, both in terms of volume and location.

The resort is going to be built on a plot measuring around 400,000 m2 on the beach front and which occupies land on both sides of the A-7 motorway. It is the last plot of its kind that has not been built on yet in one of the most sought-after parts of Marbella, in the Los Monteros area.

The plot is owned by Villa Padierna, which is, in turn, owned by the Málagan businessman Ricardo Arranz, who has teamed up with the US firm Fort Partners for this development and the Brussels-based real estate firm Inmobel. Four Seasons will participate not only in the management of the hotel, it will also lend its name to the whole development, which will include private residences and villas in addition to a 200-room hotel. The complex will also include restaurants operated by international brands, which will make their debuts in Spain with this project.

It is expected that the urban developments will occupy approximately one quarter of the 400,000 m2 land. The project will be developed by the architect Richard Meier and construction work will begin as soon as the execution has been completed of a partial plan that has already been approved, according to explanations from Arranz.

One of the most notable features being planned is a tunnel underneath the road, which will allow the hotel and the homes that are going to be built to the north of the motorway to have sea views. The corresponding permits for that piece of work have already started to be processed.

Arranz highlighted the transcendence that the arrival of a leading brand such as Four Seasons has for Marbella and the Costa del Sol as a whole. It will be the first firm of its standing to operate in Andalucía and it will play an important role in the battle against seasonality given the large portfolio of clients that it enjoys (…).

Original story: Diario Sur (by Héctor Barbotta)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Major Real Estate Projects in Madrid to Attract €10.5 Billion in Investments

21 August 2018

Some of the outsized projects for the coming years include the northern Madrid construction, the expansion of the Barajas airport and the Canalejas project.

Madrid will soon be the target of multi-billion euro investments in major real estate and urban development projects, upgrading the Spanish capital’s image in the coming years. The investments will lead to the construction of housing, skyscrapers, hotels, shopping centres, university campuses while also renovating some football stadiums and demolishing others.

Madrid Nuevo Norte, under development by DCN; Aena’s real estate project for Barajas; the Canalejas and Caleido project, along with the renovation of the Bernabeú stadium and the Mahou-Calderón development will involve total investments of €10.5 billion.

Four new skyscrapers

Madrid Nuevo Norte is the most ambitious project and the one that has been the longest in the making. Formerly known as Operation Chamartín, the project involves the construction of 365 new buildings in Madrid, including 10,500 flats and three skyscrapers in the vicinity of the Chamartín train station, in the north of the capital.

Construction of the project, which had been paralysed for a quarter of a century, is expected to begin in 2019. If the developer manages to keep to the announced deadlines, reparcelling and development will start by the end of next year or early 2020, and the first homes will be ready by 2021 or 2022.

Considering the sheer magnitude of the project, which will have a buildable area of 2.66 million square meters, construction is expected to last for more than two decades. Madrid Nuevo Norte will require €6 billion in investments and should create roughly 120,000 jobs during the construction phase and 94,000 posts after its completion.

A building known as the fifth tower will be erected in the area surrounding Madrid Nuevo Norte. The Caleido project will involve investments of €300 million and should be ready by the end of next year. Inmobiliaria Espacio, of the Villar Mir Group, was awarded the development and operationalisation of the project on public land in 2014 and is leading the development together with Megaworld, a conglomerate held by the Filipino billionaire Andrew Tan.

The project will include a 36-floor, 165-meter tower, which will house IE’s new, vertical campus, and a second building, 280 meters long and 60 meters wide, that will host a sports medicine centre operated by Quirónsalud.

Aena’s planned project for the land adjacent to the Barajas airport also stands out. The airport manager is forecasting a total investment of €2.997 billion over the next 40 years.

The project, with 2.7 million buildable square meters, will have logistics warehouses, offices, hotels and even a shopping centre. The company chaired by Maurici Lucena is searching for partners to develop its plans and, for now, the Blackstone fund and other major investors have demonstrated interest.

The Canalejas project, under development by OHL and Mohari Limited, a company owned by the Israeli executive Mark Scheinberg, is located in central Madrid. The venture, which will link seven historic buildings, will host Spain’s first Four Seasons hotel, along with luxury homes and a shopping area. The project is expected to involve €300 million in investments and is expected to be ready by 2019.

Madrid’s real estate and urban development plans will also affect the iconic Santiago Bernabéu stadium. In April, the city council gave the green light to a plan for reparcelling land for the new stadium, which will involve an investment of about €400 million.d

Housing at the Calderón

1,300 homes will be built on the grounds of another stadium, the Calderón, the former home of Atlético de Madrid. The sale of the land is expected to raise about €175 million in investments from any future buyers (developers), in addition to the more than €42 million stemming from the reparcelling project for the stadium and the grounds of the old Mahou factory.

Original Story: Expansion – Rebecca Arroyo

Translation: Richard Turner

 

Villar Mir Sells its 32.5% Stake in Canalejas to OHL for €50 Million

14 August 2018

Grupo Villar Mir has left the Canalejas project (Madrid), selling the 32.5% that it held in the development to its subsidiary OHL for 50 million euros. In this way, Canalejas will be equally owned by OHL, which already had 17%, and Mohari Limited, a company controlled by the Israeli executive Mark Scheinberg. Villar Mir sold 50% of Canalejas to Mohari in February 2017 for €225 million.

The transaction also includes the acquisition, by OHL Desarrollos, of the credit rights agreed to by Grupo Villar Mir with regards to the project for €9.8 million.

As the company explained to the CNMV, this price could be adjusted upwards to reach a maximum of €60 million (an additional €10 million). depending on “possible capital gains generated in a subsequent sale of these shares.”

Reduce debt

This operation will allow Grupo Villar Mir to continue reducing its debt. The Spanish industrial corporation sold 12% of the Spanish construction company last July for €98 million, reducing its stake in OHL to 38% compared to its previous 50%.

The Canalejas project will feature the Canadian luxury chain Four Seasons’ first hotel in Spain, a commercial complex and exclusive homes. The complex will bring together seven historic buildings, some of them built at the beginning of the 19th century, in a single unit, through an investment of 525 million euros.

Expansion – Rebecca Arroyo

Madrid Gets Ready for the Opening of 2,000 Luxury Hotel Rooms

7 January 2018 – Expansión

The hotel market in Madrid is enjoying a happy time. After years as the ugly ducking of Europe’s capitals, with barely any major luxury brands operating in the city, 2,000 luxury rooms are scheduled to open in the city centre over the next two years. “Spain had a very moderate number of five-star hotels in comparison with other global capital cities. Nevertheless, the Town Hall of Madrid implemented a strategic plan for tourism, which boosted the image of the city as a global destination and that attracted international companies, which are taking the city to their own tourist clients”, says Javier García-Mateo, Partner in Financial Advisory at Deloitte.

“The existing luxury hotel stock comprises around 5,000 rooms and over the next few years, another 2,000 rooms will be added, of which 1,000 will be new and the rest will be in renovated properties”, adds Félix Villaverde, Manager at Deloitte Financial Advisory.

The first hotel already opened over Christmas: the US hotel chain Hyatt Hotels has returned to Madrid, specifically, to the heart of the city with the opening of Centric Gran Vía Madrid, a five-star establishment with 159 rooms – including 16 suites (…). With an investment of €30 million, Hyatt has returned to Madrid, after leaving the management of another five-star hotel in the capital in 2009: the Villamagna.

During the first quarter of 2018, another five-star establishment is expected to open. In this case, it will be the chain VP in Plaza de España. It will contain 214 rooms, spread over 17 storeys, following an investment of €90 million (…).

Projects on the lookout for a brand

Some of the other new projects planned for this year in the luxury hotel market in Madrid have not yet been defined. They involve plans for the former Hotel Velázquez and the property owned by the fund KKH in Plaza de las Descalzas.

Last May, the Salazar family sold the Gran Hotel Velázquez for around €60 million. Now, the new owner, the real estate group Didra, is looking for a hotel partner to operate the renovated property. In the case of KKH’s property in Madrid, the negotiations are more advanced. The former headquarters of the Monte de Piedad de Madrid is being renovated to open a five-star hotel and a dozen brands have expressed their interest in operating it. The Park Hyatt, The Peninsula and Saint Regis, from the Starwood group, are the favourites in the running, according to sources in the sector (…).

In addition to these projects that still need to be defined, in 2019, several luxury establishments are due to open, including, the first Four Seasons Hotel in Spain, which will open in the Canalejas complex with more than 200 rooms.

Moreover, a four-star, but nevertheless high-profile, hotel is being created by the Mallorcan chain RIU, which will restore Edificio España, in disuse for a decade, to open a modern urban hotel with 650 rooms.

Meanwhile, Marriott Starwood, the largest hotel chain in the world, has teamed up with the Indian investor Harry Mohiani to open a five-star hotel in the former Hotel Asturias, in the same square as the Four Seasons (Canalejas). That property will have 160 rooms (…).

Prices

The opening of these new luxury hotels will have an impact on room rates, which already saw a significant increase in this niche last year.

“Revenue per room (RevPar) in the five-star segment in Madrid has grown by 6.4% p.a. in recent years, almost four times more than the average in other European centres, due not only to the increase in rates but also the better performance in terms of occupancy rates”, say sources at Deloitte.

“The arrival of new luxury operators in Madrid will drive up the price of five-star hotels in the city. In fact, after carrying out comprehensive renovations, we have already seen examples of hotels that have increased their rates by 50%. The most exclusive hotels will charge €750 per night during certain periods of the year”, they add.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

KKH Gets Green Light to Convert Deutsche Bank Building into Super-Luxury Apartments

11 December 2017 – Expansión

The former Deutsche Bank building in Barcelona, which saw its plans to be turned into a five-star hotel fall by the wayside, has finally obtained the municipal licence it needs to execute its plan B. As such, the former office building is now going to be transformed into a super-luxury residential property.

Its owner, KKH Property Investors, is going to invest around €180 million in total, according to market sources, to carry out the complete renovation of the property and build 34 homes with high-end services. One of the features of the project approved recently is that part of the four-storey commercial building located opposite the tower will be sacrificed and a passage will be built to make the residential building independent, and it will be made lighter.

KKH, led by the former CEO of Renta Corporación, Josep Maria Farré, has set out to build the most exclusive residential property in Barcelona. That distinction is currently held by the former Barcelona headquarters of Winterthur, owned by Squircle Capital, whose homes, measuring 500 m2, are sold (unfinished) for around €6 million, equivalent to more than €12,000/m2.

The 34 homes in the Deutsche Bank building will have a surface area of 200 m2 each and, as well as their privileged location, on the corner of Paseo de Gràcia and Avenida Diagonal, are going to enjoy panoramic views over the city. The common areas will include private parking, a gym, a spa, communal terraces, a swimming pool and meeting rooms. One of the features that will distinguish this residential community from others in the city, and which will make it equivalent to the best buildings in London and New York, will be the team of 20 employees that will be on hand to perform maintenance, cleaning, concierge, security and general support services for residents.

Plans

The project’s design has been entrusted to the architect Carlos Ferrater, and the first phase of construction has been subcontracted to Copcisa. The retail building, where Casa Seat will open, is expected to be finished in 2019 and the residential area, which will house another retail store on the ground floor, measuring around 500m2, should be ready by the beginning of 2020.

KKH Property Investors, a vehicle in which KKH Capital Group and the NYC fund Perella Weinberg Real Estate Fund II LP hold stakes, paid €90 million for the property in 2014. It then spent another €20 million to ensure that the Town Hall of Barcelona, led at the time by the convergent Xavier Trias, gave it permission to demolish the property and construct a hotel in its place.

The €20 million was spent buying equipment to lend to the city, to acquire buildability rights, and to pay €10.5 million to the Town Hall. But, when the project had received the municipal green light, Ada Colau arrived in government and, with her, the moratorium and new urban development plan that prevented the construction of the hotel, in which chains such as Four Seasons had expressed an interest and which would have resulted in the creation of 400 jobs.

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake

VP Finalises Opening of Flagship Hotel in Madrid’s Plaza de España

24 November 2017 – Expansión

The hotel chain, VP, which is going to debut its Design brand in Madrid in Plaza de España in January, is looking to export its model to other European capitals.

Five years after its arrival in Madrid’s Plaza de España, with the purchase of the buildings at numbers 3, 4 and 5, VP is putting the finishing touches ahead of the inauguration of what will be its flagship property in the capital: the VP Plaza España Design.

“Design is the new collection that VP is launching with Hotel Plaza España in Madrid and we hope to expand it to other European capitals soon”, explains Pedro José Alonso, the Director of the Hotel, speaking to Expansión.

This establishment has been built on the foundations of several buildings that were illegally occupied for years and which once housed offices, an aparthotel and the headquarters of Telefónica. VP purchased the assets in 2015, from the liquidated real estate company Monteverde, for €22 million.

After demolishing the old buildings and constructing the new property, work that was carried out by the construction company Tilmón, the family group is now preparing to unveil its flagship hotel, planned for the middle of January, to coincide with the tourism fair (Fitur). “It has been a pharaonic project. We have incorporated some very exclusive designs that we have had to import from other countries and as a result, the construction work has been delayed by a few months”.

The Hotel VP Plaza España Design will have 214 rooms of different kinds spread over 17 floors, as well as a spa, gym, its own car park and a sky bar with 360º views. Moreover, it will have a restaurant on the ground floor leased to Grupo Larrumba. Both the sky bar, Ginkgo, and the restaurant, Botania, will be independently accessible to facilitate entry for clients not staying at the hotel.

This hotel wants to become a benchmark for MICE tourism (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and will have 1,400 m2 of space for events. “Madrid needs infrastructure in the heart of the centre for this kind of tourism. The existing supply is located on the outskirts”.

Alonso explains that the hotel, which will employ 150 people, will provide a distinctive artistic and decorative offer with works from Pere Grife and Jan Hendrix.

Regeneration of the area

A few months after the debut of the hotel, the Town Hall of Madrid will begin work to regenerate Plaza de España, which is expected to start in the spring of 2018. “Plaza de España has been a black mark (on the landscape) for several years. I am delighted about the project and we form part of this regeneration work”, he says.

Moreover, the facelift of the central square will happen at the same time as the arrival of large domestic groups such as RIU and international players such as Hyatt and Four Seasons: “Their arrival is excellent news for Madrid. Those brands attract their own tourism; they help us to specialise and raise the bar”.

In terms of prices, Alonso says that rooms will be offered from €220 up to “as much as the client is willing to pay”. And he adds; “Madrid is a city that deserves to have different prices to those on offer until now, which were beneath it. In our case, we have a great building, an excellent location and a commitment to service and people. That will allow us to charge prices commensurate with those of a five-star hotel.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake