Aena Launches the Largest Real Estate Plan in Spain

5 April 2019 – Expansión

Aena is planning to put up for tender between 160,000 m2 and 200,000 m2 of land at Barajas airport (Madrid) and another 300,000 m2 at El Prat (Barcelona).

The airport manager plans to invest €4.3 billion in the land adjacent to the Adolfo Suárez-Barajas (Madrid) and El Prat (Barcelona) airports and intends to put the first plots up for auction this year, most likely in December.

The firm led by Maurici Lucena has detected interest from funds and Socimis in its plots, which may be used for the development of logistics assets, as well as for hotel, office and commercial use. The plots are very attractive given their unique locations and connections and the three favourite investors at this stage are Blackstone, Segro and Merlin.

A priori, Aena’s idea is to create companies together with the investing partners who will finance the developments. Prices for the land at Barajas could range between €500/m2 and €750/m2 and for finished products could reach up to €1,800/m2.

In El Prat, the prices are expected to be higher given the space restrictions there, reaching around €2,000/m2 for finished products and between €750/m2 and €1,000/m2 for undeveloped plots of land.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Blackstone to Raise €8bn for its European Real Estate Fund

25 March 2019 – Idealista

The US fund Blackstone wants to raise funds to continue growing in Europe. The fund manager expects to secure up to €8 billion for its next European real estate fund, which is going to be called Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe VI.

The new vehicle’s investments will have tickets starting from €75 million and will include portfolios of properties and corporate operations as the target assets.

Spain is very much on Blackstone’s radar following its purchase of 51% of Popular’s real estate business from Santander for €5.1 million, in one of the largest operations signed last year.

Moreover, the fund has purchased the property of CatalunyaCaixa, the shares of Hispania (including its large hotel portfolio) and the shares of Testa, the rental home company.

Original story: Idealista 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Ministry of Development: 100,733 New Build Permits were Granted in 2018

28 February 2019 – Idealista

In 2018, 100,722 building permits were granted to construct new homes, 25% more than a year earlier; a figure not seen since 2009, when 110,849 permits were granted, according to data from the Ministry of Development. Of the total figure, 79,453 were granted to build blocks of flats and 21,254 to build houses.

In this way, building permits have now recorded five consecutive years of increases. In 2013, they hit a historical low (34,288 units), a figure that represented a decline of 96% from the peak year of 2006 when 865,561 permits were granted.

Despite the good results in 2018, the construction sector considers that a healthy market is one that is capable of generating around 150,000 new work permits per year.

Why is it so hard to build 150,000 homes per year?

Daniel Cuervo, Director at Asprima, points to several factors:

– Building permits take a long time to be granted (…). In general, Town Halls take 14 months to grant a licence, on average (…).

– Financing has returned to the real estate sector, but it is not immediate (…).

– Urban planning in Spain is paralysed due to the high level of legal uncertainty (…).

Meanwhile, Daniel del Pozo, Director at Idealista/News, provides some additional explanations:

– Lack of awareness about how the market works and of the real demand by the Public Administration (…).

– The main land portfolios are owned by the banks, Sareb and the funds (…) which are all waiting for prices to rise before releasing the most sought-after plots.

– The political uncertainty, the threats of interventionalism and/or changes in regulation in the real estate market also play their role (…).

Original story: Idealista 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sabadell Delays Completion of ‘Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios’ Sale until May

28 February 2019 – El Confidencial

Banco Sabadell is finalising the sale of land from Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (SDIn) to complete its real estate divestment process with prices of between €900 million and €1.1 billion. The process began with more than 20 funds and property developers expressing interest. Analysts forecast that the Catalan entity will record gains of more than €200 million.

To this end, the bank chaired by Josep Oliu (pictured above, left), has already prepared a timetable. The entity has delayed the deadlines because it has taken longer than expected to receive some of the signed confidentiality agreements (NDAs). Now, the interested parties will have until 30 March to analyse SDIn and submit non-binding offers. The deadline for the subsequent period for the submission of binding offers will be 17 May.

In this way, Sabadell will have the second half of May to accept the winning bid, and then receive the corresponding authorisations to complete the divestment before July (…).

Analysts expect that the operation will be executed in the region of €1 billion, with a discount of 30% on the net asset value. Even so, that would result in capital gains from profits of more than €200 million, according to a report by Alantra, to which this newspaper has had access. In this way, the maximum quality capital ratio (CET1 fully loaded) would move towards 12%, approaching the 12.5% that the bank has set itself as a target for 2020 in its strategic plan. In December, the ratio amounted to 11.1%, well below the 12.8% from the previous year following the sale of toxic property and the problems with the integration with TSB.

The land has been valued at €1.3 billion by Savills Aguirre Newman and by the property developer SDIn itself (…).

Candidates include funds and property developers. Market sources point to Cerberus, Oaktree and Neinor homes as some of the leading contenders. The operation will require the buyer to become one of the largest real estate players in Spain (…).

In December, Banco Sabadell agreed the sale of its property developer Solvia to the Nordic fund Intrum for €300 million. Intrum is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange and is the owner of Lindorff and Aktua in Spain (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Óscar Giménez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Following Blackstone, Cerberus, Lone Star and Bain Plan to Launch Socimis

7 February 2019

Major investment funds have taken over billions of euros of real estate from the banking sector in recent years and are now planning their exit strategies. Some funds, such as Cerberus, Bain Capital and Lone Star intend to follow in Blackstone’s footsteps, considering the creation of socimis with a portion of their assets, various sources in the sector told the Economista.

The sources stated that some funds’ plans are further advanced than others, already at the point where they are analysing the size of the portfolios which they may transfer to the market through this type of listed vehicle. They held out the possibility that one or more of the new socimis may premiere before the end of the year.

Under this formula, the funds would increase their investments’ liquidity, taking over from other more core investors, with a longer-term profile and more moderate levels of profitability.

The three funds’ future socimis would focus on the residential rental housing market with a model based on largely dispersed units since the apartments they acquired from the banks generally fit such a profile.

Major operations

Cerberus earned its place on the podium as one of the most significant real estate investors in Spain, just behind Blackstone. The fund, based in New York, was one of the first to arrive in Spain during the real estate crisis, between 2010 and 2012, and since then it has been taking positions in almost every sector of the property market through Haya Real Estate , the developer Inmoglaciar, the real estate agency Housell and Gescobro.

In November 2017, it bought 80% of BBVA’s real estate business, which had a gross value of some 13 billion euros. The transaction was the second largest portfolio operation ever concluded in the history of Spain, behind Blackstone’s acquisition of Banco Popular’s toxic assets from Banco Santander. Cerberus has also been increasing its portfolio of NPLs and REOs with other smaller operations such as CaixaBank’s Agora project, Sabadell’s Challenger and Coliseum portfolios and BBVA’s Jaipur Project, among others.

On the other hand, Cerberus is in the race to acquire Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, a developer that owns a portfolio of land valued at about €1 billion.

Lone Star is also analysing the possibility of launching a socimi with a portion of the properties it acquired during its flagship operation in Spain when it bought CaixaBank’s real estate business, which had a gross value of 12.8 billion euros. The fund also acquired the bank’s servicer, Servihabitat.

For its part, Bain Capital, which owns the developer Habitat, has also been one of the most active investors in debt portfolios. One of its more recent operations, known as the Shell Project, involved the acquisition of some €700 million in NPLs to developers from Kutxabank.

Original Story: Eleconomista.es – Alba Brualla

Photo: Getty

Translation: Richard Turner

Aedas, Neinor & Merlin Properties Put €1bn on the Table for Sabadell’s Land

29 January 2019 – OK Diario

Banco Sabadell has now opened the sales process for Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, its real estate developer, for which the entity expects to obtain €1 billion. To date, the entity chaired by Josep Oliu has already sent the teaser to almost 30 interested parties. But there has been an important development, and that is that it is not only the typical funds that tend to participate in these types of auctions that are interested in the company, property developers are also keen, including Neinor, Aedas and Merlin Properties.

It is worth remembering that when Sabadell decided to sell Solvia, it separated the house-sale business and the real estate development business into two different companies with the aim of achieving a better offer. The land, which is owned by the second firm, forms part of the bank’s balance sheet and that is what is now up for sale.

According to sources speaking to OK Diario, the deadline for non-binding offers will finish in March; it will be after that when Banco Sabadell will start to receive binding offers. Sources in the know indicate that the operation will be closed in the second quarter. And, moreover, in addition to the aforementioned property developers, funds such as Cerberus, De Shaw, Blackstone, Värde, Apollo and Oaktree have also received the teaser (…).

The main plots of land owned by Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios are in Madrid, Barcelona and several places along the Mediterranean Coast. The portfolio includes plots that the buyer will have to reclassify in order to be able to sell, resell or transform them, as well as plots that are ready for development. It is precisely in those assets that so many property developers have expressed their interest.

Banco Sabadell obtained a profit of €138 million from the sale of 80% of Solvia, its real estate subsidiary, to Lindorff, a company that belongs to the Intrum AB group, for €300 million. With that operation, Sabadell, which has retained ownership of the remaining 20% stake in Solvia, achieved a positive impact on its Common Equity Tier 1 (“fully loaded”) capital ratio of 15 basis points.

The completion of that operation, which is subject to obtaining the corresponding authorisations, is also scheduled for the second quarter of 2019 (…).

Original story: OK Diario (by Borja Jiménez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

B&B Sells another Hotel in Spain to the fund Corum for €6.6M

22 January 2019 – Expansión

The French hotel chain B&B Hotels – owned by the fund PAI Partners – has sold a hotel in Viladecans (Barcelona) to the French fund Corum for €6.6 million. It is the chain’s largest hotel in Spain, with 216 rooms.

This operation follows the sale of eight hotels that the company completed last year, also to Corum. Like it did then, B&B is going to continue operating the latest asset under a rental arrangement for at least 15 years. Following the sale, B&B owns just two hotels in Spain, in Oviedo and Barcelona (…).

B&B now operates 30 establishments in Spain and plans to continue growing its portfolio in the country during 2019. Its hotels in the country are owned by funds, Socimis and family offices, such as Corum, Atom, Covivo, Doalca and Azata.

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Goldman Sachs Pays €63M for A Plot of Land in Madrid

6 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Goldman Sachs is targeting the prime housing market in Madrid. The US investment fund has just purchased a plot of land in the centre of the Spanish capital for €63.7 million. The development of luxury apartments planned for the site is going to be built by the Catalan property developer Uniq.

The acquired plot is located at number 147 Paseo de la Habana and has a finalist surface area of 10,000 m2. The vendors are members of a family from Asturias. In the bid for this plot, Goldmans competed with other funds and property developers, such as Grupo Ibosa, Grosvenor, Pryconsa, Domo and Nozar, according to El Confidencial.

With this partnership, Uniq will have the possibility of increasing its presence in Madrid, where it already has a project underway in a former tenement building in Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz. Now, the Catalan property developer is going to build a development less than 1km from Paseo de la Castellana and the Santiago Bernabeú.

The area in which the development will be located has been receiving a lot of investment from wealthy Latin American families, recently. They are driving prices up in the residential market since they are “willing to pay well above the market average”, according to sources in the sector speaking to Eje Prime. They are interested in withdrawing their capital from their countries of origin, many of which are unstable, economically speaking, to invest in Spanish real estate, which offers them greater security.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cerberus Plans to Create a Real Estate Giant by Acquiring Altamira & Solvia

10 November 2018 – Expansión

Cerberus is increasing its commitment to the Spanish real estate market. The US fund is the favourite candidate to take over the reins at Altamira, the manager of property loans and foreclosed real estate assets currently owned by Apollo and Santander. Moreover, Cerberus is battling it out with the fund Lindorff (now Intrum) and other investors to purchase Solvia.

As Expansión revealed on 8 October, Apollo renewed its contract with the investment bank Goldman Sachs at the beginning of the summer and distributed the teaser (the sales document containing a general description) to potential interested parties to dispose of this asset for between €500 million and €600 million. Although it is not alone in the process, Cerberus is the candidate that has the best chance of acquiring that company.

But Cerberus is not going to settle for that asset only. Financial sources assure that the US fund is also bidding for Solvia, in a process in which it is also competing with Lindorff. The CEO of Sabadell, Jaume Guardiola, noted, during the presentation of the results on 26 October, the “good appetite” in the market for Solvia, “whose sale will close “soon”. He whereby confirmed the sale of Solvia Servicios Inmobiliarios (SSI) and Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (SDI). For the sale of SSI, in which it is being advised by Alantra, the bank hopes to receive up to €400 million.

Concentration of the market

If Cerberus ends up being the winner of both processes, it will become the clear leader of the servicer sector and a proponent of concentration between the servicers. These companies, created from the former real estate subsidiaries of the banks, have become some of the stars of the new real estate cycle.

Currently, almost all of the assets under management of the banks are in the hands of a few companies such as Altamira, Servihabitat, Haya Real Estate, Aliseda, Anticipa, Solvia and Divarian (previously Anida). These firms are mainly responsible for the management and recovery of debt and transformation of loan obligations into foreclosed real estate assets, as well as the sale and rental of assets.

If Cerberus ends up taking control of Altamira and Solvia, it will control almost 65% of the market for servicers, which will allow it to mark a differentiation in its strategy. Currently, the US fund controls Haya Real Estate, one of the large servicers with €40 billion in assets under management. Moreover, it took over the reins at Anida, which was in the hands of BBVA, and which manages €13 billion.

If it adds Altamira and Solvia to its portfolio, the volume of assets under management will soar to €138.9 billion, with a market share in the servicer segment of 65%. According to numbers managed by the consultancy firm Axis, the other two dominant funds are Blackstone, with Anticipa and Aliseda (also from Santander) and LoneStar, which controls Servihabitat after purchasing that company from La Caixa in the summer.

Other assets

In addition to the servicers, Cerberus is also the owner of the property developer Inmoglacier; the online estate agency between individuals Housell; and the debt recovery company Gescobro (…).

Original story: Expansión (by R.Arroyo and D.Badía)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Sells Former Barracks in Es Castell to the Local Government for €2.4M

25 October 2018 – Menorca Info

The Govern, Consell and Town Hall of Es Castell have closed an agreement to purchase the barracks in Plaça Esplanada de Es Castell, Duque de Crillón and Conde Cifuentes. According to reports on Thursday, the payment will be made during the first quarter of next year.

On Tuesday, Sareb, the owner of the properties, confirmed that it was going to accept the economic offer from the Govern, which amounts to €2.4 million. Of that amount, €420,000 will be contributed by the Town Hall of Es Castell, €1 million by the Consell of Menorca, and the remaining €1 million by the Govern.

The agreement specifies that the barracks will be intended for public use given their high historical, heritage and landscape value. The initial plan is for the Govern to carry out the purchase of the warehouses directly from Sareb, to avoid them being used for other purposes.

The executive has already made a provision in the budget for 2019 for the acquisition of this infrastructure.

Ownership of Duque de Crillon will pass to the Town Hall of Es Castell, whilst Conde Cifuentes will be jointly owned by the Govern and the Consell.

Both barracks will be used for public facilities and administrative uses.

Moreover, the agreement provides for the creation of a Monitoring Committee to monitor and control the execution of the commitments made by each institution.

In November, a document will be formalised to sign the agreement and it will be signed before the end of the year. During the first quarter of 2019, the purchase file will be executed and the acquisition will be formalised.

Original story: Menorca Info

Translation: Carmel Drake