Commercial Premises on Calle Serrano & Paseo de Gracia are More Expensive Than Ever

28 March 2019 – Expansión

The “golden miles” of Madrid and Barcelona seem to be immune to the consumer crisis and the boom in e-commerce that is negatively affecting other high streets across the country, for the time being at least. In fact, business is booming on Calle Serrano and Paseo de Gracia, driven by demand from large international luxury brands, which are only willing to open their flagship stores on those two streets.

Recent arrivals on Calle Serrano include Salvatore Ferragamo, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent and Bang & Olufsen. Meanwhile, the newest tenants on Paseo de Gracia include Moncler, Loro Piana (LVWH), Isabel Marant, Antropologie and Christian Louboutin.

Moreover, demand is driving up rents on those streets. In Barcelona, prices on the golden mile rose by between 5% and 6% in 2018, to €275/m2/month, according to Ascana. In Madrid, the price increase was less marked, up by just 1%, but nevertheless, the average price amounted to €284/m2/month, a new historical record.

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Mango Sells its Store on c/Corrida in Gijón & Leases it Back for €30,000/Month

28 October 2018 – El Comercio

Mango has sold the building located at number 28 Calle Corrida, in Gijón, which has housed its megastore in the city since 2015, to a domestic investor for €8 million. The Catalan multi-national textile firm acquired the iconic property, which used to house the former headquarters of Banesto, in 2014. At the time, it paid Banco Santander €6.2 million for the property. The building work for the commercial conversion of the building, which spans a surface area of 1,642 m2, spread over the ground first and attic floor, cost another almost €2 million.

On this occasion, the sale operation has been undertaken as a sale&leaseback deal (…). In other words, Mango has sold the asset on the city’s main high street but will remain there as the tenant, paying a sizeable rent to the new owner: more than €30,000 per month (…).

That is not the only change happening on Calle Corrida over the coming months. The Inditex Group is looking to relocate some of its brands onto the Golden Mile of Gijón despite the shortage of available units (…).

In terms of prices, according to Alejandro López, lawyer and director of the real estate consultancy firm Noxtrum Novotec, “the average rental price is €62/m2/month, with variations ranging from €50/m2/month to €70/m2/month”.

Original story: El Comercio (by M. Moro)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Luxury Brands Conquer Madrid’s Golden Mile

17 October 2017 – Expansión

Fashion labels such as Sonia Rykiel, Oliver Peoples, Tesla and Audemars Piguet are arriving on the main shopping streets of the Madrilenian neighbourhood of Salamanca, with their first stores in the Spanish market.

The Spanish real estate market is enjoying good times, with investors interested in buying assets and commitments from all kinds of brands to open stores on the country’s main shopping thoroughfares. This interest is very apparent in the Madrilenian neighbourhood of Salamanca, the capital’s luxury shopping area, with the arrival of numerous new brands, such as the car firm Tesla (…).

The exclusive brand behind the 100% electric cars has taken over a store on Calle Serrano in Madrid, just a stone’s throw from Puerta de Alcalá, as Expansión revealed on 2 September. Specifically, Tesla has leased a 275 m2 store, at number 3 on the famous street along the Golden Mile (…).

“The Golden Mile in Madrid is a sought-after area for the majority of the luxury brands that decide to move to the capital. This means that sections  (of the street) that were less appealing until now, such as the uneven side of the road and the bottom section of the street, no longer have as much availability as they used to in previous years. Examples of this are the case of Tesla at number 3, and Malababa at number 8”, explain sources at the consultancy firm Ascana.

Tesla and Malababa are joining Kenzo and Audemars Piguet, the latest luxury brands to open stores on the famous Madrilenian thoroughfare (…).

Other sought-after streets

The commitment to the luxury market does not end on Calle Serrano (…). Adjoining streets, such as Calles Ortega y Gasset, Lagasca and Claudio Coello are also welcoming new international brands. “The interior of the Salamanca neighbourhood has seen the departure of traditional businesses, which cannot afford the current rental prices, and their replacement by premium brands. Not all of the brands can afford to pay for a store on the best stretch of Serrano; such premises are only available to 10% of firms”, says Ignacio Acha, Associate Director of Retail & High Street at Cushman & Wakefield.

“Claudio Coello is continuing to consolidate its position as one of the main thoroughfares in the Salamanca neighbourhood. Several brands are planning to open stores on that street, such as Sonia Rykiel, at number 79, Max Mara Weekend at number 63 and Pedro Miralles, at number 58″, say Ascana’s sources (…).

For brands like that, a store on Serrano or Ortega y Gasset is very expensive. The difference in price between the best store on those streets and on Claudio Coello could be up to three times”, says the Partner at C&W, the consultancy firm that has advised Sonia Rykiel on its operation.

In addition to the upcoming store openings on Claudio Coello, Ortega y Gasset has been selected as the location of choice by another international brand for its debut in Spain. Specifically, the glasses firm Oliver Peoples, owned by the luxury Luxottica group, has taken over the premises on c/Ortega y Gasset, 4, where it will open its first store in the country.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aina Purchases 50% Of Gran Hotel Velázquez From Didra Group

25 July 2017 – Expansión

Aina Hospitality – the fund promoted by Edmond de Rothschild and Jaume Tàpies – has purchased 50% of the iconic Gran Hotel Velázquez from the Didra Group. The property is located at number 62 of the Madrilenian street whose name it bears.

This asset, located in the neighbourhood of Salamanca, just a stone’s throw from the Retiro park and in the heart of Madrid’s golden mile, has been owned by the Didra Group for just a few months. It is currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation with the aim of ascending its category.

Together with the Didra Group, owned by the Ardid Villoslada family, Aina Hospitality will reposition the property, transforming it into a five-star hotel. Last year, the family office owned by the Ardid family reached an agreement with the Salazar family – the former owners of SOS Cuétara – to purchase this hotel for €63 million and now, almost a year later, it has decided to open up the share capital to Aina Hospitality.

At the moment, the four-star Gran Hotel Velázquez, has 143 rooms but it recently closed its doors to undergo a complete refurbishment.

Repositioning

Following its renovation, the hotel will have 111 rooms and suites, a restaurant, a rooftop terrace, cinema, bowling alley, luxury spa and fitness centre.

Tàpies, the CEO of Aina Hospitality, highlighted the excellent location of the hotel: “Madrid is a cultural, historical and leisure destination and it is a tourist and financial centre. This hotel is located in the centre of the city, close to some of the most important tourist attractions and the historical centre”.

The operation represents Aina Hospitality’s seventh investment in Europe and is in line with the investment strategy carried out by the manager to date. Aina Hospitality purchases high-end properties – with four- and five-stars ratings. In addition to Madrid, the fund has recently made acquisitions in Paris, Eindhoven, Vienna, Brussels and Berlin.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Salazar Family Sells Gran Hotel Velázquez To Didra Group For €58M

1 June 2017 – Idealista

The Salazar family, the former owner of SOS Cuétara, has just divested the last jewel in its hotel crown in Madrid: it has sold the Gran Hotel Velázquez for €58 million.

The establishment has 142 rooms, is located on the capital’s Golden Mile and its new owner is the Didra Group, famous for constructing residential developments in luxury urbanisations in Madrid. Didra plans to close the hotel in July for 18 months to undertake a comprehensive refurbishment.

The Salazar family, through Corporación Hispana Hotelera, owned four hotels in the capital in its heyday. However, it started to sell off its properties three years ago to finance the fine imposed on it by the courts for the embezzlements at SOS Cuétara, which went on for 10 years.

In this way, the family sold the Ada Palace, an establishment located on Madrid’s Gran Vía, close to Puerta del Sol, to an Asian investment group, for €35 million. In addition, it sold the María Elena Palace Hotel, which is also located in the heart of the capital.

The latest hotel to have been sold has been the Gran Hotel Velázquez. Last year, the Salazar family was about to close the deal with the Didra Group, but it was then thwarted because of the buyer’s lack of liquidity and because the courts suspended the operation. Nevertheless, the family has now received the green light to close the sale and so has just one hotel establishment left in its portfolio: the Hotel Osuna, located on the outskirts of the capital, near the airport.

This agreement is expected to be made public within the next few days.

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake

British Groups Invest Heavily In Spain’s RE Sector

9 May 2017 – Expansión

The Grosvenor group is embarking on its first residential project in Spain, developing luxury homes in Madrid. It is following in the footsteps of other compatriot companies such as Intu, Taylor Wimpey and Benson Elliot.

One of the latest real estate companies to show its commitment to Spain has a history that spans 340 years. The firm in question is Grosvenor, the centuries-old British firm, which closed its first investment in the Spanish residential sector about two months ago.

The project chosen by Grosvenor for its arrival in Spain is a luxury residential development on the Golden Mile of Madrid. To this end, Grosvenor, through its subsidiary Grosvenor Europe, completed the purchase of a plot of land measuring around 820 m2, located at number 53 on Calle Jorge Juan, for the development of six exclusive apartments and one penthouse with views over the Retiro Park. (…).

Grosvenor’s operation on Jorge Juan forms part of a joint venture signed by the Asian firm Amcorp in July 2016, whereby it undertook to invest €70 million during the first phase. “We hope to build a significant real estate portfolio in Spain during 2017”, said sources at the British group, which was founded in 1677 by Sir Thomas Grosvenor, and which is nowadays one of the largest landowners in the United Kingdom.

In light of this commitment to Spain, Grosvenor, which has four divisions through which it operates in Europe, Asia, America and the United Kingdom, has strengthened its office in Madrid, led by Fátima Sáez del Cano, by hiring Miguel Silmi, who formerly served in interim roles at firms such as Altamira, owned by Banco Santander. (…).

Investment

Grosvenor’s commitment to Spain is not a unique case amongst the large British groups. “Investors from the United Kingdom have always liked the Spanish real estate market and they have invested throughout the economic cycle. For example, Heron International, which is known today for the shopping centres that it built in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, used to hold a significant portfolio of office buildings in Madrid, in the 1990s”, said Javier García-Mateo, Partner in Financial Advisory at Deloitte. (…).

Meanwhile, Benson Elliot has been present since 2011. That fund has just closed the purchase of the Hotel Silken Diagonal, together with the joint venture between Walton Street and Highgate. Previously, BE had purchased two other assets in Barcelona, which it has now sold. “Another British firm, London Regional, has purchased hotels and offices in Spain and has also taken advantage of the cycle to sell them at a profit”, said Rafael Bou, Partner in Real Estate at PwC.

“Having invested more than €2,147 million since 2011, British funds are the second most significant international investor in the Spanish real estate market, after the United States (…)”, according to Savills. During the first quarter of 2017, British firms have already made real estate purchases amounting to €550 million, according to Deloitte.

One example of this commitment is the return of British Land to Spain, which last year purchased the Nueva Condomina shopping centre in Murcia, and the more than €120 million that has been invested by the UK & European Investment group in operations in Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella. (…).

In addition to real estate companies and investment funds, some of the large British insurance companies are also placing their focus on the Spanish real estate sector, such as the case of Prudential and Aviva, which just closed the purchase of the Tormes shopping centre in Salamanca.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Who’s Buying A Home In The Exclusive Lagasca 99 Building?

7 April 2017 – ABC

The structure has not even been erected yet (it is due to be finalised at the end of the month) and yet half of the 44 homes, distributed over eight floors plus the penthouse level, have already been sold. The smallest properties have a surface area of 330 m2 and the largest span 700 m2. They are the most expensive new build homes on the market and their asking prices range between €10 million for the smallest and more than €16 million for the largest, such as the case of one of the six duplex penthouses located on the eighth floor, which has already been sold, exceeding all expectations. That sale significantly beat the record in terms of the price per m2, paid 7 years ago for a home on Calle Serrano (€15,000/m2). Nevertheless, the average asking price for homes in this property ranges between €10,000/m2 to €14,000/m2).

The building, measuring 26,203 m2, belongs to the Lagasca 99 development and is located in the heart of the Golden Mile, on the only available plot, which makes it the most sought-after in the neighbourhood of Salamanca. It is located between Calles Juan Bravo, Maldonado, Claudio Coello and Lagasca. And 51% of the total volume has already been sold, including the two commercial premises, to domestic firms: Banca March and Actiu, a company that specialises in designer furniture.

On the one hand, the buyers are wealthy Latin American families from Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, in line with the trend in the luxury real estate market in Spain (…). The remainder are Spaniards. The percentage varies, but on average the split is around 50-50%, said Antonio Pan de Soraluce yesterday, Director at Colliers Internacional in Spain, the entity responsible for marketing the development.

Freedom in terms of design

“Now is a great time to invest. Lagasca 99 is incredibly appealing and so the development is attracting interest from buyers at home and overseas, as well as from business people and firms interested in living in Madrid”, he added.

Word of mouth has played an important role amongst the potential buyers of these luxury homes and the hope is that when the construction work is completed and these homes are handed over, in August 2018, they will have all been sold. For the time being, the commitment is to high quality rather than to worry about the rate of sales, concluded the Director of Colliers. (…).

Original story: ABC (by M. J. Álvarez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Capital To Debut On MAB At €1.60/Share

24 September 2015 – Europa Press

Corpfin Capital Prime Retail, the Socimi that manages retail premises on several Spanish high streets, will make its debut on the Alternative Investment Market (‘Mercado Alternativo Bursátil’ or MAB) this Friday 25 September, at a price of €1.60 per share, representing a company market value of €23.28 million.

Corpfin will be the tenth Socimi to go public on MAB after Autonomy Spain Real Estate, which is due to debut today (Thursday).

Corpfin manages 12 retail premises in total, located on the main shopping streets in Madrid, San Sebastián, Vitoria and Burgos.

In the capital, its assets are located on the so-called “Golden Mile”, in other words, on Calles Serrano and Goya, as well as on Calles Princesa and Fuencarral.

Corpfin explains that it “fully owns” the properties in which its retail premises are located, with the exception of the two buildings on Princesa and Goya.

Tenants

Corpfin’s tenants include brands from the textile group Inditex, Mango, Décimas, Vodafone and La Sureña.

The company is seeking to raise funds through its debut on the MAB, which it will use to finance its future growth and purchase new assets, as well as to open itself up to new investors.

Corpfin Capital Real Estate is led by Javier Basagoiti Miranda, a former director of Ferrovial Inmobiliaria and Martinsa Fadesa, who has 28 years of experience in the real estate sector. Mr Basagoiti Miranda is currently also a Senior Advisor at KPMG in the Corporate Finance & Real Estate team.

Original story: Europa Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Foreign Investment Fund Offers €16.1m For Guadalpín Hotels

19 February 2015 – Diario Sur

The transaction could amount to almost €60 million in total, since Caixabank would cancel most of the sizeable debt that Aifos has with the entity.

The turbulent history of Guadalpín hotels is beginning a new chapter. Whilst the property developer Aifos, which constructed these luxury facilities, is immersed in a process to approve its liquidation plan to proceed to bankruptcy, a foreign investment fund is looking to take advantage of the opportunity by placing €16.1 million on the table to purchase the majority of the two properties, but without taking on their management. The administrators have already agreed the deal with the fund, in principle, but the transaction must be authorised by Commercial Court number 1 in Malaga, which is conducting the bankruptcy proceedings.

The offer has been presented by Lumitran System, a company controlled by foreign investors, mainly Swiss and Central European, which has set its sights on the hotels. The offer for the property in Marbella, which is located on the Golden Mile (Milla de Oro) has been made for the common areas of the building, which belong to Aifos, as well as other spaces, such as the ground floor, which houses the swimming pool, reception and garage; the apartments (in the property) are owned by another party.

In terms of the facilities in Guadalpín Banús, the investors are looking to purchase the apartments and other spaces, such as the reception, kitchen and the shops in the building. Despite this, the proposal does not provide for the operation of the hotels, which depend on other companies.

In exchange for the specified consideration, Lumitran System, would also take ownership of other items. One of the most symbolic would be the Guadalpín brand. And another, with more financial opportunities, is a plot of land known as the Village, which is situated just behind the hotel in Puerto Banús, which was reserved at the time for a potential future expansion. These are the targets of a transaction that, although require a pay-out of €16.1 million (by the investors), would generate significantly more profit for a company that does not find itself in the same situation as Aifos, which would see its debt of €59.1 million eliminated in a stroke.

The offer explains that the developer holds debt with the entity Caixabank amounting to €51.6 million, in the form of mortgages over the hotels Guadalpín Banús and Marbella. Nevertheless, the entity would forgive this amount entirely in exchange for a cash payment of €9.4 million and its complete dissociation from Aifos, which Lumitran has committed to.

In addition to this payment to the banking entity for the facilities, Aifos would also receive a cash payment itself. Specifically, Lumitran would pay €2.5 million directly to the developer. Another party that would benefit from this transaction is the Town Hall of Marbella. In their offer, the investors commit to taking over the obligations that Aifos holds with the Town Hall regarding the administrative normalisation of the urban situation of the Guadalpín complexes in Banús and Marbella. According to recent estimates, that would amount to €3.6 million in the case of the Village plot alone. Moreover, the municipal’s coffers would also receive funds from the investors in the form of tax revenues, such as property tax (impuestos de bienes inmuebles or IBI) and garbage tax, which have not been paid in recent times. These payments by Lumitran System would exceed €600,000.

Agreement with the bank

This proposal, which has already been agreed between the investors and Caixabank, is now in the hands of the Commercial Court number 1 in Malaga, which is conducting Aifos’ bankruptcy proceedings. The bankruptcy administrators processed the offer a few days ago and now the period has begun for its assessment, as well as for the presentation of new offers in the event that other parties are interested in acquiring the assets from the developer, which filed for liquidation in October last year.

In a letter, the bankruptcy administrators ask the court to authorise the proposal so that the sale of the aforementioned facilities in the Guadalpín hotels may go ahead. They assure that this transaction would result in “enormous benefits” for the parties affected by Aifos’ bankruptcy. And that the deal would amount to almost €60 million in total. There would be some direct revenues,  €16.1 million (€2.5m for Aifos, €9.4m for Caixabank and another €4.2m for the Town Hall of Marbella), although the most significant amount would involve the cancelation of Aifos’ debt by Caixabank.

In their request to the courts, the administrators also highlight the importance of this purchase being agreed “as soon as possible” to avoid any further accumulation of debt by both the Costa del Sol Town Hall and the bank.

Original story: Diario Sur

Translation: Carmel Drake