Tag: Gran Via 68

M&G European Property Fund Expands Portfolio in Spain

29 May 2018 – Real Assets

M&G European Property Fund has expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of industrial and retail assets in Spain.

The €3bn core European property fund, managed by M&G Investments’ real estate arm, said it bought two industrial and two retail assets for €80m.

The two retail acquisitions are H&M Reyes Catolicos in Granada and Gran Via 68 in Madrid.  Both sites, which total 3,668sqm, are leased.

The industrial sites Teka Logistics Platform and a further asset in the Getafe logistics corridor are both in Madrid. The sites have a combined size of 55,092 sqm.

Fund manager David Jackson, said: “Our latest research suggests the Spanish economy will continue to perform well, with its recovery having accelerated in 2017.

“This extends to the commercial real estate market, where we predict average rental growth in both industrial and retail will range between 3% and 4% per year for the next three years in Madrid.”

Jackson said these new acquisitions fit perfectly with our strategy to increase our exposure to Continental Europe by investing in core assets in strong growth markets.

“We see a strong correlation between the level of rental growth and tourist spend in major tourist destinations across Europe; Madrid and Granada are very good examples of this trend.”

Federico Bros, a director of asset management for Spain and Portugal, said: “We have seen strong demand for high street retail in prime locations across Spain. Both of the retail sites we have purchased are in established locations and offer great rental growth prospects.

“The industrial sector in Spain also offers strong rental growth prospects as online activity accelerates and these acquisitions help us diversify our portfolio in key sectors.”

M&G European Property Fund was launched in 2006, with a mandate to invest in a globally diversified portfolio of assets in mature European markets outside the UK.

Original story: IPE Real Assets

Translation: Carmel Drake

M&G Invests €80M to Strengthen its RE Portfolio

29 May 2018 – Expansión

The real estate division of the London-based firm M&G Investment has decided to bet significantly on the Iberian market, where its exposure now exceeds €500 million. “We are partners of institutional investors looking for core properties in the best locations across Europe. We opened our office in Spain in 2016, but we completed our first operations there a year earlier”, explains Federico Bros, Director of Asset Management for Spain and Portugal.

Its first operation involved the purchase of the former headquarters of Telefónica located on Calle Ríos Rosas (Madrid) and leased to the advertising giant WPP. “It is an example of what we look for, well-located assets with long-term contracts, 17 years in this case. Between the renovation and purchase we will invest €175 million in that property”, says Bros.

After that acquisition came others, such as an office building in Barcelona’s 22@ district and, recently, five operations with a very diverse profile. On the one hand, M&G purchased three commercial assets: two in Madrid and one in Granada. “The premise in Granada, measuring 2,500 m2, is located on Reyes Católicos, the best shopping street in the city”, explains Bros. In the case of Madrid, M&G acquired two retail premises on Gran Vía 68. “We closed this operation in May but we have been negotiating it for months, given that the building was being renovated. A few months ago, a large Tony Roma’s restaurant opened there and Sabadell is going to open its flagship branch in the other premise in a matter of days”, he said.

Similarly, the firm acquired two industrial assets in Madrid, specifically a logistics platform, leased to Teka, in the Corredor del Henares, and another complex in Getafe. Those two sites span more than 55,000 m2. In total, the firm has invested €80 million on its latest operations, channelled through two funds: MEP and EuroSPIF.

More opportunities

Following these investments, the manager is still looking for opportunities in the Spanish market.

“We are involved in several processes, both official and off-market, in Madrid, Barcelona and prime locations in other cities. Spain is a priority country for us”, says Bros.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The ‘German Bad Bank’ Acquires Gran Vía, 68

18 May 2015 – El Confidencial

The building located at number 68 Gran Via, which used to belong to Carlyle, has a new owner: the ‘German bad bank’, FMS Wertmanagement, the equivalent of Sareb in Spain.

The building located at number 68 on the coveted avenue in Madrid has a new owner. FMS Wertmanagement, more commonly known as the ‘German bad bank’ – the equivalent of Sareb in Spain – has acquired the property, which was the first acquisition made by the private equity firm Carlyle in Spain at the end of 2005.

This asset used to belong to the real estate fund Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners II (CEREP), which filed for bankruptcy in March 2012. It is estimated that the fund paid €45 million and so had to obtain a loan from the German entity Hypo Real Estate to finance the transaction – Hypo was taken over by the German Government in 2009 – and the debt has ended up in the hands of FMS. According to sources close to the transaction, this asset, which is currently worth around €21-23 million, has had lots of suitors.

In fact, in addition to FMS, the holding company that owns the investments of the businessman Manuel Jove (Inveravante) and the US fund, Autonomy, which has an opportunistic profile and arrived in Spain in 2013, both submitted bids.

In the context of the bankruptcy, the sale has been conducted by the bankruptcy administrator; and all indications suggest that FMS could have acquired the building for the amount of the debt, around €40 million. The sources consulted by this newspaper say that the German bad bank intends to seek a buyer for the property, at a time when the Spanish real estate market has taken off (again), and in an area (Madrid’s Gran Via) that has sparked so much interest and activity over the last year and a half.

Carlyle’s real estate ‘troubles’ in Spain

We have to go back almost ten years to see Carlyle’s first foray into the real estate sector in our country. At the end of 2005, the firm bought this property, which dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, from the Urconsa group – it was formerly owned by La Unión and Fénix Español – with a view to renovating it and turning it into luxury apartments. With a surface area of 7,600 m2, comprising three retail floors and eleven additional floors for residential use, it is totally empty at the moment.

Carlyle had intended to build 75 luxury apartments, preserving the original façade of the iconic building in the centre of Madrid. Its commitment to the real estate sector in Spain was clear and it expected to have the renovation completed within two years. However, its plans took a turn for the worse.

The Town Hall of Madrid did not grant the construction licence until April 2008, according to Cinco Días, and by 31 October 2010, only one of the commercial premises was leased out.

“We are delighted to have made our first investment in Spain. The residential market in Madrid is buoyant and we think that there will be strong demand for these new apartments in a building as impressive as this. We hope that this will be the first of many investments in Spain”, said Rachel Lupiani, Director of Carlyle Real Estate, after the deal was announced. She was responsible for closing the transaction, which was advised by the consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis and the law firm Clifford Chance.

In Spain, Carlyle also acquired land on Calle Alcalá in Madrid and the Telefónica headquarters in Barcelona – for which it paid €219 million in 2007.

The German bad bank is now looking for a buyer

The German bad bank, which operates in a similar way to Sareb, was created in 2010 with assets from the nationalised bank Hypo Real Estate. These included almost €900 million of non-performing assets and loans, including the debt relating to Gran Via, 68.

Just like in the case of Sareb in Spain, FMS is now looking for buyers for many of its non-performing assets and loans. In fact, at the beginning of this month, it sold the Gaudí debt package, which it had also inherited form the nationalised Hypo Real Estate, to the Californian fund Oaktree. That portfolio included debt relating to the Hotel Arts de Barcelona, a five-star property managed by Ritz-Cartlon, as well as another luxury hotel located in the Portuguese town of Cascais, five shopping centres, four office buildings, 17 storeooms and other residential and industrial assets.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz and R. Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake