Sareb Invites 20 Investors to Participate in the Sale of its Socimi Témpore

20 December 2018 – El Economista

A formal process is being launched after initial interest was received from three buyers, including one that stood out from the US fund TPG.

On Tuesday, Sareb opened a formal process to sell Témpore, its rental home Socimi, according to confirmation provided by sources in the sector speaking to El Economista. The bad bank, which has not engaged an external advisor for this divestment process, has invited 20 investors to participate.

In November, Nicolás Díaz Saldaña, CEO of the residential company, acknowledged that a Data Room had been enabled containing information about the Socimi and that access had been granted to it for five investors interested in the acquisition of Témpore.

In the end, three offers were received, of which the ones from Ares and TPG stood out, the latter being the highest. In light of the expressions of interest, Sareb decided to raise the matter to its Board of Directors, which yesterday launched an orderly sales process in which investors may participate by invitation only.

According to the same sources, Sareb has not imposed any conditions regarding what percentage of its stake is for sale (it held 98.38% at the end of June), and so it will be open to all offers.

The Socimi has just carried out what will be its last non-monetary capital increase subscribed by Sareb amounting to €150 million to acquire 1,769 assets in total, of which 850 are rental homes. The operation, which forms part of the right of first refusal agreement (ROFO), which Sareb and the Socimi signed, allows Témpore to double in size to reach €325 million.

Growth plan

Before announcing the sales process, Témpore had a growth plan underway with the aim of achieving a portfolio worth €500 million and in this way having sufficient volume to make its debut on the main stock market. That was explained at the time by Díaz Saldaña, who noted that in order to continue growing, “we will have to look for financing, be it from the bank or an alternative, such as a bond issue”.

Amongst the different options, the Socimi is analysing the purchase of whole buildings of rental homes and is also studying the acquisition of developments under construction that are currently in the hands of Sareb. In addition, it is considering buying turnkey projects through delegated promotion. “In the case of the latter, the first projects would be with Sareb, given that at the moment, for the other property developers that we have spoken to, it is more profitable for them to sell in the retail market”, said the CEO.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Sareb announced the sale of some land in the Torre Salses area, in Lleida, for the construction of a large shopping centre, spanning more than 60,000 m2. Eurofund Capital Partners has paid €8.3 million for that plot, whose sale was agreed in 2016.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Eurofund Logistic Capital Partners Acquires a 130,000 m2 Plot in Corredor de Henares

15 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Eurofund and Logistic are continuing to push ahead together in the Spanish logistics sector. The joint venture, created by the two groups in 2017, Eurofund Logistic Capital Partners (Elcp), has purchased a plot of land measuring 130,000 m2 in the Corredor de Henares for the development of a new logistics project on the site, according to explanations provided by the company to Eje Prime.

The plot is located in the third ring of Madrid, on a large industrial estate in Torija (Guadalajara), with direct access to the A2 motorway, one of the main logistics axes in Spain that links Madrid and Barcelona.

Elcp is going to develop a Class A logistics project spanning 80,000 m2 on the site. Located 30 minutes from Barajas airport and 45 minutes from the centre of the Spanish capital, the land is “one of the few available buildable sites with the capacity to house a new building of this size”, said the Director-General of LCP, James Markby.

Marketing of the project, which is going to be a turnkey development, will begin immediately. On the same industrial estate in Torija where it has purchased this land, Eurofund Logistic already owns logistics centres leased to large multinationals such as Primark, Leroy Merlin and Bridgestone, amongst others.

During the nine months to September, logistics leasing in Spain amounted to 1.38 million m2, up by 17% with respect to the same period in 2017. In parallel, investment exceeded the €1.1 billion threshold during the first nine months of the year, up by 43%, according to data from the consultancy firm CBRE.

In Madrid, 632,000 m2 of logistics space was leased, almost equalling the figure recorded during the same period in 2017. Of that amount, more than 50% of the assets corresponded to operations involving warehouses with a surface area of more than 20,000 m2.

Eurofund Logistic: almost 1 million m2 under management

The latest purchase by Eurofund Logistic forms part of the growth plan that the company has underway in Spain and Portugal. Created in February 2017, the joint venture currently has 775,000 m2 of logistics assets under management.

Moreover, the joint venture is planning to start work on 650,000 m2 of logistics properties. One of the parties, Eurofund Capital Partners is a subsidiary of the Spanish group Eurofund, which, in addition to the logistics sector, also develops and manages assets, primarily in the retail segment.

Last week, Eurofund was given the green light for its new commercial macro-project in Lleida, as reported by Eje Prime. That project is known as the Torre Salses retail complex; it has a surface area of 56,000 m2 and construction of it will begin in the autumn of 2019.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Regus on the Hunt for Partners to Open 550 Centres Across Spain

8 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Regus wants to expand to the last corner in Spain. The supplier of flexible workspaces has set itself the objective of opening 550 centres in the domestic market and, in order to develop that plan, the company has launched a franchise model through which “we want to be everywhere”, said the Director-General of Regus in Spain, Philippe Jiménez, speaking to Eje Prime.

The franchisees of Regus, as well as their clients “will enjoy the same services as the company’s own centres”, said Jiménez. Currently, there is an “exceptional demand” for flexible workspaces in Spain and the company wants to provide a service that “would be impossible” without this new model, recognises the executive.

“We want to grow quickly and for that, the franchise model is necessary”, explains the Director. In exchange, the company offers its partners the same operating and marketing support that is provided to Regus’s own centres.

Jiménez says that “there will not be any limitations in terms of location”. “We like metropolitan areas in large cities, but also in secondary and tertiary cities too”, he continued. The only conditions that Regus is going to impose are that the franchisee must assume the full investment of the centre and that “the quality of our centres must be maintained”.

“For us, Barcelona and Madrid are the same as any other smaller city”, highlights the executive, who believes that with this expansion, through franchises, the company will provide clients with an increasingly “more efficient and more technological” service.

The new expansion formula that Regus is launching in Spain is a “mandate” that comes from the firm’s parent company, the giant IWG, but one that Jiménez supports. “Having centres all over the place allows you to be more productive”, explains the executive.

A former director of Día will lead the franchise area 

Regus’s new plan in Spain will also have a new director. Luis Herranz will be responsible for managing the expansion of the franchises. Recruited a month ago, the director comes from Día, where he has been working for the last four years. Since 2016, the executive has been the Director of Franchises and Master-franchises at the supermarket chain.

“We are adopting the franchise formula as a key lever in our growth strategy to expand Regus”, says Herranz on the social network Linkedin. It is a “business model that is simple to manage and that generates good returns”, says the director.

In terms of returns, Jiménez says that the flexible office model offers “large cash yields and significant double-digit investment returns”. “The sector of offices as a service is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, and has become the new target for investors and franchise operators”, highlights the Director General of Regus in Spain.

New openings and targets: Murcia, Toledo, Sant Cugat and Gijón

Whilst it searches for its first franchisees, Regus is continuing with its growth plan in Spain. Already present in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Málaga, Bilbao, Palma and Zaragoza, in November, Regus is going to add Murcia and Toledo to its footprint in Spain.

Over the last year, the company has opened 10,600 m2 of new office space. The most recent centres to be inaugurated have been those in Alcobendas and on c/Ortega y Gasset in Madrid; Diagonal Hightech and Sarriá Fórum, in Barcelona; and the Torre Aragonia centre in Zaragoza (…).

The main brand of the giant IWG, which also operates the co-working firm Spaces in Spain, Regus has a presence in 120 countries and more than 1,100 cities with 3,500 centres. The company provides services to more than 2.5 million clients around the world.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Jabier Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Quabit Generated Profits of €1.1M in H1 2018

27 July 2018 – El Economista

Quabit Inmobiliaria recorded a net profit of €1.1 million during the first half of the year, compared with losses of €3.5 million during the same period in 2017, according to information submitted by the company on Friday to Spain’s National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV).

The firm’s net turnover amounted to €9.1 million during H1, which more than tripled the €2.8 million recorded a year earlier; and the operating result entered positive territory, amounting to €3.6 million.

The real estate firm closed land operations amounting to €24 million, spanning a buildable surface area 85,130 m2, during the first six months of the year.

In total, since kicking off its growth plan in 2017, Quabit has invested €193 million in plots to build almost 4,850 homes, which means that it has already fulfilled 75% of its target to promote 7,900 homes by 2022.

As at 30 June 2018, the firm’s residential portfolio comprises 3,237 homes, which will generate an estimated turnover of €672 million that will be reflected in the income statement as they are handed over in 2018 and 2019. In June, handover began of 116 homes on the Quabit Aguas Vivas urbanisation in Guadalajara, and the firm will finish the year with a total of 215 homes delivered.

The group highlighted that it will see the sale of almost 1,000 homes in 2019 before it reaches its “cruising speed” of 3,000 deliveries per year in 2022.

Original story: El Economista 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Colonial Enters ‘Shared Office’ Market With Purchase Of Utopic_Us

23 October 2017 – Expansión

The real estate group Colonial made its debut in a new segment of the market on Friday with the purchase of a shared office firm Utopic_Us, which has its headquarters in Madrid. According to the company, “co-working and flexible spaces constitute a segment on the rise and offer new services to customers”.

As well as acquiring the company, for an amount that has not been disclosed, Colonial has agreed to inject capital for the development of a growth plan. Utopic_Us, which was founded in 2010 by Rafa de Ramón, has three co-working spaces in Madrid and plans to open a centre in Barcelona soon.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Meridia Acquires Minority Stake In Andilana

30 January 2017 – Expansión

The private equity firm Meridia Capital has acquired a minority but significant stake in the restaurant group Andilana, which operates 25 restaurants in Cataluña and Madrid and five hotels in Barcelona, the Costa Brava and Madagascar.

The aim of the operation is to simplify Andilana’s ownership structure and support its growth plan, which involves new openings in the Spanish capital, as well as in other cities with tourist potential.

Andilana generates turnover of €40 million, employs 645 people and receives 2.5 million clients per year.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake