Tag: growth plans

PAI Partners Submits a €1.5bn Binding Offer for Catering Specialist ‘Áreas’

24 April 2019 – El País

The French group Elior has received a binding offer amounting to €1.542 billion from the investment group PAI Partners for Áreas, the company specialising in catering services located in travel areas and headquartered in Spain. The aim of the two parties is to close the operation this summer.

The Spanish group recorded revenues of €1.832 billion last year, making it the third largest concessions brand in its sector in the world. It will gain operational autonomy as a result of the sale.

Áreas operates in fourteen counties around the world – it is the market leader in Spain (27% market share), France and Portugal, and the third largest operator in the USA. Its 21,000 employees work in 90 airports, 84 train stations and 220 roadside service stations.

The objective of PAI Partners is to support and finance Áreas’s growth plans over the next few years.

Original story: El País (by Dani Cordero)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Vbare Acquires 14 Homes in Málaga for €1.35M

28 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Vbare is branching out of the Spanish capital. The Socimi has made the leap to Málaga with the acquisition of a block of residential assets for €1.35 million. This operation forms part of the company’s growth plans after it carried out a €3.2 million capital increase in June.

According to a statement filed by Vbare with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB), this week, the company has signed the acquisition of a batch of fourteen homes on Calle Eugenio Gross in Málaga. The operation, which has been financed using the company’s available cash, was initiated in May when the company signed the deposit agreement.

Twelve of the homes acquired are leased and the remainder are vacant, “but in optimal conditions for their immediate rental”, according to the company. Vbare estimates a return of approximately 5.1% once the building has been fully let at market rents.

So far this year, Vbare has carried out five operations in the residential and commercial sectors. The Socimi ended the first quarter of the year with 210 assets under management and has set itself the objective of expanding its portfolio to include up to 261 residential units under management.

VBare is a real estate investment vehicle specialising in the acquisition and management of residential assets for their rental. The company was constituted in March 2015, is chaired by Fernando Acuña and led by Fabrizio Agrimi (pictured above) as the Director General.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Catella Acquires 3 Residential Assets in Pamplona for €26M

7 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Catella Asset Management Iberia (Cami) is on a roll in Spain. The Swedish fund has taken another step forward in its strategy to grow its residential business in Spain with the purchase of three buildings in Pamplona for €26 million, according to explanations provided by sources at the company speaking to Eje Prime.

The latest operation signed by the fund in Spain is the acquisition from a local property developer of three residential buildings for their operation as long-term rental properties. “The vendor is going to continue to take care of the day-to-day management of the buildings”, explain the sources.

Two of the three assets are located in Plaza Puerta de Badostain, in the town of Sarrigueren, located to the west of Pamplona. Those two assets contain 168 homes, 187 parking spaces and 173 storerooms, covering a total constructed surface area of 15,080 m2.

The third building is located on Calle Paseo de los Donantes de Sangre, in the neighbourhood of Ezcaba, in the north of Pamplona. This residence has 67 homes, 69 parking spaces and 67 storerooms, which together span a constructed surface area of 7,100 m2.  The operation has been brokered by the real estate consultancy JLL.

Moreover, Catella has recently signed agreements with developers for the construction of two developments in Madrid containing 362 homes and which will form part of its portfolio in operation in the next 18 months.

The first development, whose delivery is scheduled for December 2018, is located in the expansion area of Villaverde in Madrid. It is a development with 171 homes, garages and storerooms, with a combined constructed surface area of 13,035 m2.

Meanwhile, the second development comprises 191 homes, garages and storerooms, spanning a constructed surface area of 13,800 m2 and located in the south of Madrid, which will be handed over at the beginning of 2020. With these acquisitions, Catella Asset Management Iberia has four residential assets: four in Madrid, one in Barcelona and three in Pamplona.

Roadmap in Spain

This operation forms part of the new roadmap that Catella is going to follow in the Spanish market. The Swedish manager, which is going to focus on its objective of growing its asset portfolio in the residential and office sectors, plans to own up to 1,000 flats for rental by the end of this year, doubling its current figure, which stands at around 400 homes.

Present in Spain since 2015, Catella has signed five purchases in recent years in the residential segment, where it has spent around €85 million. The group has €300 million more to spend to continue growing through purchases in the country.

In addition to the residential business, Catella is also very present in the retail sector, where it has recently undertaken operations, such as the purchase from Axiare of the Planetocio shopping centre in Madrid, alongside AEW. The company closed 2017 with a portfolio of assets under management in Spain worth €200 million.

In addition, through its fund specialising in student housing, Catella European Student Housing Fund, the investment company is backing the star alternative asset in the real estate at the moment.

In 2017, it purchased the La Campana hall of residence in Pamplona and, this year, it is analysing possible new acquisitions in the large capitals such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla, but also in another city with a notable presence of university students: Granada.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grosvenor Backs the Rental Sector in Spain & Formalises its First Purchases in Madrid

1 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Grosvenor is betting on a business that is on the rise in Spain: the residential rental market. The group, which is going to spend €200 million on its growth plans in the country between now and 2022, as Eje Prime revealed, has recently acquired a building on Calle Rey Francisco, in the Madrilenian neighbourhood of Argüelles, which it is going to rent out.

The property in question is a protected building, located in an area that is very close to the university centres, and which the company hopes to renovate to create rental homes and convert the existing commercial premises into common areas, according to Expansión. In total, the building will have 23 homes, some of which are currently let out under the old rent system, whose tenants will be maintained by the British real estate company.

To give continuity to its business in Spain, Grosvenor will allocate more than €200 million to purchases, together with the Malaysian group Amprop, with which it has created a joint venture in the country. The group’s objective is to double its asset portfolio between now and 2022, according to James Raynor, CEO of Grosvenor, speaking to Eje Prime in an interview.

Grosvenor’s most ambitious plans in Spain include new purchases. The group, which has an office in Madrid and employs eight people in the country, has increased its investment capacity through its joint venture company with Amprop, created last year to build luxury apartments in Madrid, to €200 million.

The objective of the alliance with Amcorp is to back value-added investments, whereby assuming the associated risk but also receiving higher returns. The two groups have allocated a budget of €70 million for these types of projects, although they have reviewed the numbers thanks to the opportunities on offer in the Spanish market.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake