Tag: Habaneras shopping centre

Vukile Finalises Purchase of 4 Shopping Centres from Unibail for €490M

18 July 2018 – Idealista News

One of the deals of the year in the shopping centre sector is on the verge of completion. The South African fund Vukile, through its Spanish real estate vehicle Castellana Properties Socimi, is in the process of buying four shopping centres from the European giant Unibail-Rodamco for €489 million. Castellana Properties, which also acquired the Habaneras shopping centre in May, is going to add the Bahía Sur, El Faro, Los Arcos and Vallsur complexes to its asset portfolio in Spain, all of which are currently owned by the French company specialising in shopping centres.

Vukile will acquire these assets in a block purchase, although Unibail-Rodamco had been negotiating their sale with other groups, such as Lar España and Klépierre, on an individual basis. The French group, which completed its integration with the Australian firm Westfield in June, has signed a binding offer agreement with Castellana Properties for €489 million. According to sources familiar with the operation, that amount may decrease before the final sale is signed.

From now on, Castellana Properties Socimi will have the following shopping centres in its portfolio: Bahía Sur, which spans 59,300 m2 and is located in Cádiz, close to Puerto Real and San Fernando; El Faro, which spans 66,300 m2 and is located in Badajoz; Los Arcos, located in Sevilla, with a surface area of 44,000 m2; and Vallsur, located in Valladolid with a surface area of 36,000 m2.

The sale of these four assets forms part of the operation carried out last year with Barnasud, the complex acquired by Meridia Capital, a Catalan fund owned by the businessman Javier Faus, who paid Unibail-Rodamco €35 million for the asset (…).

Currently, the group led by Christophe Cuvillier has a portfolio in Spain worth €3.556 billion and receives 126.2 million visitors per year. Those assets account for 10% of its global portfolio.

Castellana Properties, on a mission to acquire shopping centres in Spain

Since its creation, Vukile has been increasing its portfolio of assets in Spain through Castellana Properties in a frenetic way. In July last year, Vukile purchased nine retail parks from Redevco Iberian Ventures, the joint venture between the real estate company specialising in retail Redevco and the funds managed by the global alternative asset management company Ares Management, for €193 million.

Before the end of the year, Castellana Properties formalised the purchase of two retail spaces located in Granada and Murcia for €65 million (…).

The only operation signed by Vukile and Castellana Properties so this year has been the purchase of the Habaneras shopping centre for more than €80 million (…).

Original story: Idealista News (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Vukile’s Socimi Plans to Grow its Asset Portfolio by 2.5x to €1bn in 3 Years

25 June 2018 – Expansión

Castellana Properties is accelerating its growth plans with the aim of becoming the largest Spanish Socimi specialising in the retail sector in Spain and fighting off competition from its rivals Lar and Merlin. The company controlled by the South African fund Vukile Property is seeking to grow its asset portfolio to €1 billion over the next three years, which would see it multiply the size of its current portfolio, comprising 15 properties with a value of around €400 million and spanning 197,000 m2, by 2.5 times.

“We are going to do this through organic growth, in other words, by buying new assets”, explains Alfonso Brunet, CEO of Castellana Properties. The director has extensive experience in the real estate sector, in particular in retail, after his time at the fund Pradera and the consultancy firm CBRE.

“We are an income fund – over the long term – and we seek stable, predictable rental income, with potential for future growth. Given the current macroeconomic environment and recovery, we see clearly that there is upwards potential in the retail market”, he says.

To achieve its objective, the Socimi is analysing the purchase of both portfolios and individual assets, above all in secondary cities and prime locations. Currently, the company “is studying operations worth €2 billion”.

In terms of its immediate plans, Castellana Properties will make its debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) before September. “We are not going to undertake any capital increases ahead of the MAB debut. We want to grow in size so that, in the future, we will be able to attract new investors to help us grow”, he adds.

The firm’s objective involves achieving sufficient volume to make the leap onto the main stock market. “Our main shareholder is Vukile, which is a Reit (an entity equivalent to a Socimi) and it is interested in securing new investors.

Background

Castellana Properties started life in December 2015 with the purchase of two office buildings in Madrid and Sevilla. A year later, the South African fund Vukile purchased 98% of its share capital and prepared its next major operation: the purchase of a portfolio of nine retail parks spread over several Spanish towns for almost €200 million. The latest acquisition in May of this year involved the purchase of the Habaneras shopping centre in Alicante for €80 million.

Currently, the firm owns 13 retail parks and shopping centres and two office buildings, and its activity accounts for 21% of Vukile’s business.

Brunet acknowledges that, after the start of the recovery in Spain, the prices of real estate assets have risen due to interest from investors. “We think that there is a lot of potential for rental incomes to rise following the decreases of the crisis. Given that we are an income fund, that is what interests us the most”, he adds.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Vukile Increases Castellana Properties’s Share Capital by €7M to Fund New Purchases

12 June 2018 – Eje Prime

The South African fund Vukile is looking after its investment vehicle in Spain. The Socimi Castellana Properties has increased its share capital by €7 million to undertake new purchases, according to explanations provided by the group to Eje Prime. The company is whereby continuing with its investor appetite, which was sated in May with the purchase of the Habaneras shopping centre for €80.6 million.

“Castellana Properties is immersed in an ambitious growth process”, explain sources at the company. “Last year, the Socimi acquired eleven retail parks in Spain for approximately €300 million, to become a strategic player in the real estate sector and, specifically, in the retail sector”, explain sources at the company.

“The capital increase forms part of this growth strategy; it will allow us to increase the company’s financial capacity to undertake new and exciting projects”, they conclude. Following this increase, the resultant subscribed share capital will amount to €33.4 million. The South African fund Vukile now has a portfolio containing thirteen shopping centres in Spain and an investment made to date of €290 million across the whole Spanish market.

Since last year, the group has closed several operations in the Spanish market. Redevco Iberian Ventures, the joint venture between the real estate company specialising in retail Redevco and funds managed by the global alternative asset manager Ares Management, sold nine retail parks to the Socimi for €193 million.

In December, the group acquired two retail spaces in Granada and Murcia with an investment of €65 million. Alameda Park has a surface area of 25,000 m2 and was acquired for €54.6 million, whilst Pinatar Park occupies 10,637 m2 and involved an outlay of €10.7 million.

The only operation signed by Vukile and Castellana Properties so far this year has been the purchase of the Habaneras shopping centre for more than €80 million. The complex was constructed in 2005 by Metrovacesa. Since then, the asset has passed through the hands of Unibail-Rodamco, in 2008 and Harbert, which acquired Habaneras for €65 million.

That centre has a gross leasable area of 24,158 m2 and contains 70 stores distributed over three floors and more than 800 parking spaces. Its tenants include operators such as Zara and H&M. The Habaneras shopping centre received 4 million visitors last year and recorded operating revenues of €5 million.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Socimi Castellana Properties Buys Habaneras Shopping Centre for €80.6M

9 May 2018 – Eje Prime

A new retail operation has been closed in the world of the Socimis. Castellana Properties has completed the purchase of the Habaneras shopping centre in Torrevieja (Alicante), for €80.6 million, from the listed real estate investment company (Socimi) Heref Habaneras.

The shopping centre has a gross leasable area of 24,158 m2, spread over three floors and contains 70 stores, according to the purchaser, which has highlighted that the centre’s occupancy rate stands at 94%.

In a statement, the CEO of Castellana Properties, Alfonso Brunet, added that last year the Socimi acquired eleven retail parks in Spain worth around €300 million, making it “a strategic player in the real estate sector and, specifically, in the retail segment”.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Vukile Negotiates Purchase of the Habaneras Shopping Centre

25 January 2018 – Eje Prime

A new corporate operation is on the horizon in the shopping centre sector in Spain. The Habaneras complex may be changing hands once again, given that the investment fund Harbert European Real Estate Fund is negotiating its purchase for €80 million from the Socimi Castellana Properties (managed by Vukile).

The Habaneras shopping centre was constructed in 2005 by Metrovacesa. Since then, the complex has been owned by Unibail-Rodamco, which bought it in 2008, and by Harbert, which acquired Habaneras for €65 million, according to Expansión.

The complex has a gross leasable area of 24,158 m2, contains 70 stores spread over three floors and has 800 parking spaces. Its tenants include retailers such as Zara and H&M. The Habaneras shopping centre ended last year with 4 million visitors and operating revenues of €5 million.

Meanwhile, the South African fund Vukile already owns a portfolio containing thirteen shopping centres in Spain and has made investments to date amounting to €290 million across the whole Spanish market.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

HMC Creates A New Socimi: Heref Habaneras

3 February 2016 – Expansión

The US investment company Harbert Management Corporation (HMC) is the latest firm to adopt the Socimi formula to undertake its investments in Spain. HMC has just obtained approval from Spain’s Alternative Investment Market for its Socimi, Heref Habaneras, to list on the exchange. This real estate investment company is the owner of the Habaneras shopping centre in Torrevieja (Alicante), which it acquired at the end of 2014.

According to the information submitted to MAB, one of the reasons it has opted for this instrument is “to be in a beneficial competitive position to make potential acquisitions of new assets”. The structure also facilitates the incorporation of new investors, as well as financing for this growth.

The Socimi Heref Habaneras will debut on the MAB on Friday at a price of €4.37 per share, which represents a company valuation of €22.1 million.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake