Tag: holiday rental

Basque Government Invested €50.1 Million in New Social Housing Rental Units

6 January 2020 – The Basque Government acquired a total of 506 flats over the past year for use in public housing. The regional government acquired the properties using public funds, budgetary surpluses and the Sustainable Financial Investments financial instrument used by Spanish local authorities. The properties are now under management by the Basque public company Alokabide.

The government invested a total of 50.1 million euros in the acquisitions. Specifically, the government acquired 70 VPO flats in the neighbourhood of Donostiarra in Morlans (€4.9 million), 32 VPOs in Santurtzi (€4.5 million), an advance on 84 social housing units in Ortuella (€2.4 million), 52 VPOs in Sestao (€7.6 million), 26 VPOs in Mungia and 52 VPOs in Amorebieta (€9.5 million), nine free homes owned by SAREB in several locations (742,000 euros), 36 VPOs in Legutio (€3.8 million), three homes in Bermeo (345,635 euros), 91 social housing units in the neighbourhood of Iturribarri in Getxo (€8.2 million) and 51 VPOs in the neighbourhood of Zerrajera in Arrasate (€7.8 million).

El Gobierno Vasco adquirió un total de 506 pisos durante el año pasado para uso como viviendas públicas. El gobierno regional adquirió las propiedades utilizando fondos públicos, excedentes presupuestarios y el instrumento financiero de inversiones financieras sostenibles utilizado por las autoridades locales españolas. Las propiedades están ahora bajo la gestión de la empresa pública vasca Alokabide.

El gobierno invirtió un total de 50,1 millones de euros en las adquisiciones. Específicamente, el gobierno adquirió 70 pisos VPO en el barrio de Donostiarra en Morlans (€ 4.9 millones), 32 VPO en Santurtzi (€ 4.5 millones), un anticipo de 84 unidades de vivienda social en Ortuella (€ 2.4 millones), 52 VPO en Sestao (7,6 millones de euros), 26 VPO en Mungia y 52 VPO en Amorebieta (9,5 millones de euros), nueve viviendas gratuitas propiedad de SAREB en varias ubicaciones (742.000 euros), 36 VPO en Legutio (3,8 millones de euros), tres viviendas en Bermeo ( 345.635 euros), 91 unidades de vivienda social en el barrio de Iturribarri en Getxo (8,2 millones de euros) y 51 VPO en el barrio de Zerrajera en Arrasate (7,8 millones de euros).

Original Story: La Vanguardia – P. R. D.

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Le Collectionist Arrives in Spain to Lead Luxury Holiday Rentals

5 April 2018 – Expansión

Luxury made in Spain. The French group Le Collectionist has arrived in Spain through the purchase of the holiday rental company Bonder & Co, which has 400 exclusive properties under management and twelve years of experience in the sector. The firm is preparing to extend its footprint with new acquisitions and the incorporation of new destinations with the aim of becoming the leader of the high-end holiday rental market.

Le Collectionist currently has 12 offices around the world and 2,300 properties in around one hundred destinations across France, Spain, Greece, Morocco and Israel. “Following a round of financing last June, we expect to have 100 offices by 2020. Bonder & Co was the first purchase but the plan is to acquire local experts and leaders around the world to create a global company with local knowledge”, explains Paloma Bonder, founder of Bonder & Co and Director General of Le Collectionist in Spain, speaking to Expansión.

In Spain, this high-end version of Airbnb has a presence in Ibiza, Formentera, Mallorca and Marbella, and plans to expand into Cataluña, with new properties in Barcelona and the Costa Brava. It is also analysing other destinations such as Madrid and Bilbao. “The properties must fulfil an extensive list of requirements and must stand out due to their location or because they have a certain feature that makes them special. For example, we are currently considering a farmhouse in Cataluña where purebred horses are raised”, adds Bonder. The valuation of the properties included on this platform range from €1.5 million to €10 million.

In this way, the prices per stay range between €3,500 and €350,000 per week and the services offered range from €500 to €150,000 and include everything from chefs to chauffeurs, to yachts, to children’s entertainment, to luxury cars and local “unique” experiences. For these services, the company maintains relationships with 600 Spanish suppliers.

Le Collectionist also has a consultancy service to advise property owners.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Pierre & Vacances Agrees Alliance With Morgan Stanley

23 January 2015 – Expansión

The French leisure company Pierre & Vacances has signed an agreement with a fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate to acquire 3,000 new holiday rental units in Spain over the next two years. The units will be managed by the travel group, as part of its growth strategy. The fund expects to acquire at least 3,000 real estate assets in Spain in “strategic and highly selective” locations. The assets will be managed by Pierre & Vacances, a specialist in holiday apartment rentals, as it seeks to meet the increased demand from European customers.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Be Mate Buys Alterkeys To Take On More Than 100,000 Apartments

22 January 2015 – Expansión

Growth / The online platform, launched in September, lists 111,000 homes across Europe.

Be Mate, the online platform for tourist accommodation, launched by Enrique Sarasola, the Chairman of the hotel chain Room Mate, has strengthened its business through its first acquisition. The target, Alterkeys, a start-up created in the UK, but based in Spain, has a portfolio of 102,000 apartments located across 42 countries.

The transaction has been completed through a cash payment and a package of Be Mate stock options, linked to the business’s fulfilment of a series of milestones over the short and medium term. Be Mate has financed the monetary contribution, which represents 70% of the total consideration, from its own funds.

Following the acquisition, the management team of Alterkeys, led by its founder José María González, will be integrated into Be Mate, which has hired Jorge Gómez Sancha as CEO. Mr Gómez Sancha founded De Banjo, a company specialising in video on demand, which was subsequently sold to TDF Media Services.

Over the next six months, Be Mate’s team will study the portfolio of apartments listed on Alterkeys to determine how many fit with its business. Sarasola, who together with other partners is the primary individual shareholder of the platform, with a 44.28% stake, calculates that “around two thirds of the properties will be incorporated into Be Mate’s platform”. In the businessman’s own words “this acquisition allows Be Mate to grow very quickly and have a presence in every European capital”. The main markets serviced by Alterkeys are the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Scandinavia and Spain, where it lists 10,900 apartments.

Hotel partnerships

Sarasola admits that they have not yet decided how the Alterkeys brand will be used. The question will be resolved over the next few months, once Be Mate, which itself lists 9,000 tourist homes, has had the opportunity to segment the new supply. During the second half of the year, Be Mate will develop partnerships with independent hotels in those cities in which Room Mate does not have a presence, since Be Mate seeks to differentiate itself from other companies, such as AirBnB, by offering certain hotel-style services to its clients during their stay. Be Mate has received more than 1.5 million visits since September and has more than 7,000 registered users.

Original story: Expansión (by Yolanda Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Demand For Holiday Rentals Grows By 25%

20 January 2015 – El Mundo

Requests in inland areas, such as Madrid, recorded an increase of 35%.

Andalucía is the region that accounted for the highest percentage of requests, with 31%.

The analysis reveals that visitors to Spain prefer to holiday in the sun and on the beach.

HomeAway, the online platform for holiday rentals, which has more than one million listings in 190 countries, has published its annual report for 2014. It shows that demand for holiday rentals in Spain increased by 25% with respect to 2013.

According to the analysis, visitors prefer to holiday in the sun and on the beach, although the regions in the North and Centre of the country experienced the highest increases in 2014. Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Pais Vasco and Navarra, despite accounting for an average of 2% of requests in 2014, experienced an average growth rate of 60% with respect to 2013. Of those, it was Navarra that experienced the highest increase in demand for holiday rentals, with a rise of 96% on the previous year.

Meanwhile, requests in inland regions, such as Madrid grew by 35%, and Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y Leon recorded increases in requests of 127% and 105%, respectively, becoming the regions with the highest increases in demand in 2014. For their part, Extremadura and Aragón recorded increases of 86% and 83%, respectively, to also place them amongst the leading regions by number of requests.

The autonomous regions of Andalucía, Cataluña, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands accounted for 80% of total demand during 2014, and Andalucía was the region that recorded the greatest percentage of all requests (31%). Of these traditionally popular regions, the Balearic Islands led the increase in requests, up 41% compared with 2013, followed by Valencia (19%).

France (40%), the UK (19%) and Italy (13%) are the three European countries that accounted for the majority of the demand for holiday rentals in Spain, together accounting for more than 70%.

In terms of the percentage growth with respect to 2013, the most notable increases in the number of requests came from Portugal (77%), followed by Italy (32%) and beyond the European continent, the United States (27%). Despite being two of the main markets from which tourists to Spain originate, demand from the French and British for holiday rentals increased by just 4% and 3%, respectively. The number of holiday rental requests from the Swiss also increased by 3%, placing Northern Europe as the new focus of interest from which visitors come to our country.

Meanwhile, Germany, which continues to be one of the top five countries for requests, accounting for 19% of requests in 2014, grew by 9% compared to 2013.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake