Tag: holiday resort

Tax Authorities Seize Assets From Marina D’Or’s Owner

4 January 2017 – Expansión

The Tax Agency (Aeat), one of the largest creditors of the real estate group created around the holiday resort Marina D’Or, has decided to take action. The Ministry of Finance has approved the precautionary seizure of assets from several companies owned by the founder and owner of the Castellón complex, Jesús Ger (pictured above), amounting to €49 million.

The measure is based on the fact that the Tax Agency considers that the Castellón group performed an “asset emptying” operation of its largest company in 2010, to stop the possible collection of debt that it held by carving out its activity into several companies.

The debt originally corresponded to the company Comercializadora Mediterránea de Viviendas (Comervi), the property developer and construction company that suspended its payments in 2014 and which appears on the tax authority’s list of largest debtors. Months before the insolvency, it changed what had been its historical name, Marina D’Or-Loger, under which it had promoted and constructed the popular holiday resort.

In 2010, Ger restructured the group’s parent company and divided its activity into four companies to prevent the real estate crisis from dragging down its hotels and the tourist business at the complex next to the beach in Oropesa del Mar (Castellón).

Controversial carve-out

That operation is what has caused the Central Taxpayers Office to claim the amount owed by Comervia (€57.48 million) from two other companies owned by Ger: Gestión Cartera Castellón – which was the owner of the shares in Marina D’Or-Loger until the segregation and which assumed ownership of the hotels and other businesses – and Golf Playas Castellón – owner of the macro-urban Marina D’Or Golf project, which Wanda expressed an interest in -.

In June 2016, the Administration approved an agreement whereby Gestión Cartera and Golf Playas assumed “joint and several liability” for the debt, taking responsibility for €47.9 million and €1 million, respectively.

A few months earlier, in March, the Ministry of Finance had already notified both entities that it had seized their shares in the companies “in a provisional and precautionary way” and “100% of the full ownership and usufruct of the real estate assets, homes, apartments, parking spaces and land” registered in Castellón, Benidorm and Oropesa.

Failed appeals

The two companies and the businessman himself then filed special appeals with the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of Madrid. In the three appeals, the plaintiffs contended that their fundamental rights had been violated as they were not guaranteed any right of defence or access to a hearing. The three cases were dismissed by the court.

According to the list of events included in the rulings, Aeat considers that as a result of the carve-outs and company operations of the former Marina D’Or-Loger, €327 million of net assets were removed from the company. That meant that it was left with negative equity of €140 million at the end of 2010, which was one of the factors that led to its subsequent bankruptcy. Moreover, the most recent appraisal reports from the Ministry of Finance value the properties that Comervi used to guarantee its tax debts to delay and split the payment at just €19.47 million, which is “well below the total tax debt of almost €58 million”. The properties were initially assigned a value of €96 million.

Sources at Marina D’Or indicated yesterday that they had achieved an agreement with the Tax Authorities “whereby their precautionary seizures will be rendered ineffective” and that they have not been carried out “and so they would not have any affect on the activity” of its companies.

Original story: Expansión (by A.C.A)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hispania And Barceló Create A Resort Hotel Socimi

25 February 2015 – Hispania Press Release

Hispania and Barceló create a resort hotel Socimi (REIT) with 16 hotels and an initial targeted investment of 421 million euro.

The first investment will be the acquisition of 3,946 keys (11 hotels and 1 shopping centre) plus the option to acquire additional assets reaching more than 6,000 keys (16 hotels) and 2 shopping centres currently owned by Grupo Barceló

Hispania will invest 339 million euro for an 80.5% stake in the new company, which will become a subsidiary of Hispania

The new REIT will be the first hotel REIT exclusively focused on holiday resort, targeting a minimum of 12,000 keys in Spain

Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, S.A. has communicated to the Spanish Stock Market Regulator, CNMV, that its subsidiary Hispania Real SOCIMI, S.A.U, (hereinafter “Hispania”) has signed an agreement with Grupo Barceló (hereinafter, Barceló) for the creation of the first hotel REIT focused on the holiday resort segment; an industry in which Spain is one of the leaders worldwide.

Part of this agreement includes the acquisition by Hispania in an initial phase of 11 hotels (3,946 keys) and 1 shopping centre. Later on, Hispania will have the option to acquire 5 additional hotels (2,151 keys) along with a second shopping centre. The agreement is subject to the successful completion of the due diligence process.

Once the transaction is completed and the option on the 5 additional hotels executed, Hispania will have invested 339 million euro, obtaining an 80.5% stake in the new REIT. Grupo Barceló will maintain 19.5% with the option to reach up to 49% through future capital increases.

Barceló will remain as the operator of the acquired hotels through lease contracts with an initial term of 15 years.

The valuation of the 16 hotels and 2 shopping centres amounts to 421 million euro. It is expected that the REIT, following the execution of the option, will have an initial equity of 187 million euro and a syndicated loan amounting to 234 million euro. Hispania’s capital contribution will amount to a maximum amount of 151 million euro (total attributable investment of 339 million euro).

The initial asset portfolio will have pro forma rental income of approximately 45 million euro (40 million euro pro forma 2014).

The Barceló assets included in this agreement comprise most of its resort portfolio in Spain, located in the Canary Islands, Andalusia and the Balearic Islands; touristic destinations which have had a strong performance during the last few years and are expected to continue consolidating their position in the future. Out of the 16 hotels, more than 90% of the rooms available are 4* category and are leaders in their respective influence areas.

Hispania and Barceló have agreed to invest together an additional 35 million euro in the short term in order to complete the repositioning and updating of some of the properties.

“Spain is the third most important touristic destination in the world, preceded only by France and the United States”, commented Concha Osácar, Board Member of Hispania. “Spain has almost twice the number of resort keys than the United States, as well as a well-diversified tourist base, with British, German and French visitors representing more than 50% of the total. This illustrates the opportunities which the industry offers in Spain”.

The agreement signed between Hispania and Barceló will allow them to start an ambitious plan focused on increasing the portfolio of the new REIT, through hotel acquisitions or incorporations of existing hotels. The purpose is at least, to duplicate the size of the initial portfolio, creating a Spanish resort portfolio managed by different leading hotel operators.

According to Concha Osácar, “our objective and that of our partner Barceló, is that the new entity becomes the first listed REIT focused solely on hotel resorts, with a diversified portfolio in terms of hotel operators, and a steady income base, through lease contracts with a strong fixed income component and enough exposure to the future increase of the Spanish tourism market. The objective of the new REIT for Hispania and Barceló, is to become an instrument with which to attract institutional capital for the Spanish hotel industry, creating new sources of capital for the hotel industry”.

From Barceló’s perspective, “as a result of this transaction, we are creating a solid alliance with one of the most active investors in the industry”. According to Barceló’s CEO, Raúl González, “after this transaction we will be in leading position to benefit from the concentration process that should take place in the Spanish hotel industry”.

Hispania has invested a total of 112 million euros, including capex for 2015, in 6 hotels (5 acquired in 2014 and 1 in 2015) managed by different hotel operators (Meliá, NH and Vincci), which could be included into the new REIT; this decision will be made by the partners during the second half of 2015.

Hispania will have invested 100% of the net proceeds raised

With this agreement, Hispania will have committed a total investment of c. 800 million euros in a total of 44 assets since its IPO on 14 March 2014.

Original press release: Hispania

Edited by: Carmel Drake