Tomás Olivo Acquires Land in Marbella, Málaga and Huelva in Deals Totalling €68 Million

16 August 2019

Tomás Olivo, through his socimi General de Galerías Comerciales, has acquired a series of urban plots of land in the provinces of Malaga and Huelva worth 68 million euros.  In the first semester of this year, the Spanish socimi, 99.5% owned by Tomás Olivo, has made equity-financed acquisitions totalling 140 million euros. The firm acquired two million square meters for 25.7 million euros plus VAT just in Marbella.

In Rincon de la Victoria, also in the province of Malaga, the investor acquired several plots of land, for a total of €11.5 million. Last July, General de Galerías Comerciales also announced that had purchased another urban plot of land, where it will be able to build 1,200 new homes, for 9.8 million euros.

The socimi also purchased 66.6% of the 83,839-square-meter plot of land known as La Azucarera, in Malaga, for 4 million euros plus VAT. The socimi had already owned the remaining 33.4%.

In addition, Olivo’s socimi acquired 103,576 square meters of land with a buildable area of ​​65,000 square meters in Huelva, where it plans on building offices. The firm reportedly paid 17 million euros.

Original Story: ABC de Sevilla – María Jesús Pereira

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Aquila Wants to Invest €800M in Logistics & Residential Assets in Spain

6 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Aquila Capital is displaying its charms in the Spanish market. The investment fund, which has already invested more than €500 million in Spain, is going to allocate another €800 million to the purchase of logistics and residential assets over the coming years. Moreover, as sources from the company explained, Aquila Capital plans to spend some of its investment on new residential developments.

Aquila’s new plan of attack focuses on the entire European market but is looking very closely at Spain and its real estate market given that it is now fully recovered having survived one of the worst economic crises of recent times. The fund is going to launch three funds specialising in different types of assets, with the first dedicated to logistics properties.

That fund will be the one that looks at more markets, above all those in the south of Europe. Aquila is going to raise between €200 million and €250 million from institutional investors and will have a gearing ratio of 50%, which means that the total investment capacity allocated to countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy will amount to €500 million.

Aquila, which has operated in Spain since 2012 through an office located on Paseo de la Castellana (in Torre Europa) in Madrid, is going to allocate the assets that it buys (which must be core or core plus) through this fund to short-term rentals.

Moreover, the group is preparing two other funds, both of which will specialise in the residential business. The first is going to specialise in the purchase of residential rental properties in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga. The second is going to focus on the construction of residential projects.

For those two funds, Aquila has set the challenge of raising between €200 million and €300 million to buy new residential buildings in association with property developers and to purchase assets that are already rented out. To carry out these plans, the group has doubled its workforce in Spain, which has gone from 17 people to a team of 30 professionals over the last year.

Projects in progress 

Aquila Capital’s interest in Spain is nothing new. At the end of last year, the company acquired six plots of land in Málaga and Huelva, which represented the German group’s first foray into Andalucía.

That transaction comprised almost 120,000 m2 of land on which around 1,300 homes will be constructed, according to El Economista. Specifically, the acquired portfolio constitutes six plots of land located in the centre of Málaga, Estepona, Rincón de la Victoria and Huelva.

With this acquisition, the asset manager is continuing its expansion in the Spanish market, where it is currently building more than 1,500 homes, as well as two hotels in Madrid, through alliances with local partners. Aquila Capital is currently managing thirteen real estate projects in Spain with a total investment volume of more than €500 million.

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Venezuelan Group Invests €180M In Two Projects In Spain

5 July 2016 – Expansión

More Latin American investment in the Spanish real estate sector. A Venezuelan group controlled by the businessman Juan Guillermo Álamo (pictured above) is backing two projects in Madrid and Barcelona that are going to require a total investment of around €180 million. In the Spanish capital, through Ibemetex, the investor plans to invest €150 million in the transformation of the La Ermita shopping centre, which the entity acquired in 2009, at the height of the crisis in the sector.

Under the framework of the project to redevelop the land freed up after the M-30 was buried underground, an initiative actioned by the previous Town Hall of Madrid, Ibemetex managed to persuade the Town Hall to approve the demolition of the existing shopping centre and the construction of a new complex. The project involves constructing a 75,000 sqm building on a plot of land measuring 45,000 sqm, and will include homes, sports centres and a 150-room hotel, in addition to the retail space. “We are negotiating with the new Town Hall of Madrid to obtain definitive approval for the project”, said Álamo, who considers that his initiative will benefit the city and contribute to improving the area.

In addition to Álamo, Ibemetex has another high profile shareholder in the form of another Venezuelan businessman, Beto Finol, who holds interests in the lactose and livestock sectors and owns a pharmaceutical laboratory with operations in Venezuela and Costa Rica.

Ibemetex is also the owner of the Aqualon shopping centre in Huelva, another asset that it acquired at the height of the real estate bubble.

In parallel, Álamo is promoting the construction of a 125-home complex in the coastal town of Montgat, just a few kilometres from Barcelona. The project will involve an investment of €30 million and will be built on land that used to house the factory of the ice cream company Farggi, which he acquired in October 2015.

Original story: Expansión (by Sergi Saborit)

Translation: Carmel Drake