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