Tag: iconic building

The Mexican Díaz-Estrada Family to Sell the Apple Store in Puerta del Sol

7 March 2019 – El Confidencial

The Mexican Díaz-Estrada family has decided to divest the building located at number 1 Puerta del Sol in Madrid, which houses one of the Spanish capital’s most sought-after tenants, the Apple Store. They are asking around €150 million for the property, which would represent a yield of just 2-2.5%.

According to sources consulted, an Israeli investor may have already reached an agreement to acquire the iconic building from Exacorp, the investment arm of the Díaz-Estradas, but the final details of the operation have yet to be confirmed.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lladó Buys Uría y Menéndez’s Future HQ From Hispania

16 May 2017 – El Confidencial

In the same way that Amancio Ortega is using the juicy dividend that he receives from Inditex to build his real estate empire, another successful home-grown businessman, José Lladó, President and majority shareholder of Técnicas Reunidas, is also investing the bulk of the money that he receives from his infrastructure group into iconic buildings.

Last year, Lladó reportedly received €29 million and he has used those funds to acquire the new headquarters of the law firm Uría y Menéndez. As circumstances would have it, that was the only building that Hispania had left out of the sales mandate that it awarded to CBRE and JLL, when it appointed them to find a buyer for its entire office portfolio. Sources at the Socimi have declined to comment.

According to three sources in the market, the reason is that the Lladó family has put a juicy offer on the table that limits the yield on its investment to 3.5%. It is a classic move by this kind of family office, which tend to prioritise the best assets and tenants possible, even if that means securing lower returns, given that their strategies are typically aimed at acquiring good properties, with stable and guaranteed returns.

Uría y Menéndez is the second largest law firm in Spain by turnover and last October, it signed a 17-year lease contract for the building located on Calle Suero de Quiñones 42 in Madrid, and it is obliged to fulfil at least half of that term.

Currently, Hispania is immersed in the comprehensive renovation of the property, in a project worth €5 million, which is expected to be completed at the end of this year. The law firm will rename the new headquarters, which will be complementary to the property it already owns at nearby Príncipe de Vergara, 187, as the “Aurelio Menéndez Building”: its new design is the handiwork of architect Rafael de la Hoz.

This acquisition follows the pattern applied by Lladó last year, involving investing areas on the rise, where the value of the asset itself promises to increase significantly over the coming years. On that occasion, the owner of Técnicas Reunidas purchased a building on Calle Marqués de la Ensenada 2, located just a few metres from Plaza de Colón, for €6 million.

In the summer of 2014, it made another significant acquisition on Paseo de Recoletos, 15 from Vía Célere, the property that houses Catalunya Caixa’s headquarters in Madrid, for almost €20 million, to join the neighbour at number 33 on the same thoroughfare, which is also owned by Lladó. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Infinorsa Renovates Torre Europa To Attract New Tenants

8 August 2016 – Expansión

Torre Europa is completing the final details (of its renovation process) ahead of the debut of its new image from September. The iconic building – one of the first multiple ownership office buildings in Madrid, constructed in 1985 – will boast a new external façade, as well as a refurbished entrance lobby, floors and common areas, in order to appeal to new tenants.

Infinorsa, the majority owner of the property, has launched an ambitious transformation project, in which it is investing €20 million, with the aim of updating and improving the inside and outside of Torre Europa, equipping it with more light and technological innovations, and whereby allowing it to charge 20% higher average rents. Until now, the rent for Torre Europa has fallen in the middle band for buildings in Azca. With the changes, the rental charge could exceed €27.5/sqm/month.

Tenants

The building, designed by the architect Miguel Oriol e Ybarra, is located in Madrid’s financial district of Azca, just a stone’s throw away from the Santiago Bernabéu stadium and the Palacio de Congreso. The property has 32 floors and is 121 metres tall.

Following the departure of the building’s main tenant, KPMG, a few months ago, Torre Europa, with a leasable surface area of 43,000 sqm, currently has around 20,000 sqm of space available for rent. “High quality spaces are currently in demand. We must respond to the new paradigm, with brighter and technologically prepared spaces. This transformation seeks to adapt the property to the needs of the day, whilst at the same time retaining its essence and enhancing its unique qualities”, explained Fernando Ferrero, Director of Operations at Infinorsa.

The renovation process has been complicated by the fact that it has been performed at the same time as the current tenants are occupying approximately half of the building. For this reason, the construction work has been carried out during the night: “This has made the process more expensive, but, in return, we have caused less disruption to the tenants”.

Inside and outside

The work inside the building has involved the renovation of the entrance hall, the common areas and the floors, which is expected to be completed in September. The transformation of the hall will give rise to a much airier entrance, with higher ceilings and a brighter space overall. In terms of the floors, the glass of the windows will go down to the floors, in order to benefit from the natural light and the height of 260 cm per floor.

In terms of the changes outside, the plan involves covering the pillars with steel to preserve the structure, at the same time as updating the image. Similarly, an integrated glass canopy will be added to the external structure. This work is expected to be finalised during the first quarter of 2017.

In terms of technology and other new features, the building will have LED lighting and sensor systems to control both the light and ambient temperature. In addition, Torre Europa will have the technological tools to benefit from big data and geolocation services. Sources at Infinorsa explain that the project fits with the push that the Administrations are giving the capital’s financial district.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Helvetia Sells ‘La Vasco Navarra’ Building In Pamplona To Fitbox

26 May 2016 – Noticias de Navarra

Helvetia Seguros has finally sold ‘La Vasco Navarra’ building on Avenida San Ignacio, 7, in the Second Ensanche (Urban Expansion Area) of Pamplona; the property has been on the market for eight years. The insurance company, led by José María Paagman, signed a sale and purchase agreement with Fitbox on Monday. The purchaser, which is headquartered in Navarra, has worked in the real estate management sector for the last 18 years.

Sources in the sector indicate that the consideration paid could amount to €15 million. Neither Helvetia Seguros or Fitbox revealed the amount. Nevertheless, the company led by Paagman expressed that “it was satisfied with the sale, because, otherwise, it would not have signed the deal”.

Other sources in the sector indicated that the appraisal value had amounted to around €18 million. Those figures are well below the €30 million calculated in 2007 – before the real estate bubble burst – when the Mancomunidad de Pamplona became interested in this building to use it as its headquarters.

In a joint statement yesterday, Helvetia Seguros and Fitbox announced the completion of an operation involving a building measuring 7,066 sqm, of which 1,500 sqm are allocated for commercial use, comprising five floors and the ground floor.

The new owner stated that “it is currently deciding how this iconic building will be used”. (…).

Original story: Noticias de Navarra (by Sagrario Zabaleta and Javier Bergasa)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Edificio España: Renovation Prohibited So Wanda May Sell

13 January 2016 – Expansión

The Chinese company Dalian Wanda is considering putting the iconic Edificio España building on the market. It acquired the property from Santander for €265 million in 2014, but is not being allowed to completely renovate it and convert it into a luxury hotel, with a retail space and homes.

The group founded and led by Wang Jianlin wanted to pull down the tower, located in Plaza de España (Madrid) and reconstruct its façade with a design that is identical to the current one, however the new Town Hall of Madrid, led by Manuela Carmena, has rejected those plans, on the basis that the façade must be protected as it forms part of the city’s artistic heritage.

After months of fruitless negotiations between the Asian company and the Town Hall to begin the construction work, Wanda has now decided to sell the building, according to several sources consulted by this newspaper.

As a preliminary step, Wanda Madrid Development has decided to close the office that it opened in the Spanish capital to carry out the remodelling of the iconic building, which has stood empty for many years.

Following the commotion caused by the plans set out by Jianlin, the wealthiest businessman in Asia, the Town Hall of Madrid said yesterday that it was not aware of any plans for the building to be sold.

Meanwhile, the PP’s spokesperson at the Town Hall, Esperanza Aguirre, asked the municipal Government to “think twice” and allow Wanda to demolish and reconstruct Edificio España from scratch, because losing the investment (opportunity) and the jobs that would result from the Asian group’s plans would have “very serious consequences”. The spokesperson for Cuidadanos, Begoña Villacís warned that, if the decision is confirmed “Madrid could become an investment desert” since it is “a city with lots of development projects on the table and investment opportunities that we must not miss out on”.

Background

Despite the disagreements, Dalian Wanda, which also paid €45 million for a 20% stake in Atlético de Madrid last year, reaffirmed “its commitment” to “the citizens of Madrid” in October last year, as well as to the restoration of an “icon of the urban landscape”. The group confirmed that it was willing to hold “open and transparent dialogue, provided safety and the law are put first above everything else”.

At the end of November, the councillor for Urban Planning at the Town Hall, José Manuel Calvo, confirmed that the plans were moving ahead to enable the renovation work to start “as soon as possible”, although the administrative procedures must first be completed.

Madrid’s local historic heritage committee issued a binding ruling, which resolved that the façade must not be demolished or dismantled, but Wanda insisted that maintaining such a tall façade during the renovation work would be unsafe, which is why the company proposed that it be dismantled and then reconstructed.

Original story: Expansión (by R.R./A.F.)

Translation: Carmel Drake