Tag: Ikea

Marathon Puts the Bahía Azul Shopping Centre in Málaga up for Sale for c. €30M

11 April 2019 – Idealista

The US fund Marathon has put the Bahía Azul shopping centre in Málaga up for sale for an asking price of between €25 million and €30 million.

Marathon has owned the centre since 2016, when it acquired it for €18.5 million, and has appointed Savills-Aguirre Newman to manage the sale, which will begin after Easter.

Bahía Azul, which was inaugurated in November 2008, has a surface area of 13,827 m2, divided into four retail spaces, plus a 9,445 m2 underground parking lot. It is located opposite Guadalmar in the same complex as Ikea, and is home to high-profile brands including Worten, Conforama, Schmidt, Prenatal, McDonald’s, Visionlab, Carrión and Maisons du Monde.

Marathon Asset Management has headquarters in New York, London and Singapore. It is one of the minority shareholders of the property developer Vía Célere, which is controlled (75%) by Värde.

Original story: Idealista (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Funds, Socimis, El Corte Inglés & Seur Compete in the Urban Logistics Segment

9 March 2019 – Expansión

Investors and logistics operators alike are setting their sights on urban hubs to benefit from the boom in e-commerce. According to data from CBRE, investment in the logistics sector is thriving – it amounted to €2 billion in 2017, €1.5 billion in 2018 and is forecast to reach €1.2 billion in 2019. Active players in the sector include the Singapore sovereign fund through its Socimi P3, Blackstone, Prologis, Logicor, CBRE GI and Montepino, and Merlin, amongst others.

Urban hubs are gaining significant weight in the sector thanks to their ability to reduce transport costs, avoid the new traffic restrictions and resolve the problem of product returns.

According to the CNMC, Correos and Correos Express currently deliver 44% of all packages in Spain, followed by MRW and Seur (14% each) and DHL (4.5%).

In terms of retailers operating in this space, Amazon set the ball rolling by opening a logistics centre in the heart of the Eixample district of Barcelona and in the Méndez Álvaro area of Madrid. Other large retailers are following suit by opening distribution centres inside major cities, such as Decathlon, MediaMarkt, Ikea, Aki, Carrefour and Worten.

The investment firm Azora has also announced its intention to invest €250 million in logistics hubs in urban centres, which it will lease to delivery specialists such as Seur, DHL and MRW. Seur already has eleven urban logistics centres and plans to open another nine this year. Meanwhile, DHL already has ten such hubs and plans to open two more this year.

In the same vein, the department store giant El Corte Inglés has also launched an ambitious omnichannel logistics strategy, which will convert its 94 shopping centres into storage points for the management of online purchases.

Original story: Expansión (by I. de las Heras & R. Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Torre Sevilla Shopping Centre Will Opens Its Doors on 26 Sept

10 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Torre Sevilla has set a date for its opening to the public. The shopping centre, which completes the architectural complex of the same name, will open its doors on Wednesday 26 September.

The opening of the complex will complete the Torre Sevilla architectural complex, a project in which CaixaBank has invested more than €320 million. Besides the shopping centre, Torre Sevilla is also home to an office block, the Eurostars Torre Sevilla hotel, CaixaForum Sevilla and the Parque de Magallanes.

Designed by the Argentinian architect César Pelli, the commercial complex comprises two large buildings, one with three floors and the other with four, which span constructed gross leasable areas (GLA) of 26,700 m2 and 43,000 m2, respectively. Moreover, the complex is located at the intersection that joins the Triana neighbourhood with the Isla de la Cartuja and the centre of Sevilla, the so-called “golden triangle” of the city.

The complex expects to attract 8 million visitors a year and will be home to operators such as Primark (its first store in Sevilla), Ikea, Fnac and H&M, amongst others. The initial space in the shopping centre has capacity for a total of 80 stores accessible along external walkways.

On the other hand, Torre Sevilla will also have a gastronomic space measuring 6,000 m2 and a fitness area whose facilities will occupy a surface area of 2,500 m2.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

C&W: New Retail Park Openings in 2018 Set to Exceed Those Registered in 2017 by Five-Fold

7 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Out-of-town retail parks are seducing the sector. Planned openings of retail parks in Spain this year span a surface area of 180,000 m2, which represents an almost five-fold increase compared to the 38,000 m2 registered in 2017, according to data analysed by the real estate consultancy firm Cushman&Wakefield. Specifically, the investment volume over the last 12 months in this segment amounted to €650 million, with a prime yield of 5%.

During this period, the Vidanova Parc project, in Sagunto (Community of Madrid) is the largest planned opening for the year with a gross leasable area of 45,000 m2, followed by the Torrevillage retail park (Zaragoza), with 35,000 m2 and Jaén Plaza (Jaén), with 29,000 m2. In addition, a further seven retail parks, with a combined GLA of more than 10,000 m2 are in the pipeline.

The consultancy firm has identified an increase in the demand for secondary retail parks in light of the shortage of available prime locations, greater activity in the home and decoration sectors and the consolidation of omnichannel sales

In this way, the firm highlights traditional operators such as Leroy Merlin, Ikea, Media Markt and Maison du Monde, which have expanded their presence towards the centre of cities in spaces measuring between 1,500 m2 and 4,000 m2, in search of more urban demand, with new ways of consumption and a lower dependence on cars.

On the other hand, rents remain stable in both prime and secondary retail parks. Thus, in Madrid, they amount to €21.50/m2/month and in Barcelona, they cost €18/m2/month for prime parks.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

JLL: Retail Inv’t Will Soar To €4,000M+ In 2017

6 November 2017 – Eje Prime

The retail segment is attracting the attention of investment funds and is set a register a new record in 2017. Investment in retail assets is expected to soar by the end of this year to exceed €4,000 million, according to estimates from the real estate consultancy firm JLL. Operations such as the sale of the Mercado de San Miguel and the Mercado de Fuencarral, both in Madrid, will help this segment of the Spanish real estate sector record a new milestone this year.

So far this year, the commercial premises business has already broken all the records and registered the highest level of investment for the last fourteen years. During the nine months to September, the volume of investment in the retail sector amounted to almost €3,488 million, according to the Market Fundamentals report for Q3, compiled by the consultancy firm.

“The inter-annual footfall index in Spain rose by 1.7% in September and retail sales rose by 0.9% with respect to the previous month”, explain professionals in the retail business. This fact, together with the reality that prime rents are continuing to grow at a good pace, means that funds are looking very closely at retail premises.

The large operations involving portfolios of hypermarkets located across Spain stand out, as do the sales of the Mercado de San Miguel and the Gran Vía Alicante shopping centre. Other operations, such as the sale of Mercado de Fuencarral by Activum to AEW for €50 million have also helped to boost business in this segment in Spain.

“In terms of trends in the retail sector, over the last few months, we have seen how the traditional large format retailers are continuing to move into the city centres, convinced that their proximity to consumers will generate greater sales opportunities for them”, explain sources at JLL. Examples include Decathlon’s arrival on Calle Fuencarral and the opening of a Leroy Merlin store in the heart of Barcelona.

Another example is the case of Ikea on Calle Serrano. The Swedish group has just debuted its “test” of its new format, known as Ikea Temporary; it opened the doors of its first establishment in the centre of Madrid, in a building owned by the Loncito family office.

Moreover, last month, Media Markt opened its third urban store in Madrid, in the central Plaza del Carmen, close to the Preciados shopping street. In this way, Media Markt Preciados became the company’s 81st store in Spain and its 11th in Madrid.

Although the brand dedicated to the distribution of consumer electronics has now opened several stores under this “proximity format” in Valencia (Calle de Colón), Madrid (Calle de Alcalá and Paseo de la Castellana) and Barcelona (Plaza Cataluña and the Digital Store on Avenida Diagonal), the company is looking to further consolidate its arrival in Spain’s city centres with this latest opening.

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Land Use In Espai Vila-Real May Be Modified

20 October 2017 – El Periódico Mediterráneo

“Clearly, times have changed”. With that phrase, José Benlloch, the mayor of Vila-real, acknowledged that the plots of land in Espai Vila-real may be reclassified (in terms of their use), now that the Government has decided that the intermodal station will not be constructed in Castellón.

One door closes, but others open, and the Town Hall wants to be prepared not to waste its opportunities. It is for that reason that Benlloch is planning to meet the owners of the land, spanning 1 million m2, which comprises this Comprehensive Action Plan (PAI), to find out “what options are being considered in terms of its ownership and to inform them about the current possibilities”.

The mayor seems willing to modify the uses of the land if necessary and to “change the terms of the program, provided there are expectations on the part of the owners”. The one option the municipal corporation has ruled out is the large shopping centre that the Popular Government’s team, led by Juan José Rubert, planned in 2007. That plan included, amongst other matters, the arrival of the Swedish multinational Ikea in the town.

Mediterranean Corridor

One of the options that is gaining strength at the moment is the conversion of these plots, located opposite Porcelanosa, into a logistics hub, linked to the construction of the third strand of the Mediterranean Corridor. Such infrastructure is being demanded not only by the Regional Government but also by most of Valencia’s businesses. “We are aware that if this goes ahead, users will need places for storing goods temporarily, and we think that these plots are perfect for that, given that they are located in the heart of a very industrial district, La Plana Baixa”, explained the mayor.

Even though this idea will be on the table at the meeting between the Town Hall and the landowners, Benlloch is convinced that this question may be “compatible” with other proposals linked to the installation of new industries and projects relating to services, as well as the business that may be negotiated over the next few months. That said, the mayor wants to begin the new phase that is been opened by drawing “a roadmap that is shared” with the owners.

Original story: El Periódico Mediterráneo (by Xavi Prera)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Flagship Stores Become The Bastion Of Large Retailers

19 October 2017 – Expansión

The unstoppable rise of e-commerce, the tsunami of digitalisation and the new buying habits of consumers have revolutionised the retail sector forcing operators to adapt to the new times to stay competitive.

The e-commerce sector is now turning over €24,000 million per annum in Spain, with a growth rate of 20% p.a. In this context, consumers are increasingly using the internet to manage their purchases, resolve queries and optimise their visits to stores. As such, they are visiting stores less frequently but they are spending more time there when they do go, according to a report from CBRE about the retail sector.

In this context, large international brands are backing the flagship store model as a gateway into Spain; and operators that have traditionally based themselves on the outskirts of cities are now moving into flagship stores in the centre. By way of example, the French firm Kiabi opened a store on Paseo de Gràcia a few months ago. In the same way, operators who have traditionally had stores in retail parks are now making space for themselves in the city centre, such as Media Markt, which opened two stores in the centre of Barcelona in 2016. Before the summer, the electronics firm also opened its new its flagship store in Plaza del Carmen, Madrid, just a stone’s throw from Gran Vía.

Ikea is joining this trend too, with a store on Calle Serrano; as is Leroy Merlin, which is planning to open a shop on Calle Fontanella, next to Plaza de Catalunya in Barcelona

Interest in Spain

“Physical stores are still the favourite channel for consumers, but it is harder to get people out of the house. To attract them, retailers are opening large flagship stores focused on the shopping experience and expanding the range of services, supported by new technologies that allow marketing strategies to be customised”, explains Gonzalo Senra, National Director of Retail at CBRE España (…).

Given the interest from large brands in Spain and encouraged by the upwards cycle of the economy and the improvement in consumption, many overseas institutional investors have decided to back the Spanish market. For example, the US investor Hines has purchased four important prime premises in Madrid and Barcelona in the last year.

These types of investors are the main buyers of flagship stores in well-located premises, involving investment volumes of more than €20 million. Moreover, sources at the consultancy firm have noted a change in the trend in this market with the entry of several insurance companies bidding for large prime assets.

By contrast, the market for smaller acquisitions is dominated by Spanish private investors and family offices – they tend to be particularly interested in assets worth less than €10 million.

Overall, investment in high street premises amounted to €800 million in 2016. The rate of investment continued during the first half of this year, with an investment volume of €515 million, according to data from the consultancy firm (…).

The high level of demand has accentuated the typical shortage of well-positioned products and resulted in a reduction in returns. According to the report, the downward trend in yields continued in 2017 to reach 3.25% in some cases for the most prime products in Madrid and Barcelona (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Large Retailers Compete For City Centre Premises

14 September 2017 – El País

Retailers that typically occupy out-of-town stores only, brands such Ikea, Decathlon, Media Markt, Leroy Merlin and Kiabi have done an about turn with their strategies. Now, they want to take their products to the heart of cities to reach clients who are not visiting them on the outskirts. They are occupying the few large retail premises that are available close to the major commercial thoroughfares of Madrid and Barcelona. They are not pushing up the rental prices of these properties yet; in fact, they are investing between €1 million and €5 million on renovation work. But they will.

The main retail areas in the centre of Madrid and Barcelona have new tenants. The so-called out-of-town retailers, which, until recently, could only be found in retail parks on the outskirts are undertaking a new urban strategy. They want to approach a new group of customers, those who want to avoid using their cars and it wants to lock them in. This week, Decathlon announced that it will open three stores in the heart of Madrid, where Leroy Merlin will also set up shop in 2018, following in the wake of Ikea (which inaugurated its store on c/Serrano in May), Kiabi (which has just done the same in Barcelona on Paseo de Gracia) and Media Markt, the first to arrive in the centre of both cities (as well as in Valencia).

The trend started two years ago in major European cities and comes in response to a move by the population towards the centre and to the fact that e-commerce is requiring companies to respond rapidly to their clients. That means being close to them, explains Robert Travers, Director at the real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield (…).

The strategy of these chains is to open stores on the main commercial thoroughfares of large cities in smaller spaces than those they occupy in the out-of-town retail parks, but of considerable dimensions given that they are in the centre. “They are not looking for prime locations, but rather premises very nearby, because they cannot afford the rents of operators such as Zara, Mango and H&M. Instead they pay around 30% less because their margins are smaller”, says Travers. They need streets with high footfall and premises measuring at least 1,000 m2 or 2,000 m2, with open-plan floors; such features are very few and far between in the best shopping areas.

For the time being, the arrival of these brands has not had any impact on rental prices, given that, according to Sergio Fernandes, the Director of Retail at the consultancy firm JLL, the availability of these kinds of properties on the main commercial thoroughfares is very limited and the operators that demand them are also very few. “Only the leaders of each sector are brave enough to make the move. For the time being, we are seeing only six or seven brands”, he says. Examples include Aki, Bricor, Verdecora, Sport Zone and Kiwoko Mundo Animal. Nevertheless, “they are managing to make use of certain properties that would otherwise go unoccupied as they are not in the right locations for the fashion brands”, says David Barragán, Director of Retail at the real estate firm Aguirre Newman (…).

The search is not easy, according to estate agents and retail chains (…). The negotiations are intense and prolonged because the premises need renovating and the brands demand grace periods whilst the construction work takes place, which tenants typically pay. Rental contracts are being signed for periods of between seven and 20 years.

But it is worth it. The pilot store that the Swedish chain Ikea has opened in Madrid is performing better than expected. In fact, some of the new formulas that it offers have already been extended to its other stores (customisation of fabrics, dressers and doors). Nevertheless, Ikea is still assessing whether or not to open more central stores with this format, which combines sales and entertainment (…).

Original story: El País (by Claudio Álvarez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Global Brands Colonise The Centre Of Barcelona

13 September 2017 – El País

(…). Demand from major operators, such as Zara, Uniqlo, H&M and even Seat, for flagship stores in city centres is boosting investment in these types of high-street establishments. According to a study by the real estate consultancy JLL, such investment amounted to €402 million across Spain during the first quarter of 2017

Examples of flagship stores (…) are found in the centre of Spain’s major cities. One of the most paradigmatic is Primark’s store, which occupies more than 7,000 m2 on La Gran Vía in Madrid (..). Flagship stores are essentially an image, a tourist attraction, where the entire collection of a company is presented and where consumers can also do online shopping and collect orders. It is also very typical for brands to make presentations and hold events at their stores.

In Barcelona, the H&M, Zara and Massimo Dutti stores on Paseo de Gracia, and the large store in the Born neighbourhood where the sunglasses brand Etnia took up residence this year, are examples of the presence of flagship stores in the Catalan capital. On 20 September, Uniqlo, the Japanese competitor of Inditex, will open a large store, also on Paseo de Gracia. But the interest in these types of establishments is not limited to the world of fashion. Companies such as Seat, Ikea and Leroy Merlin, and even large banking institutions, have all expressed their interest in raising their profiles on the main commercial thoroughfares.

“It is the way the brands have of positioning themselves in the market”, explains Daniel Jiménez, Director of Retail at the real estate consultancy Aguirre Newman. Jiménez says that there is a great deal of demand for these types of premises, and that the brands do not settle for any old shop: they want open-plan spaces, in good locations with attractive architectural features.

The effect on local trade

The main streets where the demand is being concentrated in Barcelona are Paseo de Gracia and Portal del Ángel, the most expensive high street in Spain, where prices amount to €3,360/m2, according to a report from Acotex. “The brands fight for premises, whilst the buyers, normally international investment funds, obtain a return of between 3.5% and 3.75% in Barcelona”, says Jiménez.

The emergence of large stores, through which the major international brands demonstrate their power, certainly has an effect on local businesses. The first and most obvious impact is the rise in rental prices. Joan Carles Calbet, President of Comertia and RetailCat, the new association of Catalan traders, celebrates the fact that increasingly more people want to invest in Barcelona. “But these types of stores distort the equilibrium of the city, because they (the large players) can afford to pay a lot more than local businesses, which leads to very high inflation”, says Calbet.

“We risk losing local businesses, which define the character of the city”, adds the President of RetailCat, an association that represents almost 30,000 local businesses (…).

Original story: El País (by Josep Catà)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axa & Sonae Finalise Purchase Of Área Sur

10 May 2017 – Expansión

Axa Real Estate, the real estate arm of the French insurance company, and Sonae Sierra, are emerging as the likely new owners of the Área Sur shopping centre. The companies are negotiating with Union Investment Real Estate GMBH – the current owner of the asset – to acquire this shopping centre, which is located in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz).

Market sources have indicated to Expansión that the transaction may be closed soon for a price of around €110 million.

Following the operation, Sonae Sierra – which specialises in the investment, development and management of shopping centres – will manage the shopping centre.

Área Sur was inaugurated in November 2007 and has a gross leasable area of 47,607 m2. Moreover, the shopping centre has around 2,300 parking spaces.

Investment record

The operation, which has been advised by the consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield, is another example of the interest in the market for shopping centres. Following a record-breaking year in 2016, investments during the first quarter of this year have exceeded €1,000 million, boosted by deals such as Intu’s acquisition of Xanadú for €530 million.

The shopping centre receives 6.6 million visitors per year, which represents an average annual growth rate of 5% since it opened. The shopping centre’s gross revenues amounted to €7.8 million in 2016.

Área Sur is located near to Luz Shopping, which was inaugurated in October 2010 and which has a total surface area of 174,000 m2. That shopping area is home to stores such as Ikea, Decathlon and Worten.

The Área Sur property, which has been managed by Auxideico since 2011, has three storeys. The first floor, which has a surface area of more than 23,400 m2, is home to numerous fashion brands and its tenants include Zara, Primark, H&M, Massimo Dutti, Cortefiel, Sfera, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Springfield, Stradivarius and Okeysi.

The top floor, which spans almost 10,000 m2, houses leisure and restaurant brands, as well as an 11-screen Yelmo cinema. Meanwhile, the ground floor, measuring 14,200 m2, is leased to Mercadona, Primark and El Corte Inglés.

In its area of influence, Área Sur competes with the Las Dunas shopping centre, in Sanlucar de Barrameda, with a gross leasable area of 75,000 m2; El Paseo, located in Puerto de Santa María, with a gross leasable area of 33,000 m2; and Bahía Sur, in San Fernando, with a gross leasable area of 59,000 m2.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake