Increasingly More Flagship Stores Remain Empty in Madrid & Barcelona

7 January 2020 – Eje Prime

There are an increasing number of large, vacant stores on the high streets of Madrid and Barcelona. Preciados 13, Sol 9, Paseo de Gracia 9, and Paseo de Gracia 77, to name just a few.

After several years of high demand for flagship stores in the two cities, when larger spaces become available, they are now standing empty. Operations have come to a standstill and real estate consultants are forecasting a decrease in rents.

Domestic and international retailers alike, particularly those in the fashion industry, such as Inditex, Mango, H&M and Primark, have taken the high street by storm in recent years, in their efforts to offer consumers a comprehensive experience.

In that context, demand has exceeded supply, and large premises have become the most sought-after. As such, prices have been rising and the family offices, which had traditionally owned the properties in the retail sector, were joined by large funds.

But now, the situation has changed. E-commerce is growing rapidly and most of the major operators have now opened flagship stores. With an excess supply in the market and fewer operators demanding large spaces, prices will have to decrease. Real estate investors are proving to be more flexible than opportunistic funds in terms of agreeing reasonable rental prices. Rental prices have not fallen yet, however, according to several sources, it is only a matter of time.

Meanwhile, a few months ago, H&M sent a letter to several of the owners of the premises it occupies in Spain (e.g. on Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona and Gran Vía in Madrid) terminating their contracts. According to sources in the sector, “they sent those letters knowing that they would be able to stay in the premises paying half the rent”.

Original story: Eje Prime (Pilar Riaño)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Deka Sells Eleven of the Stores it Acquired from Inditex for €105 Million

14 October 2019 The German investment fund Deka has sold eleven of the stores it acquired from Inditex for a total of 105 million euros. The firm stated that the sale was intended to “cover expenses” since the sales price was already 5% higher than Deka had paid for the assets.

Although Deka had initially intended to find a single buyer, the firm ended up selling the assets to an array of mainly local investors.  Deka sold assets located in Albacete, Palma, Sevilla, San Sebastián, Ciudad Real, Zamora, Fuengirola and Lisbon. The firm is also finalising the sale of a store in Córdoba.

Original Story: Eje Prime – Marc Vidal Ordeig

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Amancio Ortega’s Real Estate Holdings Reach €9.7 Billion

29 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

The value of Amancio Ortega’s real estate holdings went up by 11% last year to reach 9.7 billion euros. Ortega, who founded Inditex, owns buildings that generated total revenues of €405 million in 2018, up 5.2% year-on-year. The mogul’s firm, Pontegadea, owns properties in Los Angeles, Seoul, Miami, New York, London and Madrid, among others. The firm’s revenues have their highest geographic concentration in Europe (51%), followed by the Americas (46%) and Asia, at 3%.

Last year, Pontegadea Inmobiliaria made acquisitions totalling 416 million euros while it also invested in the renovation of its existing stock of properties. Its largest investment was for 340 million euros, in a Washington DC office building called The Investment Building near the White House.

Original Story: Expansión – Marisa Anglés

Pontegadea Leases Seven Floors in Torre Foster to Amazon

20 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

After buying part of the headquarters of Amazon in the United States, Pontegadea has sealed another deal with the American e-commerce giant, leasing seven floors of offices in the Torre Foster to the firm.

Pontegadea, the investment vehicle of Amancio Ortega, the founder of Inditex, leased the space, totalling 11,550 square meters for between 23 and 28 euros per square meter.

Mr Ortega acquired Torre Foster almost three years ago when the tower had been fully leased to the oil company Cepsa.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Ruth Ugalde

Photo: Pontegadea.

Ores Acquires Store Leased to Inditex for €11 Million

23 June 2019Idealista

The Ores socimi, which is owned by Bankinter, has just acquired a new commercial space. The store, located in the town of San Sebastián, is currently leased to the Spanish retail giant Inditex and has a total area of ​​729m2.

The store is located at 26 Calle San Marcial and is occupied by a Zara Kids store.

Ores paid €10.9 million for the asset as part of its continuing strategy to seek growth in its home market of Spain. Last year, the socimi paid out almost 180 million euros in acquisitions. Ores Socimi currently has 34 assets in its portfolio, with a market value of over 357 million euros and a gross annual income of 21 million euros.

Original Story: Idealista – Custodio Pareja

Translation/Summary – Richard D. Turner

 

Bankinter’s Socimis Manage Assets in Spain Worth €850M

23 April 2019 – Idealista

Bankinter currently has two Socimis operating in the Spanish market, Ores Socimi and Atom Hoteles Socimi. Between them, they manage a real estate portfolio worth more than €850 million, according to the latest reports filed by the entities with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

The hotel Socimi, controlled by Bankinter and GMA, has the largest portfolio, comprising 21 assets located all over Spain and worth €489.2 million at the end of 2018.

Almost 60% (12) of the hotels are vacation properties and the rest (9) are urban establishments. For the time being, the hotels are mainly concentrated in the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and Andalucía, but the company is preparing to expand overseas, where it seeks to acquire establishments in the USA, France, Italy, Germany and Greece.

Meanwhile, Ores, which is jointly controlled by Bankinter and the Portuguese giant Sonae Sierra, owns a portfolio of 35 retail assets worth €362.5 million as at 31 March 2019.

Ores’s portfolio is well diversified by asset type, size and location, with occupancy rates of almost 100%. The properties include hypermarkets, supermarkets, retail parks and high street stores leased to chains such as Continente, Mercadona, Inditex, Media Markt and Mango.

Original story: Idealista (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Inditex Obtains Licence to Build a new Textile Design Building in Sabón

28 February 2019 – La Opinión A Coruña

The Local Government in Arteixo has granted a construction licence to Inditex to erect a new building at its headquarters, on the Sabón industrial estate, which will be used for textile design activity. The plot on which the new structure will be situated is located on the corner of Avenida de la Diputación with A Ponte (opposite the entrance to the ITV). The plans presented by the company to the municipality to obtain the municipal authorisation reflects that the construction work will cost €31.5 million.

The multi-national company will use this new space for “textile design activity”, according to the construction licence. The height of the new building will be 24 metres and it will sit on a plot measuring 54,300 m2. The authorisation granted by the municipality indicates that the deadline for starting the construction work is six months and for its completion is three years (…).

Original story: La Opinión A Coruña (by Iván Aguiar)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Valenciaport Sells a Plot in Parc Sagunt to Inditex for €31M

4 February 2018 – Eje Prime

Valenciaport has made the sale of a plot of land in Parc Sagunt to Inditex official. The President of the Port Authority of Valencia (APV), Aurelio Martínez, signed the sale of this plot by ‘Valencia Plataforma Intermodal y Logística’ to Tempe, a footwear company that forms part of the Inditex group, before a notary on Monday. The plot measures almost 280,000 m2 and its price amounted to €31 million.

The APV is planning to allocate the resources obtained from the sale of the plot to promoting, activating and streamlining Parc Sagunt II, purchasing new areas to attract business investment of port interest, according to reports from Europa Press.

Tempe was the only company that submitted an offer in the tender process that was convened. As part of the sale’s terms, the company agrees not to sell or divest the plot for at least three years. Moreover, the group commits to undertake business activities within a maximum period of four years.

In January, Tempe emerged as the buyer of this asset after it was the only company to submit a bid in the tender. The company already has central offices and two logistics centres in the Elche Business Park in Alicante.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Masaveu Sells Land in the Port of Vigo for €2.8M

31 January 2019 – La Nueva España

Cementos Tudela Veguín, which forms part of the Asturian business group Masaveu, has obtained almost €2.8 million from the sale of land in the Port of Vigo. The plot measures 19,000 m2, was barely being used and is located in Rande.

Cementos Tudela Veguín, which has several warehouses in the Port of Vigo, also owned an area of land that was of interest to the Port authority to improve access and expand the area reserved for logistics. The directors of the Port of Vigo learned of the details of the land purchase operation last Friday, which was closed for €2,783,000, an amount that has already been transferred to the cement producer company.

The Masaveu family is considered to be the richest in Asturias and is amongst the wealthiest in all of Spain. Their wealth is estimated to amount to around €2.1 billion, according to a new list compiled by El Mundo, which analyses the largest 200 fortunes. The Masaveu family occupies 16th position in the ranking, which is led by the President of Inditex, Amancio Ortega, with assets worth €50.4 billion. He is followed by Rafael del Pino from Ferrovial, and Juan Roig from Mercadona (…).

Original story: La Nueva España (by A.O. & J.L.S)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Dadelos to Build a Logistics Platform in Sagunto with an Investment of €5M

16 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Dadelos is launching itself into the logistics sector in Valencia. The Valencian family group is going to build a logistics platform in Sagunto with an investment of €5 million.

The plot, which has a buildability of 13,200 m2, is located on the large format Camí la Mar I industrial and logistics park, very close to the Port of Sagunto and Parc Sagunt, an area where companies such as Inditex and Mercadona are already present.

Dadelos is going to carry out the construction of the project without having closed the future final user of the property in advance, as reported by the company in a statement. Similarly, the group stated that this operation forms part of its current expansion and diversification policy.

The new property, which will be twelve metres tall, will also have an area for office use. To carry out the transaction, Dadelos has been advised by Olivares Consultores, which confirmed that it is a strategic operation “at a time of strong growth and high demand for spaces by logistics companies in the area”.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake