Tag: Inditex

Carmila Acquires La Verónica Shopping Centre in Antequera for €16M

4 January 2019 – Diario Sur

Carmila, Carrefour’s real estate subsidiary, has acquired a shopping centre spanning 12,000 m2 in Antequera for €16.1 million plus eight other establishments across Spain for €9.6 million, bringing the total investment made by the firm to €25.7 million.

The La Verónica shopping centre, which comprises 57 retail premises, is located in an expanding business area of the city in the province of Málaga, adjacent to a Carrefour hypermarket, which the French company purchased from Eroski, according to a statement issued yesterday to this newspaper.

The stores are home to brands such as Inditex, OVS Kids and Springfield, and the shopping centre also has a multi-screen cinema. According to Carmila’s estimates, with the current renovation of the complex, the shopping centre will offer organic growth over the medium term, which will increase its profitability by up to 100 basis points.

The other eight establishments acquired by the real estate company across Spain include six stores located in a shopping centre that already formed part of its portfolio and two other shops that the group will end up buying in the second half of the year.

In addition, Carmila has completed the sale of a batch of medium-sized stores to Klépierre, owner of the Turin-Grugliasco shopping centre, located in the Italian city, for €16.3 million.

Original story: Diario Sur 

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE: Real Estate in Sevilla Attracts Funding from Overseas Investors

15 December 2018 – ABC

The city of Sevilla and its metropolitan area are now on the international real estate map and proof of that is that the major overseas funds are putting up a lot of the capital being absorbed by the new commercial, hotel and logistics projects in the city, “whereby taking over from the real estate firms of yesteryear”. That is one of the conclusions of a report compiled by the consultancy firm CBRE, which highlights that the return on investment has been felt most intensely in the shopping centre sector.

“With almost 300,000 m2 of future supply planned, Sevilla is the province in Spain that will grow by almost the most over the next few years in terms of gross leasable area – exceeded only by Madrid”, it said. “This will be a key sector this year and next for the Sevillan real estate market”, said Rosa Madrid, Director of CBRE in Andalucía. The first newsworthy event was the entry into operation of Torre Sevilla, “an open and mixed shopping centre, with a hotel and offices, which we have not seen here before and which is regenerating the area”, she highlighted. The office market “has absorbed without great problems” the 18,000 m2 that Torre Sevilla brought to the market “whereby disproving those who predicted a new crisis in this segment”, she said.

Offices

In the office segment, the highest rents are achieved in the most modern buildings of Nervión (a district in Sevilla), with rents of around €12-13/m2/month. In this area, some exclusive office buildings that were left vacant following the departure of the Junta de Andalucía to Santa Justa were occupied within 18 months. In La Cartuja, office rents are somewhat lower, around €9-11/m2/month, according to the report.

But, “the turning point” in the shopping centre sector is going to be seen Sevilla with Project Lagoh, promoted by the Socimi Lar España in the Palmas Altas area, to the south of the capital, and currently under construction. “Finally, the new era of shopping centres is going to arrive in Sevilla. Until now, we have only had shopping centres from the 1990s and none from the 21st century, like Xanadú in Madrid or Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza”, said Rosa Madrid.

Hotel investment

The hotel market has been also reactivated as demonstrated by the major operations closed in recent years. “In addition to the modern Eurostars Torre Sevilla, since 2015, the flow of properties acquired to transform them into accommodation has been continuous”, she highlighted. The most noteworthy operations include the purchase by the French real estate company Bouygues of the former headquarters of Abengoa, to renovate it and transform it into a 5-star hotel, the purchase of Hotel Macarena and the acquisition of the Generali building in Plaza Nueva by the British fund Shaftesbury.

Logistics market

Demand for logistics warehouses has also been increasing, at the same time as the major e-commerce operators have increased their logistics network in the south of the peninsula, such as the case of Amazon and Inditex, which have opened platforms in Sevilla. “That sector is here to stay. And operators are not only looking for large spaces far away from the cities measuring between 30,000 m2 and 100,000 m2, they are also looking for small spaces inside the SE30 to serve the last-mile market and demand for immediate distribution”, explained the regional director of CBRE.

Student halls

Investors specialising in alternative sectors, such as student halls of residence, are also placing their focus on Sevilla, a city that is home to 16% of all of Spain’s university students (…).

Original story: ABC (by E. Freire)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Inditex to Build a Logistics Centre Next to Mercadona’s in Parc Sagunt

14 December 2018 – Valencia Plaza

The company behind the offer received by the Valencia Port Authority (APV) to purchase a plot of land measuring 280,000 m2 in Parc Sagunt is Tempe. That firm, a subsidiary of the textile group Inditex that has its headquarters in Elche, is planning to build one of its centres on the plot that is located right next to the 350,000 m2 plot on which Mercadona has already started work to build its largest logistics block in Spain.

The APV announced this week that it had received, through its subsidiary Valencia Plataforma Intermodal (VPI), a purchase proposal for that plot, although it did not reveal the amount of the bid or the identity of the candidate. The Board of Directors of VPI considered the bid to be “in the port’s interest” because the project presented fulfils the requirements in terms of the movement of goods through the Port of Sagunto, which VPI included in the public tender convened previously for the sale of this plot.

The company has opened a period of 30 calendar days to give other applicants the option to submit alternative offers, and so if that does not happen before 11 January, them the land will be awarded to the footwear subsidiary of the textile group founded by Amancio Ortega (…).

The 280,000 m2 plot, which VPI was awarded at the time for €30 million is currently worth €25 million, but the entity has already recognised a provision in its accounts for the adjustment in the value of the land. In the tender documents, the company established a minimum price of €30.7 million plus €300,000 for notary fees, payable in cash (…).

Tempe is the Inditex subsidiary that specialises in footwear and accessories for the eight chains that belong to the group: Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqüe. It is responsible for the design, sale and distribution of those products. Its headquarters are in Elche, one of the main manufacturing nuclei in Spain, and occupy 200,000 m2. From there, it distributes 100 million units around the world each year.

In 2017, Tempe broke sales records once again by registering a turnover of €1.246 billion, according to its accounts for the year. The company is owned by Inditex (50%) and the businessman Vicente García Torres. Its profit amounted to €81 million and Inditex received €21 million in dividends from the company.

Logistics is one of the fundamental areas of Inditex’s business. In total, 8,565 workers are dedicated to it, equivalent to 5% of its employees. The distribution of clothes, footwear, accessories and household goods of all of its chains is carried out from fourteen logistics centres located across Spain (…).

Original story: Valencia Plaza (by Xavi Moret)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Inditex Caused the Ministry of Development’s Results to Soar in Galicia in 2017

13 November 2018 – Economía Digital

Inditex purchased more square metres of land from the Ministry of Development’s land manager than the Xunta sells in one year. In a single transaction, the company owned by Amancio Ortega acquired 218,000 m2 of land last year spread over 26 plots on the A Laracha industrial estate (A Coruña) from the company Suelo Empresarial del Atlántico, controlled by the department led by José Luis Ábalos.

The implementation of the multinational’s new logistics hub to complement the group’s central complex in Arteixo, multiplied the revenues and profits of the Ministry of Development’s land manager, which has 13 industrial estates up for sale in Galicia, but which faces serious difficulties when it comes to selling the plots unless it offers them  significant discounts.

The Inditex effect: revenues multiplied by six

Last year, Suelo Empresarial del Atlántico multiplied its revenues by six, up from €2.5 million in 2016 to €15.7 million in 2017. Of that amount, €13.4 million proceeded from the plots sold in A Laracha, the industrial estate chosen by Inditex. The remainder (€1.1 million) was invoiced in Rianxo or was received through subsidies to the business parks of Cee, Muros, Vimianzo and Rianxo itself, given that the entity is a recipient of European funds.

The dependence on a single operation in 2017, the one involving Inditex, shows the difficulties faced when it comes to finding companies to set up shop in Galicia, both for the property developer of the Xunta, which in just two years since its creation has sold 200,000 m2, as well as for the Suelo Empresarial del Atlántico, formerly Plan Galicia promoted by José María Aznar in 2003 to compensate the Prestige disaster.

The purchases by the textile giant also caused the profits of the land manager to soar, up from €53,554 to €444,500, an eight-fold rise. Suelo Empresarial del Atlántico is owned by the Xunta (15%) and by Abanca (1.6%), although the bulk of its share capital, more than 83%, is in the hands of the Ministry of Development through the Public Land Management Company (‘Entidad Pública Empresarial de Suelo’ or Sepes) (…).

Original story: Economía Digital (by Rubén Rodríguez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Mango Sells its Store on c/Corrida in Gijón & Leases it Back for €30,000/Month

28 October 2018 – El Comercio

Mango has sold the building located at number 28 Calle Corrida, in Gijón, which has housed its megastore in the city since 2015, to a domestic investor for €8 million. The Catalan multi-national textile firm acquired the iconic property, which used to house the former headquarters of Banesto, in 2014. At the time, it paid Banco Santander €6.2 million for the property. The building work for the commercial conversion of the building, which spans a surface area of 1,642 m2, spread over the ground first and attic floor, cost another almost €2 million.

On this occasion, the sale operation has been undertaken as a sale&leaseback deal (…). In other words, Mango has sold the asset on the city’s main high street but will remain there as the tenant, paying a sizeable rent to the new owner: more than €30,000 per month (…).

That is not the only change happening on Calle Corrida over the coming months. The Inditex Group is looking to relocate some of its brands onto the Golden Mile of Gijón despite the shortage of available units (…).

In terms of prices, according to Alejandro López, lawyer and director of the real estate consultancy firm Noxtrum Novotec, “the average rental price is €62/m2/month, with variations ranging from €50/m2/month to €70/m2/month”.

Original story: El Comercio (by M. Moro)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Urban Outfitters to Open Spain’s First Anthropologie Store in Barcelona

25 October  2018 – Eje Prime

The Spanish retail sector is welcoming a new international operator. After an arduous two-year search for premises on the prime high streets of Madrid and Barcelona, Urban Outfitters has found a space to launch its first Anthropologie store in the country. This debut comes four years after the US fashion group first opened its doors in the heart of the Catalan capital.

Anthropologie is soon going to open at number 27 Paseo de Gracia, in a store measuring almost 780 m2, distributed over two floors and owned by a family office. The chain is going to take over from the Italian firm Twinset Milano, which will shut down in the next few days. The rental operation has been brokered by the real estate consultancy firm Aretail.

Specifically, the ground floor of the future Anthropologie establishment has a surface area 365 m2, whilst the basement spans 414 m2. The company will share the street with luxury operators such as Fendi, Céline and Kenzo, as well as with major distribution groups such as Inditex, Fast Retailing, H&M and Mango, amongst others.

Urban Outfitters arrived in the Spanish market in May 2014, when it launched a subsidiary to manage its business in the country. That same year, the group opened the first store of its homonymous chain in the El Triangle shopping centre in Barcelona, where it replaced the home décor firm Habitat.

Two years after its first opening, the US company started to search for new locations both in the Catalan capital and in Madrid to open its first points of sale for Anthropologie and Free People, the other chain owned by Urban Outfitters. In the spring, rumours of the imminent closure of an operation were revived.

Anthropologie is the group’s largest division by turnover, ahead of Urban Outfitters itself. The female fashion chain closed 2017 with sales of $1.4 billion (€1.2 billion), up by 1.9%. That figure accounted for 39.4% of the group’s total revenues.

At the end of its last financial year (31 January 2018), the chain operated 226 stores in the USA, Canada and Europe. The company is immersed in an international expansion process, which includes an overseas growth strategy. For that reason, Anthropologie appointed Peter Ruis, the former director of Levi Strauss, as the senior director of the international business in July.

Original story: Eje Prime (by L. Molina and P. Riaño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid & Barcelona Enter Top 40 Most Attractive Global Cities for Retail

19 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Madrid and Barcelona are two of the most attractive cities in the world for retail. The two Spanish cities rank amongst the forty most attractive places for commercial activity, according to the Hot Retail Cities report, compiled by Modaes.es, with the support of Tendam and in collaboration with Instituto de Empresa.

The top 3 of the ranking features New York, Los Angeles and Singapore. Madrid and Barcelona are ranked ahead of metropolises such as Milan and Moscow, boosted by factors such as economic openness, the socio-economic environment and the presence of international operators. Moreover, in the fashion category, the two cities are also cradles of some of the world’s retail titans, such as Inditex, Mango and Tendam, and they are home to one of the largest European department store groups, El Corte Inglés.

Barcelona is ranked at number 29 on the list, scoring 425 points out of a possible total of 1,000. Tourism, the presence of fashion operators in the city, the commercial streets and their structure and geographical location are the key factors that place Barcelona within the top thirty hottest cities on the planet. In recent years, the city has become a gateway for major international retailers, such as Uniqlo, which chose the city for its debut in Spain.

Meanwhile, the Spanish capital is positioned at number 36 in the Hot Retail Cities ranking with 410 points. In the case of Madrid, factors that work in its favour include commercial openness, economic stability and recovery, and the multiplicity of prime thoroughfares such as Calle Serrano, Gran Vía, Fuencarral and Calle Preciados.

The criteria for compiling the ranking are grouped together under eight general points that companies assess when it comes to studying the city: demographics, economy, politics, socio-economic environment, tourism, retail, fashion and trendy cities. In addition, analysis criteria are included about the more or less optimal conditions of each city for international retailers.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Logistics: Real Estate’s Ugly Duckling Sees its Investment Figures Soar

30 September 2018 – El Confidencial

It has always been the ugly duckling of the real estate sector. Nevertheless, the boom in e-commerce, the positive evolution of consumption and of the economy, in general, and real estate in particular, has triggered investment in these types of assets. For more than a year now, the sector has been starring in some of the most high-profile operations in the market, both at the corporate level, as well as in terms of the sale of portfolios and assets, attracting money from large international funds, as well as from domestic ones.

The data speaks for itself. Investment in logistics during the third quarter of 2018 – including plots of land – amounted to €450 million, equivalent to four times more than during the second quarter and 436% more than the figure registered during the same period a year earlier. That is according to data from the consultancy firm JLL, which shows that investment amounted to €872 million between January and September, 53% more the volume accumulated during the same period in 2017.

Moreover, the firm’s forecasts for the final stretch of the year for this sector are optimistic. “We expect the total volume to amount to €1.2 billion by the end of the year, 20% more than we expected last quarter, due to the good results and the fact that strong investor appetite is still alive”, said Borja Ortega, Director of Capital Markets at JLL.

“The logistics market is the absolute star of the real estate investment market in Spain. Investors see the potential associated with a market that has been growing for years”, says Ortega. Why? Its own fundamentals, the lack of product for investing in other segments such as offices and retail or the creation and consolidation of investors specialising in logistics”, he said.

In the last year and a half, the logistics sector has captured the media’s attention thanks to the completion of several very high profile operations. For example, on 25 September, Mango’s logistics platform in Barcelona was sold for €150 million. That asset, with a surface area of 181,000 m2 and owned by the Belgian investor group VG Partners since the end of 2016, was sold to the British Socimi Tritax Big Box.

It represented the largest investment in a single asset in the Spanish logistics market for the last four years since Logicor purchased some logistics facilities in Guadalajara spanning more than 320,000 m2 from Gran Europa for €133 million.

The operation also exceeded the €119 million that Blackstone paid in July to acquire the Socimi Lar’s logistics portfolio. In total, that deal involved 162,000 m2 of space spread over four logistics warehouses in Alovera (Guadalajara), one in the Juan Carlos I industrial estate of Almussafes (Valencia) and a plot for logistics development in Cheste (Valencia) spanning a further 182,000 m2.

Assets, portfolios, corporate operations

During the third quarter, there was a lot of movement in the sector such as the sale of two logistics portfolios – Hina Project with 6 warehouses and Gran Europa Portfolio with 3 warehouses – four purchases of logistics warehouses and a project comprising two plots in Cabanillas. Those transactions were accompanied by the purchase of two plots, one on the Centro —Ciudad del Transporte Industrial Estate in Guadalajara – and another in San Fernando de Henares. The latter was acquired by Merlin Properties for the construction of a logistics platform measuring 100,000 m2 (…).

All of these operations are happening in the midst of a genuine boom in e-commerce and online sales, a market in which the major online operators such as Amazon, Mercadona and Inditex have committed heavily. And for good reason, given that in 2017 alone, online sales moved more than €30 billion, according to data from the Spanish National Competition and Markets Commission (CNMC). And that figure is rising.

But the appetite of buyers is not only limited to the purchase of assets. At the corporate level, there have also been some significant transactions in recent months. A year ago, China Investment Corporation (CIC) completed the purchase of Logicor for €12.25 billion, one of the largest logistics companies in Europe and the largest owner of logistics assets in the Spanish market with a portfolio spanning more than 1 million m2 located primarily in Madrid and Barcelona. That operation became the second largest real estate purchase in history and the fourth largest by a Chinese company in Europe.

Meanwhile, P3 Spain Logistic Park, the logistics centre Socimi that the sovereign fund Singapore GIC owns in Spain, made its debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) last year with eleven logistics centres that span a total surface area of 321,392 m2 and which are spread across five autonomous communities, although most are in Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha.

Even the Murcian businessman, Trinitario Casanova, through Grupo Baraka has backed the logistics sector. In February this year, he purchased a logistics-industrial use plot located in the municipality of Sant Esteve Sesrovires, in Barcelona.

A sector traditionally forgotten

“For years, the logistics sector has been one of the ‘great forgottens’ of the real estate sector. Nevertheless, today it is clearly a segment to which investors pay a lot of attention. (…). In fact, given the competitive pressure, it is the only sector where returns are continuing to fall. Prime returns at the end of the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 5.25%, making them lower than during the last upward cycle in 2006, when they amounted to 5.75%”, said Ortega.

On the other hand, unlike what has happened in other real estate sectors such as residential or offices, whose activity is concentrated in the major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, 34% of logistics investment in the third quarter has been in Cataluña and 32% in Madrid. The rest has been concentrated in other regions such as Valencia (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Redevco & Ares Invest €45M in the Renovation of Parque Corredor

26 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Redevco and Ares are pampering their new asset. Redevco Iberian Ventures, the joint venture between the two companies, is going to spend €45 million on the renovation of Parque Corredor, the retail complex in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) that it purchased at the beginning of the year.

The owner expects the work to completely renovate the asset, which spans a surface area of 123,000 m2, to begin in 2019. Moreover, the company has already signed the renewal of Primark’s rental contract in the centre and is closing agreements for the incorporation of new chains.

The project will focus initially on the fashion area, creating new façades and accesses. It will also modernise the parking lot, which contains 4,000 parking spaces, and will renovate the common areas and the lighting.

The new design has been created by the architecture studio Chapman Taylor. The execution of the project will be led by the architecture studio Arpv and coordinated by Gleeds. Cushman&Wakefield is managing and marketing the retail spaces.

Redevco Iberian Ventures acquired 70% of Parque Corredor in February for €140 million. Another 20% is controlled by Alcampo and the remaining 10% is in the hands of small owners. Over the last twelve months, the complex has received 11 million visitors, 4% more than during the same period in the previous year. Its offer includes several Inditex chains, H&M, Mango, Kiabi and C&A.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Tomás Olivo set to Acquire El Mirador Shopping Centre in Gran Canaria

13 September 2018- Eje Prime

General de Galerías Comerciales is bidding exclusively for the largest retail space in the Canary Islands. Eroski, the owner of the Mirador de Jinámar, is holding exclusive negotiations with the company owned by the Murcian businessman Tomás Olivo, the Socimi General de Galerías Comerciales, with a view to selling the asset. The offer is expected to amount to around €45 million, according to sources close to the operation speaking to Eje Prime.

Valued at between €45 million and €100 million, General de Galerías Comerciales is not the only company that has expressed interest in the shopping centre in Gran Canaria in recent months. In fact, Eurofund’s investment fund offered €46.6 million in July for the asset, which opened its doors to the public in 2010.

Although sources at General de Galerías Comerciales have indicated to Eje Prime that the process is still “in its infancy”, sources in the sector explained that the operation is causing controversy because the company owned by Tomás Olivo has offered less than Eurofund’s bid.

The Mirador de Jinámar is a commercial area promoted by Eroski and the property developer Ambrosio Jiménez. The shopping centre spans a total surface area of 50,000 m2, of which 11,300 m2 is dedicated to the largest hypermarket that the cooperative distribution company belonging to Corporación Mondragón owns in the Canary Islands.

Since November 2010, the Mirador de Jinámar has been home to a total of 120 stores. Spread over two floors, some of the tenants of the property include firms in the Inditex group (its Zara store has a surface area of 2,000 m2), H&M, the Cortefiel and Primark brands (the latter’s store spans 5,000 m2 making it the Irish company’s largest in the Canary Islands).

The complex is located in Jinámar, a neighbourhood located between the municipalities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde, the two most important cities on the island. The complex also has a parking area with capacity for more than 40,000 vehicles.

In a second phase, which is still pending, the centre is planning to expand its offer to include 45,000 m2 of additional space, which will be allocated to DIY and homeware firms (…).

General de Galerías Comerciales, on the hunt for new assets

Controlled by Tomás Olivo,  General de Galerías Comerciales made its debut on the MAB in July last year, to become one of the largest Socimis by capitalisation in the sector. The company has twenty years of experience undertaking its activity right across the value chain, from the purchase of land to the management of assets.

The main assets in its portfolio are retail parks and shopping centres in Spain, such as La Cañada (Marbella), Mediterráneo (Almería), Mataró Parc (Mataró), Gran Plaza (Almería), Las Dunas and Nevada Shopping (Granada). The company also has an extensive portfolio of residential assets and retail premises, as well as land, primarily in the south of Spain. When the company made its debut on the MAB, its portfolio of assets was worth €1.9 billion (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by B. Seijo and P. Riaño)

Translation: Carmel Drake