Insur Refinances €100 Million in Outstanding Debts

20 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur) took advantage of favorable market conditions to refinance its outstanding debt this week. The firm refinanced 100 million euros of debt, equal to 60% of its total net liabilities, at significantly better conditions, freeing up over 35 million euros over the next five years. Insur owns rental properties, including offices, commercial premises and car parks.

Insur Patrimonial arranged the refinancing in an operation involving a total of 11 banks, led by Santander. Those banks include Caixabank, BBVA, Unicaja, Sabadell, Bankinter and Novo Banco. In addition to the €100 million, the firm also borrowed another €10 million to acquire an office building in Seville for redevelopment into a hotel to be leased to Hotusa.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Carlos Pizá de Silva

Photo: F. Ruso

Insur Delays the Scheduled Delivery of 650 Homes by 2 Years

3 June 2019 -Eje Prime

Insur has announced that it is delaying the scheduled delivery of more than 650 homes by two years. However, the real estate group claims that the delays “are not significant” and are due to external factors, such as the entry into force of the mortgage law, the strategy replanning of the company and “the redesign of plans to reflect the demands of clients”.

Nevertheless, the news follows the announcement of similar delays, and profit warnings, by rivals such as Neinor, Metrovacesa and Quabit, and so the market is understandably nervous about this latest news.

In the case of Insur, the company is delaying the delivery of more than 650 homes in 11 different promotions, including the BA-2 and BA-3 developments in Entrenúcleos, located in the municipal district of Dos Hermanas in Sevilla.

Nevertheless, the property developer claims that the delay in the scheduled delivery of its homes has nothing to do with Neinor’s profit warning and assures that the company’s analysts are not worried.

Currently, Insur has 275 homes under construction and 1,625 properties in developments through joint businesses. It also owns a portfolio of land spanning 95,000 m2 on which to build another 880 homes and has long-term purchase options over twelve plots with a buildability of 208,000 m2.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Marta Casado Pla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Spain’s Property Developers Glimpse the First Signs of a Moderation in Prices

29 May 2019 – Expansión

Yesterday, several of the largest property developers in Spain met for a Medcap roundtable event moderated by Deloitte to discuss the outlook for the residential market.

Specifically, representatives from Metrovacesa, Aedas, Quabit, Insur and Lar participated in the discussions, during which they observed that house prices in Spain are starting to moderate in some of the more mature markets, although they acknowledged that there are still many secondary cities where the new (growth) cycle is just beginning.

In this context, the representatives identified a number of focuses and challenges facing the sector, namely:

Licences: All of the property developers are pushing for great agility from the public administrations when it comes to the granting of construction permits.

Construction: The labour shortage in the construction sector is pushing up prices and leading to delays in project finishes.

Concentration: Property developers are larger and more professionalised now than before the crisis; they require critical mass to be resilient to real estate cycles.

Industrialisation: Prefabricated homes allow construction periods to be shortened and for greater control over the processes.

Access: Young people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford to buy a home.

Overall, the experts consider that the residential sector is still immersed in the early stages of the new cycle, but only time will tell whether they are right.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Insur Teams Up with Wealthy Andalucían Families to Grow its Property Business in Madrid

18 April 2019 – El Confidencial

Wealthy Andalucían families are teaming up with the real estate group Insur to work on projects in the housing, office and commercial sectors. That is according to various sources in the property sector speaking to El Confidencial. The company itself has declined to comment.

Having previously joined forces with the Moya Yoldi (Persán) and Cosentino families, the company is now looking to expand beyond Andalucía in partnership with other family offices. Possible candidates include the Domínguez de la Maza family, owner of Mayoral and the Guillén family (owner of Acesur-Coosur), with which it has already invested in Sevilla.

Insur is keen to diversify its geographical market (75% of its assets are currently located in Andalucía) and Madrid is an obvious option, thanks to the liquidity of the market. The firm is already building 250 homes there in the towns of Valdemoro, Boadilla and Villaviciosa.

The aim of the company chaired by Ricardo Pumar is to generate stable annual revenues of €20 million from rental income, up from the €12 million recorded last year.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Carlos Pizá)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Insur to Build 136 More Homes on the Outskirts of Madrid

4 April 2019 – El Confidencial

The Sevillan based property developer Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur) has reported that it is now working on the construction of 250 homes in the Community of Madrid.

In addition to the projects already announced in Boadilla del Monte and Valdemoro, the company chaired by Ricardo Pumar is now going to start work on a new development in Villaviciosa de Odón.

There, it is going to build two groups of 68 single-family homes, which will form part of a larger development known as Monte de la Villa, which will eventually contain 2,500 homes in total.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Carlos Pizá)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Property Developers are Building 18,000+ Homes in Andalucía

18 March 2019 – ABC Sevilla

The real estate market in Andalucía is booming, and in a good way. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Development, 12,363 permits were granted in 2017 for the construction of new homes, compared with the record before the burst of the bubble of 156,483 in 2006. Construction activity is responding to real demand in the market and is featuring some new players that are planning to build thousands of new homes in the region over the next three years.

Two markets

The investors, which include international funds and local property developers alike, differentiate between two markets – the eastern (Málaga) and the western (Sevilla) – the former accounts for 70% of new developments.

Aedas Homes currently leads the regional ranking by number of homes planned and investments forecast in the autonomous region. The property developer controlled by the US fund Castlelake plans to invest almost €1.3 billion in the region in the construction of 5,150 homes, primarily in the provinces of Málaga (2,600 homes) and Sevilla (1,800).

It is followed by Neinor Homes, which owns a portfolio of 29 plots for the construction of 3,628 homes; Metrovacesa, which has 2,300 homes in its Andalucían portfolio at various stages of completion; and Vía Célere, controlled by another US fund Värde, which is building 1,975 homes across 21 developments.

Meanwhile, ASG Homes has buildable land in Andalucía for the construction of 1,700 homes; Habitat Inmobiliaria, owned by the US investment fund Bain Capital, is working on the construction of 15 developments containing 1,621 homes; and the Sevillan property developer Insur is working on 17 residential developments comprising 1,136 homes at various stages of completion.

Finally, Q21 Real Estate, the property developer created from the alliance of the US fund Baupost and the owners of the former Pinar group, is also constructing almost 500 homes in the region, bringing the total number of homes under construction to more than 18,000.

Original story: ABC Sevilla (by Encarna Freire)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Insur & the Moya Yoldi Family Team Up with the Cosentinos in Córdoba

1 March 2019 – El Confidencial

Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur), the listed real estate firm, which joined forces with the Moya Yoldi family (the owners of the Persán detergent manufacturers) last year to promote three residential developments in Sevilla, Marbella and Madrid, has now teamed up with another high profile family: the Cosentinos – the manufacturer of Silestone.

The three companies are going to co-invest in a residential development in Córdoba comprising 187 homes. Insur will own 50% of the development, whilst ownership of the remaining 50% will be split between the two families.

Coincidentally, the Moya Yoldi and Cosentino families are already partners in the Socimi Trajano, which is chaired by José Moya.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Carlos Pizá)

Summary/Translation: Carmel Drake

Persán’s Owners Acquire 40% of Río 55 Business Park in Madrid for €70M

25 June 2018 – Eje Prime

A new business saga is investing in the Spanish real estate sector. The Moya Yoldi family, owners of the detergent manufacturer Persán, have invested €70 million in the purchase of 40% of the Río 55 Business Park in Madrid. For this operation, the Andalucían family has joined forces with Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur), the office property developer, with which it has also signed a second agreement involving a prime residential project in Marbella (Málaga).

The owners of Persán, an integrated supplier of the supermarket giant Mercadona, has increased its commitment to the real estate sector through Concha Yoldi, the co-owner of the company together with her husband, José Moya, and the couple’s children: Juan, José and Francisco Javier, according to El Confidencial.

The saga has acquired a significant stake in Río 55, which already signed the sale of one of its two buildings to the fund manager AEW Europe in March. Insur forecasts that it will hand over the keys to the first tenants of the business complex next year. The two properties will span a surface area of 14,000 m2 each.

Likewise, the Andalucían family is also going to invest in its own region in partnership with Insur. Gestafin Global Investment, another of the real estate companies owned by the Moya Yoldi family, has acquired 40% of the luxury development that the real estate firm is constructing in Marbella. In total, 53 luxury apartments will comprise this project in the sought-after Costa del Sol, whose first phase has been underway since 2017. A third plan in the Sevilla residential market, where Insur is building 238 homes, completes the alliances that the family office has with the group.

A Socimi with the owners of Silestone and the founders of Goldcar

The presence of the owners of Persán in the property sector does not end with their individual investments. The Andalucían saga also shares ownership of a Socimi with other entrepreneurial families such as the Cosentinos, owners of Silestone, and the brothers Juan and Pedro Alcaraz, founders of the vehicle renting company Goldcar, now part of the giant Europcar.

Moreover, through Trajano Iberia, of which José Moya is president, the family owners a share of the Madrilenian Alcalá Magna shopping centre, for which the company paid €100 million last year, and a second in Portugal; an office building in the Spanish capital, in the Manoteras area, to be precise; a mixed-used property, for offices and shops in Bilbao; and a logistics asset in Zaragoza (…).

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Habitat Joins the Entrenúcleos Fever & Buys 3 Plots Spanning 30,000 m2

2 April 2018 – El Confidencial

Entrenúcleos, the immense expanse of land stretching out more than 7 million m2 across Dos Hermanas (Sevilla) and urbanised to a large extent, is continuing to attract new investors interested in starting to build homes as soon as possible. The latest player to join firms such as Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur) in partnership with BBVA, Aelca and the Sevillan firm Bekinsa, is Habitat, the property developer that has been controlled by the US fund Bain Capital since the end of last year.

The group has acquired almost 30,000 m2 of land spread over three plots, through an auction of assets owned by the local property developer Ábaco. The total price, according to market sources, is a real bargain: €4.6 million. “Taking into account current sales prices in the area, which stand at around €1,700/m2 for a family home, and range between €1,400/m2 and €1,500/m2 in the case of flats, the final yield could reach 45%”, explain the same sources. Habitat has been awarded three plots on which to build 189 flats (on two of them) and 78 family homes on the third one.

Two other companies have also obtained land in the auction of Ábaco’s assets, which filed for bankruptcy in 2016. Firstly, the real estate company Aelca, controlled by the fund Värde Partners. That firm already acquired a decent amount of land in Entrenúcleos at the beginning of the year by purchasing land with a buildable surface area of almost 230,000 m2 on which to build 2,100 homes, for around €250 million. Now, Aelca has acquired another 14,000 m2 plot (with a buildability of 12,500 m2), on which it plans to build 78 terraced houses, for €3.2 million.

Aelca plans to start marketing the first two developments proceeding from its purchase at the beginning of the year in May. Finally, the third property developer to acquire land is the aforementioned Sevillan firm Bekinsa, controlled by the Beca family. It has acquired 16,600 m2, on which to build up to 30 family homes, for €1.2 million. The Sevillan firm is already marketing homes in two other apartment blocks in Entrenúcleos (…).

Other plots owned by Ábaco in the area, but included in a pro-indiviso in which the firm held a 30% stake and in which CaixaBank and the Town Hall of Dos Hermanas were also shareholders, did not get sold in the auction held before Easter. The same thing happened with other plots located close to Sevilla airport and whose urban planning procedures are in a much more preliminary stage than those of the plots in Entrenúcleos (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Carlos Pizá de Silva)

Translation: Carmel Drake

AEW Buys Building in Madrid’s Río 55 Complex

24 March 2018 – ProOrbyt Expansion

Insur, a subsidiary of the French corporate investment company Natixis, acquired one of the properties under construction in the Rio 55 complex, in Madrid.

The fund manager AEW, which manages Natixis’ real estate investments, has concluded a new acquisition in Spain. Through its AEW Europe Value Investors Fund, the investment manager purchased one of the two buildings that make up the Rio 55 complex, the office project that Inmobiliaria del Sur (Insur) is developing in Virgen del Puerto, alongside the Madrid Río area, in Spain’s capital.

The property, called Edificio Sur, is part of an approximately 28,000-square-meter complex that is under construction by Inmobiliaria del Sur. In September 2016, Insur, through a partnership with other minority shareholders, agreed to purchase the site in the southeast of the city from Sareb. After a year of negotiations, the 14,000-square-meter property was sold for 20 million euros. In total, the investment in the project will amount to €59 million.

The sale of the Edifício Sur, which has about 13,000 square meters of offices and another 1,000 of retail space, and more than 200 parking spaces, will bring in €43 million to Insur’s coffers. AEW acquired the property through its AEW Europe Value Investors (EVI) fund, which specialises in assets where the current profile or positioning can be enhanced through active asset management strategies. The fund raised €410 million, of which 93% has already been invested throughout Europe, and now the firm is working on the launch of EVI 2. “This acquisition of Rio 55 is completely in line with the strategy of the AEW Europe Value Investors fund. This high-quality development is in a strong location where the outlook for rental growth continues to strengthen,” Carsten Czarnetzki, Country Head for Spain, stated.

AEW first arrived in Spain in 2002. Three years ago, it returned to the market to pursue “strategic purchases” and, in 2017, opened an office in Madrid in one of the buildings it had already acquired: Serrano 240. It also has another office building, on Francisco Silvela, which was the firm’s last purchase in Spain before the current acquisition: ” We continue to explore opportunities to grow our investment in Spain, which is experiencing strong economic growth prospects.”

On the other hand, Inmobiliaria del Sur plans to introduce a motion at its shareholders’ meeting, scheduled for April 27, to vote on the creation of a new company, wholly owned by Insur. The company would transfer part of its portfolio of buildings for rent to a new company called Insur Patrimonial.

The company has a portfolio valued at €424 million, as of December 2017, of which €297.2 million correspond to its real estate business. Within this portfolio, the company owns 118,240 square meters of offices and commercial premises, and more than 2,500 parking spaces. Seville is the location of 84% of the company’s portfolio, while Madrid accounts for 2%.

Original Story: ProOrbyt Expansion – Rocío Ruiz

Translation: Richard Turner