Urbania Developer: Panamanian Capital Promotes 20 Developments in Valencia

31 July 2018 – Eje Prime

Numerous Spanish real estate entrepreneurs crossed the pond when the Spanish property sector crashed at the end of the 2000s. One of the property developers who got on a plane when the walls of the real estate sector were starting to crack in Spain was Juan Antonio Claveria. That Valencian businessman is now back on his home turf with Urbania Developer, a Panamanian real estate company that is planning to “have up to twenty projects under development over the next three years in the Community of Valencia”, explained Claveria to Eje Prime.

The Spanish businessman is the CEO of Urbania Developer, a company listed on the Panamanian stock market, which he created last year together with his partners, the local investors Yasser Williams and Omar Fricentese. “The company’s share capital is 100% private”, highlighted Claveria.

The three have recently teamed up with the Valencian builder José Vicente Roig, who has included the assets of the former property developer Patrimonios del Levante in the group. With those, the real estate company has launched its growth plan in the Community of Valencia, where the firm already has eight projects underway or on the verge of being executed.

“We are interested in towns with between 200,000 and 300,000 inhabitants”, explains Claveria, who is also attracted to “those suburbs that have between 40,000 and 80,000 inhabitants, which are well connected by metro”. Public transport links and the proximity to the capital of Valencia are the key aspects of the investment policy that Urbania Developer is going to carry out. It is turning its back on the overheating of prices that is being recorded in the centre of the city.

Torrent, Paterna, Mislata, Benimamet and Paiporta are the towns on the outskirts of Valencia where Urbania Developer has residential projects underway at the moment. Nevertheless, “we are now finalising the purchase of new plots of land”, said Claveria, who indicated that his company could close around half a dozen operations soon.

Moreover, the property developer has already expanded its business to the south of Valencia with the purchase of a “small plot” in Alicante. Size is important for the company, which projects developments comprising “between eight and thirty homes”. “In Castellón, we are also looking at plots”, said the businessman, who wants to focus solely on the Community of Valencia in this first phase of his arrival in Spain (…).

Currently, the property developer has more than 5,000 homes built or under construction in Panama, the epicentre of the company’s business,  as well as in Paraguay and Nicaragua. In the Panamanian market alone (“the Switzerland of Latin America”, according to Claveria), the property developer manages 2.2 million m2 of residential land spread over 18 projects.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s Property Developers Accelerate Their Land Purchases

31 August 2017 – Expansión

Spain’s large real estate companies have launched ambitious investments plans with the aim of starting to build thousands of homes over the next few years, whereby benefitting from the upwards cycle that the housing market is currently enjoying.

The most active players include some of the new property developers led by investment funds such as Neinor Homes, Vía Célere and Aelca. These companies, the first of which is listed on the stock market and the latter two which have plans to make their stock market debuts within the next few months, have accelerated their land purchase plans in recent months, backed financially by their owner-shareholders and loans from the banks.

Such is the case of Neinor Homes. The property developer owned by Lone Star has invested €157.5 million so far in 2017 on the acquisition of various plots of land spread across locations such as Valencia, Málaga and Madrid. These purchases will allow it to build 1,750 homes, in addition to the around 4,000 units that it already has underway.

In the case of Vía Célere, acquired in February by Värde and five other funds, its land purchases so far in 2017 amount to €100 million, which has allowed it to increase its portfolio of land by 212,016 m2 to 2.7 million m2.

Another one of the companies that has invested a lot in land in recent months in Aelca. The company led by Värde and its founding partners, Javier Gómez and José Juan Martín, has spent €170 million so far in 2017 to increase its buildable portfolio by 362,000 m2. Following these purchases, it plans to build around 3,900 homes.

New leader

But the leader of this growth is Metrovacesa. The property developer led by Jorge Pérez de Leza has started a new phase this year, following the transfer of its rental assets to Merlin, with the ultimate aim of recovering its leading position in the sector, this time, focusing on the residential market. To this end, its main shareholders, Banco Santander and BBVA, have transferred it land worth €1,108 million, covering a buildable surface area of 3.1 million m2.

Metrovacesa’s plans for these plots, which have capacity for 24,000 homes, include the sale of some of the asset to competitors, which are eager to expand their portfolios. Currently, the property developer owned by Santander and BBVA is the second largest landowner in the country, with land spanning 6 million m2, exceeded only by Sareb.

Meanwhile, the ACR group (which has invested in some projects together with Allegra, the investment arm of Mario Losantos, the former owner of Riofisa) has purchased land worth €43 million, with a buildable surface area of 88,000 m2, where it plans to build 810 homes. (…).

Amenabar has a similar investment policy. The Basque real estate company, the current leader house building ranking in Spain, with more than 4,000 units underway, has acquired land covering more than 352,000 m2 this year, which will allow it to build another 2,976 homes. (…).

Another of the classic property developers, Quabit, has undertaken 13 operations involving buildable land in just two months, allowing it to incorporate almost 120,000 m2 into its portfolio. (…) The listed company will build 1,097 homes with a forecast revenue of €196 million.

Meanwhile, the Inbisa group has invested more than €80 million in the residential market over the last 18 months and plans to spend another €30 million before the end of the year.

Another fund that has made a significant commitment to the housing market in Spain in ASG. That firm, which also invests in commercial properties, has spent €200 million this year on the acquisition of 16 urban plots of land.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare’s Profits Rose By 156% In Q1 2017 To €13.1M

12 May 2017 – Expansión

The listed real estate investment company (Socimi) Axiare Patrimonio recorded a net profit of €13.1 million during the first quarter of 2017, up by 156% compared to the same period last year, according to a statement filed yesterday by the company with the CNMV.

Revenues from gross rental income grew by 36%, to €13.4 million. In comparable terms, rentals grew by 4.9%.

So far this year, the Socimi has signed new lease contracts covering a surface area of 93,400 m2: 16,200 m2 relating to offices and 77,200 m2 to logistics facilities, which represents a new record.

At the end of the first quarter, the occupancy rate of Axiare’s portfolio amounted to 92.6%.

During the first quarter, Axiare signed new lease contracts for offices covering a surface area of 4,485m2, which also represents a new record.

In the logistics segment, it signed two new contracts, covering a surface area of 26,165 m2, whereby increasing the occupancy rate of the segment to 97%. Moreover, lease contracts were renegotiated for 23,456 m2 of space.

Since the end of the first quarter, Axiare has signed lease contracts for offices and logistics facilities spanning more than 63,000 m2.

So far this year, Axiare has invested €157.9 million on the purchase of four properties, to take its real estate portfolio to a record figure of more than €1,500 million.

Offices

75% of Axiare’s portfolio comprises offices, whilst 16% corresponds to logistics assets and 9% to other assets, primarily retail parks.

In addition to the €93 million raised in March through a capital increase, Axiare has obtained bank financing amounting to €119 million, whereby benefitting from the current low-interest rate environment.

According to the Socimi, with these funds, the company plans to continue with its policy of investing in real estate assets with strong potential for generating value.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Capital Lists 2nd Investment Vehicle On MAB

28 January 2016 – Expansión

After debuting its first Socimi on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) last September, Corpfin Capital is trying its luck on the Madrid stock exchange once again, just four months later, in the form of its second listed investment vehicle, Corpfin Capital Prime Retail III, which starred yesterday in the first ring of the bell in 2016.

The real estate arm of Corpfin Capital, which has so far launched four investment vehicles, is intending to create a fifth entity this year with a view to entering new businesses and expanding the mix of assets to include the residential, hotel, office and retail segments. “We are exploring other types of investments, but through another vehicle”, explained Javier Basagoiti, Managing Partner of Corpfin Capital Real Estate and President of the new Socimi.

Specifically, the two Socimis have a joint investment capacity of €110 million for 2016 and they have already spent €76 million. “The remaining €30 million has already been allocated to the purchase of assets, mostly in Madrid”, says Basagoiti, who rules out a capital increase for the time being.

The Director explained that he expects (the vehicle) to provide investors with an annual return of more than 15%, compared with the current yield of 7%.

Despite the sudden rise of the Socimis – Corpfin Capital Prime Retail III is the twelfth company of its kind to list on the MAB –, Basagoiti denies that a Socimi bubble is emerging, instead he regards the vehicles as investment “opportunities”. “A bubble would be created if the investment policy was no good and it was playing on the change in the (economic) cycle with risky investments”, he said. 90% of the company’s investors are domestic and 10% are from the United Arab Emirates. “We focus on small-time savers and private banking clients”, he says.

The real estate area is one of Corpfin Capital’s core business areas; its primary activity is the management of private equity funds.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake