Segro Will Invest €600 Million in Logistics Assets in Spain

The British firm is looking for prime last-mile locations in Barcelona and Madrid, where it plans to invest 600 million euros over five years.

The increase in demand for e-commerce during lockdown has highlighted the need for logistics spaces in the market. To this end, the British Socimi Segro is planning to invest 600 million euros over the next five years in last mile logistics assets located in the prime areas of the first ring-roads around Barcelona and Madrid, according to EjePrime.

In addition to assets destined for the last mile, the company is focusing its efforts on the entire urban distribution chain, including platforms for reverse logistics and cross-docking.

Investment and Leasing in the Logistics Sector are Growing at Double Digit Rates in Spain

Investment in logistics assets amounted to more than €210 million during the first quarter of 2020, whereby exceeding the average recorded during the same period over the last ten years, according to Knight Frank.

The logistics sector has continued to remain active since the start of the State of Emergency due to the pandemic. During the first three months of the year in Madrid, almost 120,000 square metres of space was leased, up by 18% compared to the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, 105,000 square metres of logistics space was leased, according to the consultancy firm Knight Frank.

At the beginning of the year, operators were already leasing more space. During the first three months of 2020, prime rents remained stable in Madrid and Barcelona, as did the availability rate, which revealed a scarce supply in the main logistics nuclei, of 6% and 3.5%, respectively.

Investment in Public Housing Fell by 11% in Q1

Public administrations invested €109 million in public housing during Q1, which represents a decrease of 11.2%.

Investment in subsidised housing has decreased during the first three months of the year. The various public administrations have disbursed €109 million on public housing, which is 11.2% less than during the first quarter of 2019, according to data from the construction trade association Seopan.

This reduction is due in part to the crisis caused by coronavirus in the country, given that investment in housing by the administrations fell by 36.2% in March, whereas it only decreased by 2.6% between January and February.

Blackstone: “We have €140 Billion to Make the Most of Investment Opportunities”

The world’s largest fund manager has announced that it has more than USD 150 billion of ‘gunpowder’ to invest, “more than anyone else in the industry.”

The US fund manager Blackstone has announced that it has USD 151.5 billion (about €140 billion) of “gunpowder” to make the most of the investment opportunities that will arise after the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus.

That is according to its President and CEO, Stephen Schwarzman. He highlighted Blackstone’s unique liquidity position in the face of the economic shocks that are being caused by the virus pandemic worldwide. “We are uniquely positioned to invest on behalf of our clients at a time of historic disruption,” said Schwarzman.

Coronavirus Halts 14% of Investment Operations in the Office Sector

The volume of the operations identified as of 14 March amounted to more than €4 billion and today 86% of those deals are still on the table, according to Savills Aguirre Newman.

The vast majority of office transactions in the real estate investment market in Spain are waiting to be resumed when the situation stabilises, says the consultancy Savills Aguirre Newman.

Up until 14 March, the first day of the State of Emergency, the firm had identified a potential volume of ongoing transactions amounting to more than €4 billion involving almost 60 operations, including portfolios and transactions of unique assets in Madrid and Barcelona.

Catella Raises Another €125M for its European Housing Fund

The Swedish manager has reached an agreement with two funds to increase the investment budget of the fund Catella European Residential (CER) III by €125 million.

Catella has reached an agreement with two funds to increase the investment budget of the fund Catella European Residential (CER) III by €125 million.

Specifically, it has obtained €100 million from a German pension fund, and the remaining €25 million from a fund manager. The vehicle will, therefore, have €235 million euros of capital to invest in total.

Real Estate Investment in Spain Amounted to €3.2 Billion during the First Quarter, up by 54%

Investment in the European real estate sector broke records during the first quarter of 2020, to reach €85.5 billion, up by 52%, according to data from CBRE.

Between January and March, investment in the Spanish real estate sector amounted to €3.2 billion, 54% more than during the same period a year earlier, according to data published on Tuesday by the international consultancy CBRE.

These figures are in line with the rest of the European markets, where several real estate investment records were set during the first quarter of 2020. These figures reflect the period just before the Covid-19 pandemic reached the continent. Total investment amounted to €85.5 billion euros, up by 52% compared to the figure recorded in the same period last year.

Andalucía’s Government to Approve New Hotel Regulations to Guarantee Investment in the Sector

The regional government estimates that 74 projects involving a total investment of €1.6 billion are awaiting the new legislation, which will regulate the classification of hotels in Andalucía.

Help the hotel sector by introducing legislation that will attract investors. That is the ultimate goal of the Andalucían Government, which has decided to continue to process new legislation for the hotel industry in the region.

According to the region’s Minister of Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration, Juan Marín, the regional hotel regulation decree will not be affected by the cessation in rule-making due to the State of Emergency decreed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “We have managed to reactivate it remotely by recovering legal reports from the Ministry and by speeding up the launch for the approval of the hotel decree to guarantee significant investment in the sector over the coming years,” said Marín.

Asian Investors have More than €32 Billion to Invest in Real Estate

Investors in Asia-Pacific have more than USD 35 billion ready to invest in scarce real estate assets, according to the consulting firm Savills.

Real estate investors in Asia-Pacific have more than USD 35,000 million (about EUR 32,300 million) of liquidity ready to invest in real estate products, say sources at Savills.

By volume of investment, Seoul leads the ranking of cities in the world with the most activity, according to data from the first quarter of 2020.

New Investors Enter the Build to Rent Market in Spain

The build to rent segment has grown in recent years and new players have been entering the market. In the first quarter of the year, investment in the sector amounted to €400 million.

In the last year, several new players have joined the rental market through ‘build to rent’ projects. The segment saw investment of more than €2 billion during 2019, and of €400 million during the first three months of this year, despite the coronavirus crisis impacting the end of the quarter.

In terms of the new investors specialising in this type of asset, players include BeCorp Scranton – an investment vehicle owned by the Grifols family -, Locare y Tectum, the real estate subsidiary of AXA, Ares, M&G, Catella, the property developer ASG Homes, and the German groups Hines and Patrizia.