Tag: investors

ASG Homes Negotiates the Sale of 1,000 Rental Homes to Institutional Investors

19 June 2019 – Expansión

ASG Homes, the property development arm of the European manager ASG, is following in the footsteps of many of the major property developers in Spain by putting up for sale 1,000 rental homes.

The announcement comes in response to interest from institutional investors in acquiring and managing portfolios of rental homes, given the booming demand in the rental market.

Specifically, ASG Homes is negotiating the sale of 3 of its developments in San Sebastián, Madrid and Sevilla, which will be worth €200 million once finished, with investment funds, Socimis and family offices.

ASG Homes had planned to hold onto the properties and manage them itself but the strong interest from investors has resulted in a change of tack. In this way, the company is emulating the strategies of several listed property developers, such as Metrovacesa and Aedas Homes.

In total, ASG Homes has a landbank spanning 500,000 m2 with the capacity to build 5,000 homes distributed across Madrid, Alicante, Estepona, Marbella, Salamanca, Barcelona, Sevilla and Valencia. It launched its business in Spain in 2013 and invests not only in the residential sector, but also in the hotel, shopping centre and office segments.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

The FROB Recorded a €382M Provision Against its Stake in Sareb in 2018

20 May 2019 – El Confidencial

The Spanish Fund for Orderly Banking Restructuring (FROB) presented its accounts for 2018 this week revealing that it decided to recognise a €382 million provision against its stake in Sareb last year.

In this way, the FROB has now written off 92.3% of its initial investment in the entity chaired by Jaime Echegoyen (pictured above), up from 75% in 2017. If the rest of the investor entities, namely all of the large Spanish banks with the exception of BBVA, do the same, then they will have to recognise losses of around €450 million.

In absolute terms, the FROB’s stake in Sareb is now worth €169 million compared with its initial investment of €2.192 billion. The FROB is Sareb’s largest shareholder with a 45.9% stake, followed by Santander (22.3%), CaixaBank (12.2%), Sabadell (6.6%) and Kutxabank (2.5%).

As the bad bank’s largest shareholder, the FROB typically sets the tone of the provisions for the other entities. Last year, after the FROB increased its cumulative provision to 75%, other shareholders such as CaixaBank and Sabadell recognised extraordinary provisions in their accounts for Q2. This year, the average provisioning rate is expected to increase from around 70% to 90%.

Sareb closed 2018 with losses of €878 million (up by 55%) due to the strong competition in the institutional market and the real estate crisis that still affects much of the country. The bad bank sold 21,152 properties last year and its income from property management soared by 19% to €1.4 billion, but its income from the loan portfolio fell by 16% to €2.2 billion and so total income fell by 5% to €3.7 billion.

The outlook for the bad bank for the next few years is not great and many experts forecast that not even a single euro will be recovered from Sareb.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Jorge Zuloaga)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Investors Purchase the Site of the Former ‘Cervezas Victoria’ Factory in Málaga

20 May 2019 – Diario Sur

The growing demand for land in Málaga has reactivated an operation involving the site that used to be home to the former Cervezas Victoria factory, situated alongside the Azucarera-Intelhorce highway to the west of the city centre.

Thirteen years ago, the Town Hall approved the urbanisation of those plots, which were divided into four blocks in order to house offices, businesses, warehouses and parking lots. The urbanisation work was completed but the economic crisis hit before the plots could be occupied. They ended up in the hands of the banks, specifically, Unicaja, which has now managed to offload most of them onto entrepreneurs who are keen to develop the area.

According to sources familiar with the operation, local and German investors have teamed up to acquire the plots, which are crying out to be transformed into a new business centre. The plots span a surface area of 50,137 m2 in total and the investors have spent €7 million to date buying up the land.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Jesús Hinojosa)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

The Chinese Overtake the Germans in Hotel Investments in Mallorca

21 March 2019 – El Cierre Digital

Since 2014, when a large Chinese company, Jiangsu GPRO, acquired the historical Valparaíso Palace hotel in Mallorca, interest from Chinese investors and tourists in the Balearic Island has soared.

Until then, some Chinese people had moved to live on the island but they had done so to create small businesses, above all in the Pere Grarau district, to form a small community of almost 4,500.

Since GPRO’s purchase of Valparaíso Palace, Chinese business people have been investing more in the island; the Balearic Government has been promoting different areas as backdrops for Chinese films; and now, plans are afoot for direct flights to begin between China and Palma de Mallorca with a layover in Barcelona or Valencia. The intention is to increase the holiday offering for Chinese tourists in the Balearic Islands.

Chinese companies are also interested in investing in the Par Bit technological park just north of Palma. They are committed to improving their image in the region and creating jobs.

Turespaña forecasts that by 2025, China will be the country with most tourists travelling the world, with around 220 million per year.

Original story: El Cierre Digital (by David González)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Funds, Socimis, El Corte Inglés & Seur Compete in the Urban Logistics Segment

9 March 2019 – Expansión

Investors and logistics operators alike are setting their sights on urban hubs to benefit from the boom in e-commerce. According to data from CBRE, investment in the logistics sector is thriving – it amounted to €2 billion in 2017, €1.5 billion in 2018 and is forecast to reach €1.2 billion in 2019. Active players in the sector include the Singapore sovereign fund through its Socimi P3, Blackstone, Prologis, Logicor, CBRE GI and Montepino, and Merlin, amongst others.

Urban hubs are gaining significant weight in the sector thanks to their ability to reduce transport costs, avoid the new traffic restrictions and resolve the problem of product returns.

According to the CNMC, Correos and Correos Express currently deliver 44% of all packages in Spain, followed by MRW and Seur (14% each) and DHL (4.5%).

In terms of retailers operating in this space, Amazon set the ball rolling by opening a logistics centre in the heart of the Eixample district of Barcelona and in the Méndez Álvaro area of Madrid. Other large retailers are following suit by opening distribution centres inside major cities, such as Decathlon, MediaMarkt, Ikea, Aki, Carrefour and Worten.

The investment firm Azora has also announced its intention to invest €250 million in logistics hubs in urban centres, which it will lease to delivery specialists such as Seur, DHL and MRW. Seur already has eleven urban logistics centres and plans to open another nine this year. Meanwhile, DHL already has ten such hubs and plans to open two more this year.

In the same vein, the department store giant El Corte Inglés has also launched an ambitious omnichannel logistics strategy, which will convert its 94 shopping centres into storage points for the management of online purchases.

Original story: Expansión (by I. de las Heras & R. Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Investors & Tenants Alike Demand Sustainable Buildings

21 February 2019 – Expansión

Sustainability has become an essential requirement in the search for offices. Beyond the social demand for spaces that are more respectful of the environment, sustainable buildings actually allow their owners to obtain higher rents, increase the valuation of their assets and make them more liquid.

“With the emergence of technology, changes in working habits and organisational efficiency, sustainability and well-being have become essential aspects for tenants and important factors for investment decisions”, explains Tomás Higuero, CEO of Aire Limpio, a group specialising in offering products and services for internal environmental quality, which works for hospitals and offices, above all.

Higuero says that the internal air quality of buildings is a fundamental factor that contributes to the health and well-being of workers. In this sense, the main REITS (a corporate structure similar to the Socimis in Spain) in US offices prioritise that their assets are certified or are in the process of being certified, and that they are healthy and efficient buildings from an energy perspective. This trend is also present in Spain and is being adopted by many of the large Socimis and real estate groups, such as Colonial, Merlin and GMP (…).

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Brownfields Enters Spain with AC Realty to Buy & Rehabilitate Contaminated Plots

19 February 2019 – El Economista

The infrastructure fund Brownfields is arriving in Spain with a new business for the country, which involves the purchase of contaminated land with the objective of rehabilitating the plots and giving them a new lease of life.

For its first operations, the international group is teaming up with the local firm AC Realty and Management, with which it is already working on three projects in Madrid. They will involve an investment of around €120 million, according to explanations provided by José María Carpio, CEO and founder of AC Realty and Management, together with Francisco Alba, speaking to El Economista.

The two directors launched the real estate service boutique a year and a half ago, and now they are backing this market with the creation of a new division specialising in contaminated assets, which is going to be led by Pedro Flores.

“Two of the operations that we are working on with Brownfields are going to be logistics projects, whilst the third will likely be a mixed office-residential development”, explains Carpio, who says that they are working with a minimum land transaction price of €5 million, “given that smaller figures do not justify all of the investment that is necessary for these types of projects. We have to manage a very intensive process involving decontamination, administrative and change of use processes (…).

The projects being launched by Brownfields and AC Realty provide a solution to one of the main problems that investors complain about: the lack of available land for construction. In Madrid alone, more than 130 contaminated plots have been detected, which could be given a new use, according to the inventory compiled by the Community of Madrid (…).

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Reuben Brothers Complete the Purchase of Santander’s HQ for €283M

14 January 2019 – El Periódico

Commercial Court number 9 in Madrid has decided that the best offer for the acquisition of Santander’s Ciudad Financiera, is the one presented by the brothers Simon and David Reuben through their investment arm in Spain, Sorlinda Investment, which bid a fixed amount of €283.73 million.

The administration responsible for the liquidation procedure of the company Marme Inversiones 2007, which is the owner of the Cantabrian bank’s headquarters, asked the Commercial Court to declare the offer presented by Sorlinda Investment as the winner after concluding that its bid was the best. In 2014, Marme Inversiones filed for creditors’ bankruptcy in light of its inability to repay the €1.575 billion loan that it had used to purchase the property from Banco Santander itself.

A few months ago, Banco Santander filed a series of allegations when it was announced that Sorlinda had won the bid. It questioned the entity in terms of the forecasts made in the liquidation plan, and because it considered that the offer submitted by the Reuben brothers did not fulfil the established requirements. The allegations were made by the banking group as creditor and offeror.

Nevertheless, the Commercial Court of Madrid explained that the execution of the liquidation plan, which regulates the procedures to be followed for the realisation of the assets, corresponds to the insolvency administration.

“The report presented explains the procedure followed for the selection of the bids submitted and the actions carried out by the insolvency administration, specifying that there are no justifications whatsoever to question it”, said the ruling, which states that the purpose of the plan is to obtain the greatest value from the asset for the benefit of all of the creditors.

In this way, despite the allegations presented by Ana Botín’s bank, the insolvency administration considers that, from an economic point of view, the offer presented by Sorlinda is the best for covering the loans of all of the creditors in the group.

The Reuben brothers, owners of other large assets

Reuben Brothers is a private investment group specialising in real estate development and debt financing. The company, created by two British brothers of Indian origin, is considered as one of the most exclusive in the world with several privileged properties in its portfolio, such as The Curtain and Members Club in Shoreditch, one of the most well-known luxury hotels in London, and Lingfield Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club.

It is also the owner of the London Oxford airport in Kidlington, the Wellington Pub Company chain of clubs and the Italian marina Portosole Sanremo, amongst others.

Ana Botín’s entity agreed the sale of its head offices in Boadilla del Monte to Marme Inversiones 2007 on 12 September 2008 for €1.904 billion.

Nevertheless, Marme Inversiones 2007 filed for creditors’ bankruptcy in 2014, before the Court then initiated the coordinated liquidation plan in October 2015 (…).

Original story: El Periódico

Translation: Carmel Drake

BNP Paribas: RE Investment Rose by 8% in 2018 to €11.6bn

9 January 2019 – El Periódico

The volume of annual investment in the Spanish real estate sector amounted to €11.63 billion in 2018, which represented an increase of 8% compared to 2017. If we add the corporate operations with underlying real estate to that volume, then the figure increases to €19 billion, which represents an investment record since the end of the crisis, according to the latest report from BNP Paribas Real Estate in Spain. The report highlights that interest from investors in the Spanish real estate sector in 2018 was at its highest level for a decade.

During the fourth quarter of the year, the volume of direct investment in real estate assets – offices, logistics warehouses, hotels, retail and residential – amounted to €3.7 billion in total, which represented an increase of 58% YoY. The evolution of investor activity, therefore, exceeded the expectations of the sector at the beginning of the year.

“The good times that the fundamentals of the market are enjoying, with occupancy levels at maximums and rents that are stable or expanding in the most consolidated markets, together with the surplus capital and the limited alternatives offered by other financial products, have fostered a frenetic pace of activity in the investment market”, explains the report.

By type of asset, the commercial sector (retail) was the star of the year. The volume invested in commercial assets during 2018 amounted to €4.28 billion, which represents an increase of 23% compared to 2017. During the fourth quarter, investment reached €1.26 billion, and so the sector achieved a quarterly market share of 35%. The largest operation during the final quarter of the year was the purchase of a portfolio of three shopping centres – Max Center, Gran Casa and Valle Real – by Sonae Sierra and Perter Varbacka for €485 million.

Commercial yields

Demand from investors for high street retail assets was high, given that they consider them to be a very stable product. Similarly, there was a high interest in land for the development of retail parks, in light of the scarce supply of this type of asset. The yields continued at 3.00% for prime premises; between 5.00% and 5.25% for prime shopping centres; and at 5.75% for prime retail parks.

In terms of the office market, the investment volume recorded during the fourth quarter was €986 million taking the total figure for the year to €2.228 billion. That represented a slight YoY decrease of 4%. The shortage of products for sale meant that fewer operations materialised in 2018 than in 2017. The prime yield in the office market remained at 3.25% in Madrid and 3.50% in Barcelona.

The logistics market continues to rise. The increase in e-commerce and the strong performance of the consumer sector and the economy, in general, have encouraged investment in this type of asset. The investment volume registered during the fourth quarter of the year amounted to €400 million, whilst the total figure for the year (€1.3 billion) represented a new investment record, and an increase of 30% compared to 2017. The shortage of products, combined with the high investment pressure resulted in a considerable adjustment in yields, which amounted to 5.30% in the prime logistics market in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Investors

Investment funds were the great stars of the market, representing 61% of the total volume transacted in 2018. Socimis have been very present in the investment market, both on the buy and sell sides in the main land transactions to develop new products. Finally, the presence of family offices (private investors) stood out, with acquisitions, in general, for volumes of less than €50 million.

Alternative investments remained in the spotlight of investors, who were mainly attracted by student residences, clinics and nursing homes for the elderly. The cumulative volume invested in those types of assets amounted to €600 million in 2018.

Original story: El Periódico (by Max Jiménez Botías)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Invites 20 Investors to Participate in the Sale of its Socimi Témpore

20 December 2018 – El Economista

A formal process is being launched after initial interest was received from three buyers, including one that stood out from the US fund TPG.

On Tuesday, Sareb opened a formal process to sell Témpore, its rental home Socimi, according to confirmation provided by sources in the sector speaking to El Economista. The bad bank, which has not engaged an external advisor for this divestment process, has invited 20 investors to participate.

In November, Nicolás Díaz Saldaña, CEO of the residential company, acknowledged that a Data Room had been enabled containing information about the Socimi and that access had been granted to it for five investors interested in the acquisition of Témpore.

In the end, three offers were received, of which the ones from Ares and TPG stood out, the latter being the highest. In light of the expressions of interest, Sareb decided to raise the matter to its Board of Directors, which yesterday launched an orderly sales process in which investors may participate by invitation only.

According to the same sources, Sareb has not imposed any conditions regarding what percentage of its stake is for sale (it held 98.38% at the end of June), and so it will be open to all offers.

The Socimi has just carried out what will be its last non-monetary capital increase subscribed by Sareb amounting to €150 million to acquire 1,769 assets in total, of which 850 are rental homes. The operation, which forms part of the right of first refusal agreement (ROFO), which Sareb and the Socimi signed, allows Témpore to double in size to reach €325 million.

Growth plan

Before announcing the sales process, Témpore had a growth plan underway with the aim of achieving a portfolio worth €500 million and in this way having sufficient volume to make its debut on the main stock market. That was explained at the time by Díaz Saldaña, who noted that in order to continue growing, “we will have to look for financing, be it from the bank or an alternative, such as a bond issue”.

Amongst the different options, the Socimi is analysing the purchase of whole buildings of rental homes and is also studying the acquisition of developments under construction that are currently in the hands of Sareb. In addition, it is considering buying turnkey projects through delegated promotion. “In the case of the latter, the first projects would be with Sareb, given that at the moment, for the other property developers that we have spoken to, it is more profitable for them to sell in the retail market”, said the CEO.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Sareb announced the sale of some land in the Torre Salses area, in Lleida, for the construction of a large shopping centre, spanning more than 60,000 m2. Eurofund Capital Partners has paid €8.3 million for that plot, whose sale was agreed in 2016.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake