Tag: JD Sports

Finestrelles Shopping Centre Opens with a 98% Occupancy Rate

27 November 2018 – Eje Prime

The Finestrelles shopping centre has fired the starting gun. The complex, located in the Catalan town of Esplugues de Llobregat, on the outskirts of Barcelona, has opened its doors today after two years under construction.

Finestrelles, which has a commercial surface area of 40,000 m2, spread over five floors, has opened with an occupancy rate of 98%. The complex contains 110 stores, with tenants of the calibre of JD Sports, Mango, H&M, Zara and other Inditex chains.

For the construction of the shopping centre, which is owned by the Belgian real estate firm Equilis, an investment of €120 million has been made and 1,500 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be generated. Moreover, the complex is expected to attract 8 million visitors during its first year given that it is located along one of the main entrances into Barcelona.

Initially, Finestrelles was scheduled to open at the beginning of October, but according to the construction firm, due to the poor meteorological conditions, a decision was taken to delay the opening until the end of November.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sprinter Invests 35 Million Euros in Its New Headquarters and Logistics Center In Alicante

26 March 2018

In 2017, the sporting goods chain of stores, owned by JD Sports, paid 15 million euros for occupied land in the Las Atalayas industrial estate, covering 39,000 square meters, and plans to spend another twenty million on a warehouse.

The group already spent around 15 million euros last year for the 39,000-square-meter plot of land, according to JD Sports’ financial reports for the first half of the year. The land has an additional area for potential future expansion.

In parallel, the company has begun the construction of a logistics warehouse in Las Atalayas, which is expected to cost about twenty million euros. JD Sports anticipates that the bulk of this investment will impact its results for the second half of 2017 (from August 2017 to January 2018).

Sprinter plans to start up eight new stores in Spain throughout 2018, reaching 140 functioning stores in the country. The company also expects to increase its turnover this year, reaching more than 240 million euros in net sales.

Original Story: EjePrime

Translation: Richard Turner

JD Sports to Open Spanish Flagship Store in Thor Equities’ Puerta del Sol Property

27 November 2017 – Eje Prime

JD Sports is going to open its Spanish flagship store between Puerta del Sol and Calle Preciados. The British sports equipment retailer has reached an agreement with the US fund Thor Equities to lease the building at number 11 on the Madrilenian square, which has a surface area of 1,129 m2. Two years ago, Thor acquired the property from El Corte Inglés for €65 million.

The formal agreement is expected to be signed within the next few weeks so that JD Sports can move into the new store as soon as possible, according to El Confidencial. This operation represents an accolade for Puerta del Sol,  the kilometre zero of Spain’s streets, which has aspirations to become the retail hub of the domestic market. In recent times, the square has undergone some radical changes with the arrival of powerful retail franchises; they are investing in an area that is becoming more expensive by the day.

The British group will occupy its new space under a long-term lease contract, after beating off several important rivals in the negotiation phases, including the multinational sports equipment firm Nike.

Until 2015, the building housed the bookshop of El Corte Inglés. Spread over three floors, it is one of the most sought-after buildings in Puerta del Sol due to its location.

With this operation, Thor will see its asset value rise ahead of a future sale, such as the deal it is already negotiating for number 9 in the same square, where it hopes to build a large shopping centre. In recent years, the commercial value of the centre of Madrid has risen, as shown by the arrival of Primark in Gran Vía and the conversion of the former El Corte Inglés toyshop on Calle Preciados into a Pull&Bear store.

Rents for premises in the area have increased since 2015, now amounting to €300/m2/month in the central core, making it one of the most expensive places to lease a store in Madrid.

Moreover, Thor Equities is the owner of number 5 Puerta del Sol, for which it paid almost €50 million in February, as EjePrime revealed. The New York-based fund owns a portfolio of assets worth more than €9,000 million, spanning more than 20 million m2, in the United States (it owns several assets on New York’s Fifth Avenue), as well as in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe, in France and the United Kingdom.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake