Real Estate Investment Plummeted by 86% in Q2

Investment in offices, logistics assets, retail properties and hotels plummeted by 86% to 200 million euros in the second quarter of the year.

During the second quarter of the year, operations worth just €200 million were closed in the Spanish real estate sector. That figure represents a decrease in investment of 86% compared to the same period in 2019, according to a study by JLL.

The decline leaves the sector’s performance for the first half of the year in negative territory, given that, with one week to go, the semester is set to end with a reduction in investment of 15% and a total investment volume of 2.5 billion euros, according to El Confidencial. Those figures could have been worse since they do include the sales of Intu Asturias and Puerto Venecia, which were initiated in 2019 but completed at the start of this year, with a combined volume of €800 million.

Real the full article in Spanish.

Record Corporate Property Sales were Registered in Spain Before Covid

2019 was a record year in terms of corporate property sales in Europe, with a 33% increase to reach €23.1 billion. Spain established itself as the fourth most active country on the continent.

Real estate sales in Europe registered a record figure last year, reaching 23.1 billion euros, according to data from the consultancy JLL.

This volume was 33% higher than in 2018, a growing trend that the experts at the consulting firm expect will continue in 2020, due to the need that some companies will have for liquidity following the Covid-19 crisis.

In the case of Spain, companies completed 37 sales operations involving real estate assets worth €1.5 billion during 2019. Those figures represented an increase of 10% in terms of transacted volume and 48% in terms of the number of transactions, since, although the number of corporate sales increased, they were smaller deals than in 2018. This figure consolidates Spain’s position as the fourth largest market in Europe, after the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

JLL to Reduce its Carbon Emissions by More than Two Thirds

The consultancy is committed to reducing its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 68% by 2034, starting in 2018 (the base year).

The consultancy is committed to reducing its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 68% by 2034, starting in 2018 (base year). The goal covers emissions from more than 400 offices and JLL’s engineering and facility management fleet, including the firm’s cars.

JLL is also committed to reducing its Scope 3 emissions from the properties it manages on behalf of its clients by 53% during the same period.

Spain’s Retail Sector Saw a 60% Drop in Investments in 2019

4 January 2020 The retail sector has recorded a 60% drop in investments year-on-year, according to a report by JLL. The fall in the total investments, to approximately 1.6 billion euros, was due to a reduction in major deals with shopping centres. The sector accounted for 27% of the investments in 2019.

High-street establishments represented 61% of the total, including over 900 million euros. Meanwhile, medium-sized retail parks brought in around 11% of the investment with about 200 million euros.

El segmento retail ha registrado una caída del 60% en las inversiones frente al 2018, según un informe de JLL. La caída en las inversiones totales, a aproximadamente 1.600 millones de euros, se debió a una reducción en las ventas de grandes centros comerciales. El segmento representó el 27% de las inversiones en 2019.

Los establecimientos ‘high-street’ representaran el 61% del total, o más de 900 millones de euros. Mientras tanto, los parques retail medianos generaron 11% de la inversión con alrededor de 200 millones de euros.

Original Story: Financial Food / El Economista

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Aedas Hires JLL to Sell Portfolio of Rental Homes

17 December 2019 – Aedas Homes announced that it would sell a 1,300-home turnkey project for rental homes. The developer is currently looking for one or more investors to carry out the operation, the largest so far in Spain.

The firm has chosen up to 10 developments throughout Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Alicante and Granada. According to estimates, the transaction would bring in 325 million euros to Aedas’s coffers. JLL is advising on the potential sale.

Should Aedas finalise the sale, it would be the firm’s second disposal of build-to-rent assets. Earlier this year, Aedas sold a portfolio of 500 homes to Ares Management.

Original Story: Idealista

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

The Sometimes Overrated Boom of Spain’s Socimis

20 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

BME and JLL recently presented a study of the state of Spain’s 73 socimis. From 2016 to 2018, a total of 54 socimis, 70% of the current total, debuted on the market. Last year, those same socimis paid an average dividend yield of 3.8%. The firms distributed €879 million in dividends in 2018, up from €581 million in 2017, +51.4% year-on-year.

While the total stock market capitalisation of the socimis increased by 19.6% last year, compared to the IBEX 35’s fall of 15%, the Spanish market is still relatively small compared to the rest of Europe.  Only four of the socimis listed on the continuous market. The Spanish market ranks fourth out of eleven, behind the United Kingdom, France and Holland. Moreover, while Spain accounts for 31.5% of the total number of socimis in the EU, their assets represent just 12% (26.740 billion dollars at the end of March). The average socimi in Spain is valued at 371 million dollars; compared to €1.371 billion in the United Kingdom; €1.99 billion in France and a whopping €5.35 billion in the Netherlands.

Foreigners also accounted for the lion’s share of investment in Spanish socimis. According to the study, 75% of the investment in the office sector came from outside of the country, 85% of that in logistics and 80% of the investment in retail.

Original Story: ABC Inmobiliário

72 Socimis Have Made €50 Billion in Investments Since 2012

5 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

A new study by the Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) and JLL, called ‘Socimis. Stability and investment in the real estate sector. Market Report 2019,’ emphasised the growing importance of socimis in the Spanish economy and capital markets. Socimis have provided an alternate source of financing for the real estate market, coming at an opportune time after the financial crisis at the beginning of this decade.

Since the regulatory framework governing the investment vehicles, similar to REITs in the United States, was established in 2012, investors have created 72 socimis. Those firms have a total current real estate investment volume of 50 billion euros and a capitalization of more than 22.3 billion euros. Those same socimis have generated more than €2.1 billion in rents (+ 25% y-o-y) and net profits of 2.37 billion euros, with a dividend yield of 3.8% last year.

Original Story: Valenciaplaza

 

MVGM Acquires JLL’s European Operations

3 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

The Dutch real estate management group MVGM is acquiring the European property management operations of the American real estate services firm JLL. The deal will make the combined company one of the five largest European companies in the sector, with a presence in 10 countries.

After the deal, MVGM will have a presence in eight additional markets (Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia), while increasing its footprint in the Netherlands and Germany.

Original Story: Expansion

 

JLL: Foreign Investment in Catalan Real Estate Rose by 137% in 2018

15 June 2019 – La Vanguardia

According to data published by the real estate consultancy JLL, overseas investment in the Catalan real estate sector rose by 137% during 2018, despite the fact that total investment fell from €1.13 billion in 2017 to €995 million in 2018.

In fact, domestic investment plummeted by 85% to €363 million from €859 million, but almost all of that decrease was offset by the arrival of funds from overseas. Of those, investment funds deposited 57% YoY more in 2018 (€574 million) and Socimis invested 47% YoY more (€326 million).

Having overcome the political uncertainty seen in 2017, international investors showed their commitment to Cataluña in general and Barcelona in particular, not least because the city has been declared as one of the world’s influencer cities by JLL.

In the business context, the city is particularly attractive for investment in the office, logistics and commercial sectors, ranking in first place in all 3 markets when compared with its European counterparts.

Specifically, the Catalan capital’s offices generate yields of 3.75%, whereby outperforming Milan (3.6%), London, Madrid and Stockholm (all 3.5%). Its logistics assets generate returns of 5.10%, compared with 5% in Madrid, and its shops in central locations generated yields of 3.25% in Q1 2019, compared with Madrid (3.15%) and Paris (2.75%).

All of this is welcome news for the region that has been hit hard by the political uncertainty of recent years.

Original story: La Vanguardia (by Pilar Blázquez)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Socimi Lar Sells its Last Office Building in Madrid to Swiss Life for €40M

24 April 2019 – Idealista

Lar España has sold the last office building left in its portfolio as it continues its strategy to specialise in the retail sector.

The Socimi has sold the property located at number 27 Calle Eloy Gonzalo, in the centre of Madrid, to the manager of the Swiss insurance company Swiss Life for €40 million. The building spans a surface area of 6,300 m2, distributed over 9 floors with various retail premises on the ground floor. The upper floors are leased in their entirety to the US coworking specialist WeWork.

Lar España acquired the property, which was constructed in the 1960s, for €12.7 million at the end of 2014.

Following this sale, the Socimi can now focus on the 14 assets in its retail portfolio (shopping centres and retail parks), which will become 15 after the summer, once the Lagoh shopping centre has been opened in Sevilla.

This represents the Swiss manager’s second purchase in Spain, following its acquisition of 13 retail premises from Corpfin Capital Prime Retail Assets in July 2018 for more than €83 million.

Various high-profile consultancy firms participated in the operation, with Cushman & Wakefield advising on the buy side and JLL and Knight Frank on the sell side.

Original story: Idealista (by Ana P. Alarcos)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake