British Fund Behind Purchase of Benidorm’s Kronos Building for €20M

21 March 2018 – Alicante Plaza

A British fund is behind the purchase of most of the apartments in the Kronos building in Benidorm. According to local sources, of the more than 150 homes that are owned by Sareb, 136 are going to be taken over by a British fund. The operation is worth more than €20 million and just needs to be signed, something that should happen within the coming days.

As Alicante Plaza published on Tuesday, the so-called “bad bank” has managed to sell the properties that it owned in the city’s skyscraper in just one year. Around 20 homes have been sold to individuals, whilst the remainder will end up in the hands of a British fund.

But that is not the full story. It would seem that, at the end of last year, Sareb sold the storerooms and garages that it also owned in the building, the fifth highest skyscraper in Benidorm, and one of the tallest in Spain.

The tower has 41 storeys and was conceived as a luxury residential property: the structure occupies less than 20% of the plot. The remainder is used for common areas and recreation with two swimming pools, one for adults and one for children, a gym, a football pitch, padel and tennis courts, as well as extensive green areas.

The building was constructed by the Valencian property developer Grupo García Ojeda in 2005, and the keys were handed over three years later. But the crisis hit the sale of the apartments and ten years later almost all of the flats were still on the market

In this way, Sareb is getting rid of one of the skyscrapers that was hit the hardest by the “bursting” of the real estate bubble. It is worth remembering that Sareb rescued nine savings banks, including properties and loans to property developers. The latter was an operation that saw the skyscraper awarded to the “bad bank, whose debt used to belong to one of the companies owned by Grupo García Ojeda. Kronos has more than one link to Valencia, given that it was designed by the architecture firm MAPRC, which is also from that city.

Original story: Alicante Plaza (by Alba Mercader)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Is Awarded The Kronos Building In Benidorm

26 April 2017 – Valencia Plaza

Sareb, also known as the “bad bank”, has taken ownership of one of the tallest skyscrapers in Benidorm (the fifth tallest to be precise), as well as in all of Spain. As such, Sareb currently has 136 homes up for sale of varying types and sizes in the Kronos building: from the 1st floor to the 38th. It is a 41-storey tower, which was conceived as a luxury residential property, where the building does not even occupy 20% of the plot. The remainder comprises common and recreation areas, including two swimming pools, one for adults and one for children, a gym, football pitch, padel and tennis court, as well as extensive green areas.

The building was constructed by the Valencian property developer Grupo García Ojeda, which dodged several bankruptcy proceedings as well as it could during the first few years of the crisis. Sareb rescued nine savings banks, including properties and loans to property developers. The second was the operation through which the “bad bank” was awarded the asset, according to Alicante Plaza, whose debt belonged to one of the companies in the Grupo García Ojeda. (…).

Construction of the property began in 2005 and although the keys were handed over three years later, most of the homes remained unsold a decade later. The asking prices are not the cheapest, according to real estate sources consulted. The apartments have 1, 2 and 3-bedrooms and the smallest properties are going for at least €97,176, according to Grupo Ferrer Albors Real State and Activium. The latter has also put up a sign on the side of the building to advertise the price of the 1-bedroom homes. Even so, the figures are well below those achieved before the crisis, despite the fact that these homes are new and have never actually been lived in.

Sareb’s interest in tall buildings in Benidorm is not unique to Kronos. It is also looking to take over In Tempo, the unfinished skyscraper, which, unless the judges make a ruling to the contrary, will be awarded to the bad bank, presumably, for its subsequent sale.

Original story: Valencia Plaza

Translation: Carmel Drake