Tag: land

Árqura Homes: Sareb Launches a Property Developer to Build 17,000 Homes

11 June 2019 – Europa Press

Sareb has constituted its own property developer, Árqura Homes, through which it plans to build and sell 17,000 new homes over the next decade with an investment of €2.2 billion. The new entity looks set to rival the country’s main listed property developers on the basis of its land portfolio and investment plans.

Árqura has been constituted following the transfer of land and developments underway worth €811 million. 56% of its portfolio corresponds to just over 2 million m2 of land, 41% corresponds to developments in progress and the remaining 3% are developments that have been suspended.

The bad bank led by Jaime Echegoyen (pictured above) is going to team up with Värde for this initiative, which will hold 10% of Árqura’s share capital. Moreover, Aelca, a real estate company controlled by the US fund, will be responsible for the management and marketing of the new homes.

This operation represents Sareb’s second foray into the real estate market through the launch of its own firm after it launched the Socimi Témpore at the end of 2017. That firm became the third largest rental home company in the country and is currently on the verge of being sold to the fund TPG.

In the case of Árqura, it hopes to reach its cruising speed in terms of development between 2021 and 2022 and of homes deliveries between 2023 and 2024. Its homes will be distributed across 15 regions, although more than half (58%) will be concentrated in the most sought-after regions of the Community of Madrid, Cataluña and Andalucía.

Original story: Europa Press

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Ministry of Defence Puts Several Plots up for Sale in Madrid for €75M

10 June 2019 – Eje Prime

The Ministry of Defence is putting several plots of land up for sale on Calle Isaac Peral, 32, in Madrid, for €75 million. The deadline for bids is 3 September, and the auction will be held a fortnight later.

The plots are for residential use and the largest one has a buildability of 7,462 m2 with an asking price of €6.6 million. The smallest plot has a buildability of 3,000 m2 and an asking price of €2.6 million.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Stoneweg is the Favourite to Acquire Atlético de Madrid’s 3rd Plot in Operación Calderón

31 May 2019 – El Economista

Earlier this week, it was announced that Azora, one of the largest rental home managers in the country, is set to buy two of the three plots that Atlético de Madrid has up for sale as part of Operación Calderón. Now, it has been revealed that the favourite in the running to acquire the third plot is the real estate firm Stoneweg, founded by Jaume Sabater and Joaquín Castellví.

Stoneweg will reportedly team up with a partner for the operation and will to dedicate the plot to rental homes. These types of projects are gaining weight in the capital in light of the high demand in the market, which has caused prices in some areas to soar. In fact, Azora is also planning to dedicate some of its two plots to rental housing.

Stoneweg is an expert in the rental home market with a portfolio of 10,000 rental units in the USA. In Spain, the firm operates through Stoneweg Living and has 10 developments in Barcelona, 9 in Madrid and 7 in various locations along the coast.

It is understood that Atlético de Madrid wants to complete the sale of all three plots before the end of June, as the club’s year-end is 30 June. The proceeds will represent a significant capital injection, which will allow AM to pay off some of its debt and buy more players over the summer.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Sabadell’s Board Evaluates 3 Offers Amounting to c. €850M For its Property Developer

28 May 2019 – El Confidencial

On Monday, Banco Sabadell received three binding offers for its property developer, Sabadell Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, from the funds Cerberus, Oaktree and a third unknown candidate, amounting to between €800 million and €900 million.

The board of directors of the Catalan entity chaired by Josep Oliu now needs to decide whether to accept one of them and thereby pave the way for the creation of a new major player in the Spanish property developer sector to compete alongside the likes of Neinor, Metrovacesa, Vía Célere and Aedas.

Oaktree has been the favourite in the bidding for the last few months given its good relationship with Sabadell and with the property developer itself, with which it already operates at least one joint venture. It would represent the US investor’s first operation of its kind in Spain, where it currently has a small platform with just 20 employees.

Nevertheless, Cerberus has been gaining ground. Unlike Oaktree, the US giant already has a property development platform in Spain, Inmoglacier, to which it wants to supply new land (which SDin owns). Cerberus could also benefit from synergies between the two firms.

Meanwhile, the identity of the third candidate remains confidential, but possible contenders include Habitat (Bain Capital), Aedas and the Canadian fund CPPIB, which were all reported to be evaluating the purchase during the preliminary phase.

Initially, Sabadell was hoping to receive more than €1 billion for its property developer, but following uncertainty in the sector in recent months and the sale of several assets, it will have to accept a more modest price if a sale is to be agreed.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Jorge Zuloaga)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Navarra’s Regional Gov’t Invests €15M in the Purchase of Industrial Land

23 May 2019 – El Español

The Regional Government of Navarra is going to invest €15.2 million in various industrial estates across the autonomous region, through the public company Nasuvinsa, with the aim of “supporting several companies that need to develop land to expand their production capacity”.

The action plan will involve the development and marketing of 309,123 m2 of industrial land in seven areas, specifically, in the Pamplona region as well as in the towns of Arakil, Arguedas, Cascante (or Monteagudo), Lodosa and Lumbier. It will also see the construction of an industrial warehouse in the Sakana area for its subsequent rental.

Industrial reactivation

The Navarran Government is going to develop the land and infrastructure necessary for all seven projects through Nasuvinsa, with a cash injection that will not only encourage the economic reactivation of the areas and the creation of employment, but which will also represent a return to making public investments economically viable.

Original story: El Español 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Apollo Submits an Offer for El Corte Inglés’s Entire Real Estate Portfolio

23 May 2019 – Eje Prime

According to financial sources, in April, the fund Apollo Global Management submitted a bid for the whole real estate portfolio that El Corte Inglés has had on the market since the beginning of the year. However, the offer did not convince the management team of the department stores.

Since then, the ECI group has opened up the possibility of allowing interested parties to bid for part of the portfolio so as to maximise the value of the properties. However, the risk with that option is that some properties will end up being left unsold.

With the deadline for bids closing today, nothing is being ruled out. In fact, Apollo could still win if it was willing to increase its offer.

The portfolio contains 95 assets and includes shopping centres, offices and other types of assets such as parking lots, land and homes.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

AENA Activates its RE Plan in Palma, Málaga, Valencia & Sevilla

23 May 2019 -. ABC 

AENA is going to become the largest property developer in Spain over the next few years, having launched four real estate mega-projects at its airports in Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Valencia and Sevilla, in addition to those already underway in Madrid and Barcelona. The airport manager is now looking to engage a consultant to help it decide the uses that will be assigned to the land that it owns in the vicinity of the four airports.

According to sources, AENA and the private partner will identify which plots are “potentially marketable” and will plan their development together. This process will take around a year, with AENA planning to dedicate the first six months to the development of the airports in Palma de Mallorca and Málaga-Costa del Sol, and the second six months to the airports in Sevilla-San Pablo and Valencia.

Madrid and Barcelona

These projects will join those already announced by the company led by Maurici Lucena for the vicinity of Barajas and El Prat airports in Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. There, AENA is planning to build offices, hotels and logistics hubs. In the Spanish Capital, the company is planning to develop up to 2.2 million m2 of land, whilst in the Catalan capital, that figure amounts to 1.1 million m2.

Original story: ABC (by Guillermo Ginés)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Ibosa Bids for the DGT’s Former HQ in Madrid to Build Luxury Flats

22 May 2019 – Idealista

The cooperative manager Ibosa is one of the parties interested in acquiring the former headquarters of the Traffic Department (DGT) in Madrid, located at number 125 Calle Arturo Soria, where 43 luxury flats are going to be built.

The Socimi Jaba I Inversiones Inmobiliarias put the building up for sale recently after acquiring it in 2014 for €19.2 million. The property is currently vacant having been previously leased to the DGT and Vodafone.

The office building has a gross leasable area of 5,526 m2 and comprises a ground floor plus 4 upper floors. It has 148 underground parking spaces and is located in one of the most sought-after neighbourhoods of Madrid. The asking price reportedly amounts to less than €25 million and the sale is expected to close next month.

If it is successful, Ibosa plans to build 43 high-end homes with 2-, 3- or 4-bedrooms. Each property will have a garage and storeroom and the sales prices will start at €554,000, with an average price per m2 of €5,900. The urbanisation, known as Residencial Capella, will have common areas such as a swimming pool and gym.

Original story: Idealista (by P. Martínez-Almeida)

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

Aedas Reaches an Agreement with Castlelake to Buy Non-Finalist Plots

20 May 2019 – El Confidencial

Aedas Homes has reached an agreement with its main shareholder, the US fund Castlelake, to ensure its supply of long-term land, without having to make any major investments in the short-term.

Specifically, the property developer and the fund will create ad hoc companies for each non-finalist plot in which they decide to invest, whereby Aedas will take a 10% stake and will reserve the right to buy up to 25% of the homes built on each one of the sites.

Aedas’s team will be responsible for managing the vehicles, processing the urban planning formalities and obtaining the finalist land status. The company has already identified six plots in Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla, on which more than 9,200 homes could be built.

It will take between 4 and 5 years to transform those plots into finalist sites and the idea is that Aedas will build at least 2,500 of the homes permitted, with the remainder being sold for development to other property developers.

This strategy will ensure that Aedas has a supply of finalist land over the medium and long-term at affordable prices.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake