In Tempo’s New Owner will Put its Apartments on the Market this Summer

17 April 2018 – Levante EMV

The new owner of the In Tempo building in Benidorm, the firm SVP Global, is planning to finish the building work over the next 12 months and start marketing the 269 homes this summer. SVP Global is preparing the final plans and marketing approach together with the Valencian investment manager Net de Gerrers. The sales prices of the homes have not been set yet, but they are expected to be in line with the average for the market in Benidorm, which stands at around €2,500/m2.

The Company for the Management of Assets Proceeding from the Restructuring of the Banking System (Sareb) sold the debt associated with the In Tempo building to SVP Global last autumn for more than €60 million. The bad bank took over the loan amounting to €108 million corresponding to the tallest building in the Community of Valencia five years ago. The buyer, which is headquartered in the USA, was advised by Evercore, Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados and Net de Gerrers.

Sources close to the operation indicated that the project was almost finished (93% execution rate) and pointed out that Net de Gerrers is acting as the manager of the investment fund SVP in the operation. The building is in a “perfect condition” despite the fact that four years have passed since the construction work was suspended. The owners have decided to introduce improvements to the original plans to make the homes more attractive.

The owners are going to market the property “using the building’s own brand. It is a common formula that is used for iconic buildings in New York”, said the same sources.

The In Tempo building project, which is the tallest residential property in Spain, was blocked when the Alicante-based property developer Olga Urbana filed for creditor bankruptcy. The suspension of payments left 137 creditors trapped and a bankruptcy liability amounting to €141 million.

Original story: Levante EMV (by R. Ferrando)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Marina d’Or’s RE Company Reaches Agreement with Creditors to Emerge from Bankruptcy

12 April 2018 – El Economista

Marina D’Or has managed to convince the creditors of its real estate company, Comercializadora Mediterránea de Viviendas (Comervi), to give their approval to an agreement that will allow it to emerge from bankruptcy, which began in 2014 with a liability of around €600 million. In the case of the ordinary loans, two options are being offered: a discount of 65% and the payment of the balance in 10 years time; or the capitalisation of the debt into shares in the company.

The group led by Jesús Ger has already reached an agreement with Sareb and is going to negotiate another specific deal with the Tax Authorities.

The agreement must be ratified by the judge, a process that is expected to take between two and three months. On 6 May 2014, the Judge of Mercantile Court number 1 in Castellón accepted Comervi’s voluntary creditor bankruptcy, following the suspension of sales and of the construction plans for new apartments.

Thanks to this new agreement with its creditors, the firm “faces a future with positive prospects”, highlight sources at the entity.

Original story: El Economista (by Olivia Fontanillo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cerberus Prepares for Haya’s Stock Market Debut After the Summer

9 February 2018 – Cinco Días

Metrovacesa achieved it on Tuesday, despite problems to cover supply and the nefarious stock market session that it suffered. The large Spanish property developer, which abandoned the equity market in May 2013, made its return last week. It hasn’t exactly eased the way for the upcoming debuts of Vía Célere, owned by the fund Värde, or the Socimi Testa. But it hasn’t made a total hash of it either.

In this way, the US fund Cerberus is in the process of contracting the banks that will handle the debut its Spanish real estate servicer subsidiary on the stock market. The aim is for that firm to be listed from September. The entities that are on the list of candidates have already done their calculations and are citing a valuation for the company, albeit preliminary, of around €1.2 billion. The aim is to place between 35% and 50% of Haya Real Estate’s capital at this stage. A spokesman for the company declined to comment on this information.

The company, which was created in October 2013, manages property developer loans and foreclosed real estate assets from Bankia, Sareb, Cajamar, Liberbank, BBVA and other financial institutions, worth €39.88 billion at the end of September 2017.

The process of going public is the logical next step, after Haya placed €475 million in high yield bonds in November, with ratings of B3 (Moody’s) and B- (S&P). In other words, in the junk bond range, six levels below investment grade.

The underwriters of that debt, which matures in 2022, were Santander, Bankia, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. And they sold it with considerable success. Despite its credit rating, the firm pays an annual return of just over 5% for that liability.

Haya, led by Carlos Abad Rico (formerly of Canal + and Sogecable) offers services across the whole real estate value chain, but it is not a property developer. Rather, it manages, administers, securitises (…) and sells real estate assets such as homes and offices, but it does not own any of the properties.

Bankia Habitat was the seedling of Haya, and it has grown in line with the need by the financial sector to get rid of assets linked to property. One of Haya’s key businesses is the management of loans linked to the real estate sector. It advises on loans and guarantees, recovers debt and converts loans into foreclosed real estate assets.

The other major part of its revenues stems from the recovery and management of properties through their sale or rental. Haya employs 680 professionals and has a sales network of 2,400 brokers. The value of its property developer debt portfolio amounts to €28.7 billion and its real estate asset portfolio amounts to €11.2 billion. Moreover, Haya is going to bid to manage the assets sold by BBVA to Cerberus in November. Haya’s current shareholder acquired 80% of the BBVA’s portfolio of real estate assets, amounting to around €13 billion, for €4 billion (…)

Consolidation

The Spanish banks’ other real estate management companies are waiting for Cerberus to make the first move, according to financial sources. Haya will open the door to the stock market for them if everything goes well or it will serve to consolidate the sector, both here and in Europe.

There are three high profile players on the list. Servihabitat, which manages assets amounting to around €50 billion and which belongs to the fund Texas Pacific Group (TPG), which has held a 51% stake since September 2013, when CaixaBank sold it that percentage; the bank still holds onto the remaining 49%. Altamira, owned by Santander (15%) and the fund Apollo (85%), which also handles assets worth around €50 million in Spain. The volume managed by Solvia, owned by Sabadell, amounts to around €31 billion.

Moody’s warns that the business of Haya Real Estate, the largest company in the sector in Spain, depends on the economic performance of the company and the renewal of its current management contracts. Specifically, one of the most important, with Sareb (…), signed in 2013, is due to expire in December next year.

In terms of its strengths, the ratings agency indicates Haya’s extensive knowledge of the market and its high margins. The firm’s gross operating profit (EBITDA) during the first nine months of last year amounted to €89.8 million, with net income (the amount really invoiced by the company) of €165.8 million.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Pablo Martín Simón and Laura Salces)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Realia Finalises €678M Refinancing Agreement

24 April 2017 – Expansión

Realia, the real estate company owned by Carlos Slim is finalising the refinancing of a debt agreement, amounting to €678 million, linked to its real estate business, which matures on 27 April 2017. This liability represents 75% of the company’s total debt and is linked to its real estate portfolio.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Urbas Refinances Its €40M Debt With Sareb

9 March 2017 – El Mundo

Urbas Grupo Financiero has refinanced the €40.13 million debt that it holds with Sareb, to allow it to repay the bad bank over an eight-year period and achieve a discount of up to 32% on the original liability, provided it fulfils certain obligations, according to  a statement issued by the company.

The operation forms part of the company’s strategy to cut costs and reduce debt to boost its business plan, which forecasts that the entity will resume its house building activity this year.

By virtue of the contract reached with Sareb, Urbas and its subsidiaries have agreed to novate the liability and they have set an eight-year schedule to pay back the bad bank.

Urbas and its companies will be entitled to receive discounts and the accrued interest on each annual payment will be cancelled provided that they fulfil a series of obligations. In this way, the total debt could be reduced to €27.16 million, i.e. 32% lower than the original amount.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin Plans To Issue Bonds Amounting To €1,000M

10 November 2015 – Expansión

The Socimi wants to debut on the debt market, by registering a bond program that will range between €800 million and €1,000 million and will be placed in 2 to 4 issuances.

This formula will help the company to pay off the €1,600 million debt it took out to acquire Testa and which it expects to refinance in 2016.

In an interview, Merlin’s President, Ismael Clemente (pictured above), explained that the company – which debuted on the stock exchange in June last year – is already working towards the refinancing of Testa’s debt and that it expects to see results during the course of the next year.

Merlin reached an agreement with JP Morgan and Santander (which account for 90% of this liability) to extend the maturity period by 2 years.

The refinancing will take place in two tranches – one syndicated loan and another similar to a bridge loan, payable with future bond issues, the next step in the company’s strategy.

In this sense, Clemente explains that the company intends to register a bond program for an amount ranging between €800 million and €1,000 million to be placed in 2 to 4 issuances.

To this end, the company is in talks with the three large ratings agencies in order to obtain investment grade ratings, which it hopes to receive during the first half of 2016.

The Socimi, which in its day starred in the largest IPO since Bankia, also hopes to become part of the Ibex 35, given that following its purchase of Testa from Sacyr, it will be ranked between 25th and 27th in the list, with a market capitalisation of almost €3,600 million.

Once it has completed the purchase of Testa – an operation that was announced in June for €1,793 million – Merlin will operate under its own brand and will no longer maintain the Testa brand. It will also increase the size of its Board of Directors (to between 12 and 15 members) by incorporating Testa’s independent directors, and will do the same with its staff and management team, which it will transfer to its headquarters on the Paseo de la Castellana. (…).

The company has revealed that its results for the first nine months and for the year as a whole are in line with its forecasts and it has indicated that at the strategic level in 2016, Merlin plans to merge the Socimi’s and Testa’s teams, as well as to integrate the systems. (…).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake