Tag: logistics portfolio

Colonial Leaning Towards Blackstone in Sale of Logistics Portfolio

26 June 2019

The US fund Blackstone is reportedly leading the field of potential buyers for Colonial’s portfolio of logistics assets. The portfolio, whose sale would be one of the year’s largest, is said to be worth approximately €400 million. Colonial, a Spanish socimi, expects to finalise the transaction by late August.

Colonial is apparently leaning towards a sale to Blackstone due to its experience in the logistics sector, the financial guarantees the Americans are providing and its capacity to absorb such a large portfolio. Prologis, an American REIT, and Deutsche Bank are also vying for the assets.

Original Story: Merca2.es – Carlos Lospitao

 

Prologis, Blackstone & Deutsche Bank Bid For Colonial’s Logistics Portfolio

20 June 2019 – Cinco Días

Inmobiliaria Colonial has chosen the three finalists who have submitted the highest bids for its logistics portfolio and they are: Prologis, the largest owner of warehouses in Europe; Blackstone, the US fund; and Deutsche Bank, through its manager DWS, according to market sources.

Colonial inherited a sizeable logistics portfolio from Axiare following its takeover of that firm last year, but since the Socimi focuses on offices in prime areas of Madrid, Barcelona and Paris, it put the logistics portfolio up for sale a few weeks ago.

The company has received around a dozen offers, from which it has selected three that exceed €400 million. It is planning to close the operation before the summer.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Blackstone, Lar, Crown…the Appeal of the Port Feeds Valencia’s Logistics Boom

18 November 2018 – El Confidencial

The growth of cargo traffic at the Port of Valencia and its role as a maritime port of entry for the ‘hinterland’ that runs from the central area of the Mediterranean to Madrid and its metropolitan area, are feeding a boom in logistics operations in the area around the capital of the Community of Valencia. Large funds and multinationals such as Blackstone and the US manufacturer of metal containers for the agro-food sector, Crown Holdings, have pounced on the chance to occupy spaces in well-communicated areas, either to develop projects for third parties or to set up shop themselves ahead of forecast growth in operations towards clients located in the area.

The latest operation has been finalised very recently with the acquisition by Grupo Lar of a plot measuring 40,000 m2 for the construction of a warehouse measuring 25,000 m2 in Quart de Poblet, next to the access point to Valencia along the A-3 motorway, which connects the city with Madrid.

That ring road and the industrial estates located either side have been experiencing important movements for several quarters. Business sites such as those in Loriguilla and Riba-Roja are on the verge of saturation and are still welcoming new projects, such as the logistics platform that MRW inaugurated in July on the El Oliveral site. That same month, Blackstone acquired Lar España’s logistics portfolio for €120 million, which included land for development in Cheste (also on the A-3 axis) and a warehouse in the Juan Carlos I Park in Almussafes, where the Ford factory and an important proportion of its auxiliary industries are located. The speculative bet of the US investment bank is seeking to take advantage of the shortage of land dedicated to storage and transport management operations that is starting to be seen in Valencia.

Last year saw record leasing figures, with more than 220,000 m2 of space leased, up by 69% with respect to the previous year, according to a report compiled about the logistics market in the city by CBRE, one of the most active consultancy firms in this real estate segment in Valencia and its metropolitan area. The increase in leasing in Valencia is running in parallel to the market in Madrid, which rose by 100%, and despite a notable decrease in Barcelona, which saw a sharp drop in the volume of surface area leased (…).

CBRE has identified three major areas for logistics operations. The first is the town centre and the first storage arc focused on serving the city and its surroundings. The second arc is very closely related with companies linked to the port activity. That is where the Riba-roja, Loriguilla and Cheste industrial estates are located, on the motorway that connects Valencia with Madrid. Then, there are the new logistics developments that are being built in the north in Parc Sagunt (…).

The potential demand is high, estimated at 1.7 million m2 across the three rings, according to estimates from CBRE. But the lack of available plots in prime areas is endangering the “major opportunities in the business”. The returns on those well-located plots are the highest (6.75%) of any of the main European centres, above those in Madrid and Barcelona (5.85%). “There is a general need for new at risk developments”, said the consultancy firm rather than for “turnkey” projects, which the local property developers have been focusing on until now.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Víctor Romero)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar puts its Office Portfolio up for Sale for €110M

5 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Lar is strengthening its plan to divest its non-commercial assets. The Socimi has placed its office portfolio on the market for €110 million. The package comprises two buildings, one located in Madrid and the other in Barcelona.

The two properties span a combined gross leasable area (GLA) of 23,800 m2. The building in Madrid is located on Calle Eloy Gonzalo and has a surface area of 6,363 m2. The Socimi acquired the asset in December 2014 for €12.7 million, according to Expansión.

The office building in Barcelona has a surface area of 8,610 m2 and is located on Calle Joan Miró. The property cost Lar €19.7 million in total when it purchased it in June 2015.

This operation follows other divestments that Lar has been carrying out since September 2017 when it sold its office building on Calle Arturo Soria in Madrid to Colonial for €32.5 million. Similarly, last July, the Spanish Socimi completed the sale of its logistics portfolio to Blackstone for €120 million.

To date, the divestments carried out by the company amount to €265 million, more than half the figure established in Lar’s business plan to 2021. In parallel, the Socimi plans to continue investing in shopping centres and retail parks. The group’s most recent acquisitions have included the purchases of the Rivas Futura shopping centre in Madrid for €62 million and the Adadía shopping arcade in Toledo for €14 million.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Blackstone Buys Lar’s Logistics Portfolio for €120M

18 July 2018 – Expansión

Blackstone has purchased the Socimi Lar España’s logistics portfolio, comprising five warehouses and a plot of land for development, for €119.7 million. That sum represents an appreciation of 83% with respect to the purchase price of €65.6 million.

Specifically, four of the warehouses acquired are located in Alovera (Guadalajara), one is located on the Juan Carlos I Industrial Park in Almussafes (Valencia), whilst the land to be developed for logistics use is located in Cheste (Valencia).

The five logistics warehouses span a combined surface area of 162,000 m2 and have an occupancy rate of 100% – all of them have stable rental contracts. Meanwhile, the surface area in Cheste spans 182,000 m2.

The warehouses in Alovera were acquired between August 2014 and May 2015 and the property in Almussafes was purchased in May 2015. The advisors to Lar España on the operation have been CBRE, Pérez Llorca and Hill International.

Asset rotation

This operation forms part of the asset rotation process that the company launched last year. Specifically, the Socimi’s first divestment came in September 2017, with the sale of an office building in Arturo Soria, and since then, it has carried out two other sales.

Together, the divestments carried out by Lar España to date amount to €265 million, more than half the €470 million in divestments forecast in the business plan to 2021.

The President of Lar España, José Luis del Valle, said that the company’s plan involves selling those assets that are not strategic to focus on the retail portfolio.

In addition to the asset sales, the company’s business plan involves investing €220 million in shopping centres and retail parks. Within the context of that plan, Lar purchased the Rivas Futura shopping centre for €62 million and the Abadía shopping arcade for €14 million.

In parallel, the Socimi plans to invest €247 million in commercial developments and €49 million to improve its retail assets.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Blackstone Offers €90M+ for Lar España’s Logistics Portfolio

14 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Blackstone is expanding its appetite for Spanish real estate. The US fund, which is in the middle of a takeover bid for Hispania’s hotels, is now attacking the industrial real estate market and is finalising the purchase of Lar’s logistics portfolio. The firm could pay more than €90 million for the six assets owned by the listed Socimi.

Lar’s portfolio, which includes one plot of land, a precious commodity in the sector’s current climate, is worth €92 million, according to the most recent appraisal, performed at the end of 2017. The capital appreciation that the Socimi has managed to generate amounts to 40%, according to Expansión.

The operation, in which Blackstone has emerged as the only finalist and which, therefore, is holding exclusive negotiations with the Spanish group, forms part of Lar España’s new strategic plan to divest its position in the logistics market. It is the intention of both parties to sign the sale and purchase contract before the summer.

Lar’s six assets span a combined gross leasable area (GLA) of 169,800 m2 and, since they came onto the market, have attracted interest from large investment funds and international logistics operators. The list of potential suitors has included, in addition to Blackstone, CBRE Global Investors, P3 and Ares Management.

Through this purchase, the US fund is seeking to strengthen its logistics portfolio in Spain. In January, the company paid €90 million for four complexes leased to the supermarket chain Dia. In 2017, the sector set a new historical record with total investment in Spain of €1.5 billion, up by 85% compared to the previous year, according to data from the consultancy firm Savills Aguirre Newman.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake