Tag: logistics segment

Meridia III Buys a Logistics Platform in Madrid for €15M+

5 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Meridia III has added another asset to its logistics portfolio. Meridia Capital’s Socimi has acquired an industrial platform in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) for €15.25 million, according to a statement filed by the company with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

The warehouse has a surface area of 26,400 m2 and is located on the Corredor de Henares axis, the place that accounts for the largest volume of logistics stock in the whole of Spain.

The Socimi, which debuted on the stock market at the end of 2017, has financed the operation using a €10.3 million loan with a term of seven years, according to a statement filed by the company with the stock market regulator. Moreover, with this acquisition, the logistics portfolio of Meridia III now spans almost 100,000 m2.

In recent months, the company has also been undertaking some significant investments in the Spanish office market, such as its purchase in March of a building in the financial district of Madrid for €26.5 million. That property, which has a surface area of 7,500 m2, is located at number 4 Calle Juan Hurtado de Mendoza, close to Paseo de la Castellana. Moreover, in Barcelona, the Catalan manager leased its new building in the 22@ district to the international consultancy firm Everis.

On the other hand, according to the company’s latest accounts, Meridia III recorded a loss of €522,124 to June, which means that said indicator had decreased by 76% with respect to the first half of 2017. In addition, the company recorded revenues of €8 million during the first six months of the year, whereby doubling its turnover in comparison with the same period a year earlier.

Moreover, the company completed a €14.2 million capital increase at the end of November. The company’s new shares are going to be issued for a nominal value of €13 million plus an issue premium of €1.2 million.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barings Finalises Purchase of 5 Office Buildings in Madrid from Meridia

27 July 2018 – Eje Prime

The office market in Madrid is just a few days away from seeing the completion of a deal that is shaping up to be the largest operation of the summer. The British fund Barings is finalising the purchase of five office buildings owned by Meridia Capital in the Avalon business park, which have a total surface area of 25,785 m2, according to confirmation provided by sources close to the operation speaking to Eje Prime.

The American fund Starwood Capital was also a finalist in the bid for this portfolio of assets, but in the end, Barings has fought off the competition to seal the deal. The total amount of the operation has not been revealed, but the transaction is expected to be signed within the next few days. The real estate consultancy firm Savills Aguirre Newman is advising Meridia on the sale.

Located in the Julián Camarillo district, the new tech area of the Spanish capital, the Avalon business park comprises nine buildings and spans a total surface area of almost 47,000 m2. The rest of the properties in the complex are owned by GreenOak, which purchased its four assets from Banco Santander in 2015 for €40 million.

That same year, Meridia also completed its entry as an owner of the Avalon properties. In May 2015, the Catalan fund, led by the businessman Javier Faus, acquired the five Madrilenian buildings, as part of its purchase for €60 million of 33 assets from Naropa Capital, the family office owned by the Fernández Fermoselle family. The offices in Julián Camarillo were the main assets in the portfolio, but it also included commercial premises, residential properties and even a plot of land in Valencia.

With this operation, Barings is acquiring five assets that, in addition to a vast office space, have 423 parking spaces in a highly sought-after area of Madrid, close to the Adolfo Suárez-Barajas airport.

Diversification: after logistics and retail come offices

Barings is on fire in the Spanish real estate market. This latest operation that it is on the verge of signing in Madrid follows several others that it has closed over the last year, to take advantage of the new upward cycle in the real estate sector.

Nevertheless, Avalon is the first large portfolio that the British fund has purchased in the Spanish office market. Barings is, therefore, diversifying within the real estate sector, where it has made investments in the logistics and retail segments in recent months (…).

€23 million more for new purchases and to create a Socimi 

In the framework of its new roadmap for the Spanish real estate market, Barings carried out a capital increase amounting to €23.1 million last February for its Spanish subsidiary Barings Core Spain.

The reason for this reinforcement to its financial muscle resulted from the British fund’s interest to convert the company into a Socimi. The group’s intention is to combine all of the assets owned by Barings in Spain in this new vehicle and to list it on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) over the coming months, as revealed by Eje Prime.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Jabier Izquierdo & Pilar Riaño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Adveo Puts 4 Warehouses Up For Sale for €40M

18 March 2018 – Eje Prime

Adveo is continuing with its divestments. The Spanish wholesale group, which specialises in office equipment and services, has put four warehouses up for sale, three of which are located in Spain, through which it hopes to raise €40 million.

The domestic assets are located in Madrid, País Vasco and La Rioja, whilst the fourth asset is located in Belgium. The proceeds from the divestment will be used to continue reducing the debt, according to sources at the company, whose liabilities amount to €190 million. The objective of the company is to reduce that figure by €10 million in 2018, according to Expansión.

In January, Adveo completed another sale in France. On that occasion, the group sold a warehouse to the company IDI Gazeley for €8 million, which, by virtue of the contract, is going to lease the logistics centre to the French subsidiary of the Spanish company.

All of these operations form part of the Strategic Plan for 2017-2029 designed by the group, which seeks to transform the company into “a service platform with logistics solutions adapted to the new reality of the business”, according to the company.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Delin Backs Spain in its Logistics Investment Plan to 2019

22 January 2018 – Eje Prime

International funds working in all areas of the real estate sector are setting their sights on Spain. Including the logistics segment. That is shown by the inclusion of the country in the investment plan of Delin Capital Asset Management (Dcam), which is seeking to develop 900,000 m2 of new logistics space in three main European markets: The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain.

In the Spanish market, the firm is focusing on Madrid, where the logistics sector “offers an attractive opportunity for investors, given that the domestic economy is recovering and the increase in consumer spending is supporting the rapid growth of e-commerce”, says José Espinoza, Director of Development at Dcam in Spain, speaking to Property EU.

For the time being, the company has identified a series of investment opportunities in the country that it hopes to close soon. Dcam currently operates three lines of business: a fund created in 2012; an investment vehicle established with Blackstone last year to purchase existing assets; and a development fund.

In The Netherlands alone, the fund will invest $400 million in the development of around 390,000 m2 of logistics space. Across Europe, Dcam owns a portfolio spanning 580,000 m2 and has an additional 350,000 m2 under construction, which will be added to the company’s assets.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE: Real Estate Investment Down By 24% In H1 2016

5 July 2016 – Expansión

The real estate sector is still a preferred investment destination, after a record and unusually active 2015, but investors are now putting the brakes on, which has caused investment volumes to decrease during the first half of 2016.

Between January and June 2016, real estate investment amounted to €3,921 million, 24% less than during the same period in 2015 when, excluding the purchase of Testa, investment stood at €5,200 million. This difference is even more marked if we include Merlin’s purchase of Testa, in which case, investment during the first six months of last year soar to €8,400 million, according to data from the real estate consultancy CBRE.

The decrease in investment reflects a reduction in the supply of real estate properties, the uncertainty at the political and economic level and a normalisation of the quality-price relationship of assets. Despite everything, the level of investment to June was 40% higher than the average recorded over the last ten years.

By sector, the most affected has been the office segment, with a reduction in terms of investment of 48%, to €871 million. Meanwhile, investment in retail and hotel assets fell by 30% and 48%, to €1,341 million and €543 million, respectively. Meanwhile, investment in logistics assets doubled to reach €462 million; that segment now accounts for 12% of total investment.

In terms of type of investor, the Socimis, which accounted for 42% of all real estate investments made last year, have lowered their profiles to participate in just 10% of real estate transactions during H1 2016. By contrast, international funds now account for 68% of total investment. In terms of the geographical origin of the overseas capital, the USA leads the way, with 39% of total investment, followed by Australia (8%) and the UK (6%).

The most important operations during the first six months of the year included: Blackstone’s purchase of 4,500 rental homes for €540 million; Invesco’s acquisition of a portfolio of Gonuri hypermarkets for €358 million; and the purchase of the car park manager Parkia by the Australian fund First State for €300 million. In the office sector, the largest deal was GreenOak’s purchase of the Las Mercedes business park in Madrid for €128.5 million.

Optimistic outlook

Looking ahead towards H2 2016, the President of CBRE España, Adolfo Ramírez-Escuero, acknowledges that the forecasts made at the beginning of the year, that investment would amount to between €8,500 million and €9,000 million in 2016, seem “somewhat optimistic” six months on.

Ramírez-Escudero explained that the result of the UK’s referendum has taken the European real estate sector by surprise. “It is likely that investors will wait until the rules that are going to frame the relationship between the UK and the EU have been defined more clearly, as well as to find out how they will influence the economy on both sides”, said the President of CBRE España regarding Brexit.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake