Tag: logistics warehouses

Socimis Invest €420M+ In Asset Purchases In Q1 2015

6 April 2015 – El Economista

The main listed real estate investment companies (‘sociedades cotizadas de inversión inmobiliaria’ or Socimis) have continued to make purchases in 2015. During the (first three) months (of the year), they have spent more than €420 million on the acquisition of office buildings, residential complexes, logistics warehouses and hotels.

Merlin Properties, which debuted on the stock exchange in June last year, with a valuation of €1,250 million, has invested the largest amount during the first three months of the year (€146.3 million).

Since the start of the year, the company has acquired the office building located at number 8 World Trade Center Almeda Park (WTCAP) in Cornella de Llobregat (Barcelona) for €36.5 million and has spent €38.1 million on another office building located on Calle Alcalá 38-40 (Madrid), which is entirely leased to the Ministry of the Interior.

Similarly, it has acquired a logistics warehouse measuring 16,242 m2 in Getafe (Madrid) for €12.75 million, which is leased to Transportes Souto; another measuring 72,717 m2 in Vitoria for €28.58 million, leased to Norbert Dentressangle; and has spent a further €19.8 million on another warehouse located in Coslada (Madrid), measuring 28,490 square metres, which is leased to Azkar.

Following these acquisitions, Merlin’s property portfolio exceeds 717,000 m2 and generates gross annual rental income of €132.2 million.

Meanwhile, the Socimi owned by the Lar Group purchased a plot of land jointly with Pimco measuring 26,203 m2, located on Calle Juan Bravo, 3 (Madrid), where the Juan Bravo Plaza project was being carried out, led by the property developer Eurosazor, owned by Rafael Ortiz, in which Fernando Fernández-Tapias and Paloma Mateo also hold shares.

Lar España will now take over the management of this new real estate project with the objective of constructing a first class residential building in one of the “prime” (real estate) areas of the city, close to the Golden Mile. This transaction takes the Socimi’s total investment to €458.7 million in 15 deals since its IPO.

Meanwhile, Hispania, – the listed investment company controlled by Azora and in which the multimillionaires George Soros and John Paulson hold shares – has acquired a residential complex measuring 39,000 m2 in Sanchinarro (Madrid), comprising 284 homes and 311 garages, for €61.15 million.

It has also purchased an office building located on C/Príncipe de Vergara, 108 (Madrid) measuring 7,324 m2 for €25 million, as well as the three-star Hesperia Ramblas Hotel (Barcelona) for €17.5 million and the four-star Vincci Málaga Hotel for €10.4 million.

Finally, AxiaRE has acquired two office buildings in Madrid, one located in Campo de las Naciones and the other on Calle Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena, for €40.5 million in total.

Since its IPO, the company has closed 9 investment transactions valued at €464 million, through which it has acquired 18 properties, which have a combined rentable surface area of more than 402,000 m2.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

DIA & Blackstone Close Largest Industrial RE Transaction Since 2013

11 March 2015 – ABC

The two companies have signed a contract for the rental of logistics buildings covering 30,000 square metres.

Logicor, the logistics platform owned by Blackstone, has signed a long-term rental agreement with the supermarket chain DIA for 30,000 square metres of space, which makes it the largest lease transaction in the industrial sector since 2013.

The rental contract covers a substantial part of a 37,000 m2 warehouse in the Miralcampo Logistics Park (in Corredor de Henares), a building that was acquired by Logicor at the beginning of 2014, according to JLL, the real estate consultant that has advised this transaction.

Logicor is the largest owner of logistics warehouses in the Iberian Peninsula, with a portfolio of 960,077m2. According to Logicor’s director general for Southern Europe, the positive changes in the real estate investment market in Spain are starting to be reflected in occupancy rates in the logistics sector.

That, combined with the limited availability of large, modern logistics warehouses in Madrid, has meant that tenants are under more pressure to hire the highest quality products, he added.

The CEO and Chairman of Logical, Mo Barzegar, highlighted that this transaction reflects the company’s investment strategy to purchase functional warehouses, close to urban areas, that are attractive to clients. JLL España advised Logicor in this transaction.

Original story: ABC

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axia Has Acquired An Office And 5 Warehouses For €69.33m

1 August 2014 – Estrategias de Inversión

The largest investment was in Alcobendas (Madrid), where it acquired an office building for €28.75 million.

This is proving to be a busy week for the Socimis – on Thursday, Hispania, Merlin and Lar all reported that they have made a number of investments, amounting to €377.1 million, and these companies are continuing to close transactions on Friday. In addition, Axia has invested €69.33 million buying a number of buildings.

Specifically, the company has announced the purchase of an office building in Alcobendas (Madrid) from IVG Institutional Funds for €28.75 million. The building has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 17,266 square metres, plus 396 parking spaces.

It has also acquired three logistics warehouses located in Cabanillas del Campo (Guadalajara), with a GLA of almost 37,877 square metres, for €16.68 million. Two of the warehouses belonged to Parques Industrialises Nuevas Áreas de Actividad Gran Europa and the other one was owned by Altamira Santander Real Estate.

Finally, Axia has also purchased a warehouse in Azqueca de Henares (Guadalajara) with a GLA of approximately 35,781 square metres and another in Dos Hermanas (Sevilla), with a total GLA of 42,466 square metres, for a total price of €23.90 million.

Original story: Estrategias de Inversión

Translation: Carmel Drake