30 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner
Merlin Properties, the socimi managed by Ismael Clemente, has acquired an old warehouse located at Calle Pere IV, 128, in Barcelona’s 22@ district. The developer plans to demolish the existing structure and construct a new building for use by its co-working subsidiary, Loom. Merlin expects Loom’s first office in the city to be ready by 2021.
Original Story: Eje Prime
26 March 2019 – Eje Prime
Merlin Properties has increased its ownership of the flexible workspace company Loom from 31% to 100%, whereby taking control of the whole entity.
Loom currently operates three flexible workspaces in the centre of Madrid, spanning 3,500 m2 in total. Merlin expects that figure to increase to nine spaces by the end of 2019, spanning 13,000 m2 with new openings forecast both in the Spanish capital and Barcelona.
According to David Brush, Investment Director at Merlin, “flexible workspaces represent a great opportunity for Merlin given that the market is currently growing at a rate of 20% p.a. and may account for 20% of the total office market by 2030”.
Original story: Eje Prime
Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake
28 February 2019 – Idealista
Merlin Properties is expanding in the coworking sector, where it operates under the Loom brand. The Socimi led by Ismael Clemente currently has three shared offices in Madrid, spanning 3,500 m2 in total, and it is planning to open its next space, spanning 1,200 m2 on Calle Eucalipto, 25, also in the Spanish capital, in June.
The listed company also intends to open 1,600 m2 of coworking space in Torre Glóries, the office block that it owns in Barcelona, where its tenants will work alongside several high-profile operators, such as Facebook, Dynatrace and Oracle.
In September, Merlin is going to open 2,000 m2 of coworking space in the Salamanca neighbourhood of Madrid and before the end of the year, it will add 1,500 m2 of shared office space in WTC Alameda in Barcelona.
In 2020, the Socimi is also planning to open 1,100 m2 of shared work space in Torre Chamartín in Madrid and another 2,000 m2 in the 22@ district of Barcelona.
Merlin owns 31% of Loom House, which is managed by the siblings, Paula and José Almansa.
Original story: Idealista (by Custodio Pareja)
Summary translation by: Carmel Drake
5 November 2018 – Eje Prime
Loom is on a mission. The company specialising in shared work centres is planning to open a dozen new co-working spaces in 2019. The assets identified, all of which are owned by Merlin, are distributed between Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish capitals, such as Málaga, Alicante and Valencia, according to Paula Almansa, co-founder and CEO of the company, speaking to Eje Prime.
Currently, the operator is finalising the details for the launch of its third co-working office in Spain. The space, located at number 38, Calle Don Ramón de la Cruz, in the Salamanca neighbourhood of Madrid, will open its doors between May and June next year, after the renovation work on the property has been completed.
Another of Loom’s objectives in the short term is to take its co-working concept to new parts of the country, in particular, to the Catalan capital. “One of the areas that we currently have in mind is the 22@ district”, said Almansa. In this sense, Merlin’s portfolio of assets plays in the company’s favour. In fact, the Socimi has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 31,337 m2, distributed over four office buildings in that district.
One year after it acquired 31% of Loom, the group led by Ismael Clemente has decided to merge it with Twisttt, the brand that it created to debut in the co-working market in 2017. “It is a decision that we have taken together; it did not make sense for us to promote two brands separately when, at the end of the day, we were both pursuing the same objective”, said the director of Loom.
Merlin is now consolidating its position as the main landlord of the company led by the siblings Paula and Jose Almansa, who are already starting to take advantage of the large number of assets that the real estate giant owns all over the Iberian Peninsula. Málaga, Valencia and Alicante are the next destinations in which Loom plans to launch between 2019 and 2020, hand in hand with local partners, followed by Lisbon, “a city that we do not rule out launching in in the future”, said the co-founder.
For now, the company has three co-working spaces in Madrid: one at number 5 Calle Princesa, another at number 11 Calle Huertas and the final centre at number 1 Calle Vandergoten, in the Real Fábrica de Tapices. Nevertheless, the company is not limiting itself when it comes to choosing new locations and it is open to backing areas that “are not considered prime nor are home to too much competition”.
Loom’s project is a long-term venture, although they are aware that the wind will not always blow in their favour. “The co-working industry still has a long way to go, but it is also true that recently, many spaces of this kind have been opened and very high rents are being paid”, explained Almansa, who also believes that it is important to take advantage of moments of crisis to attract more users.
Original story: Eje Prime (by B. Seijo & J. Izquierdo)
Translation: Carmel Drake
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