Tag: luxury housing development

Lar España Buys Rivas Futura Shopping Centre for €62M

6 February 2018 – Expansión

The Socimi in which Pimco holds a stake has purchased the Rivas Futura shopping complex, in the Madrilenian town of the same name, for €62 million.

Lar España has completed its first investment of 2018. The Socimi, whose largest shareholder is the fund manager Pimco, has completed the purchase of the Rivas Futura shopping complex, located in the Madrilenian town of Rivas.

Inaugurated in 2016, this complex was promoted by the real estate firm Avantis, and became a reference in Madrid, with a surface area spanning more than 55,000 m2 and first-class tenants such as Media Markt, Conforama and Toys R Us. Next to the retail park, the same real estate firm constructed a large office complex and a shopping centre called H2Ocio. Recently, that shopping centre also changed hands, with the manager CBRE Global Investors acquiring 70% of the property.

In 2008, Avantis’ liquidity problems meant that it had to find a new owner for the complex. The real estate subsidiary of Axa spent €81 million to buy the centre at that time. Years later, the fund Lone Star was awarded the park as part of Project Octopus, formed by loans from the German bank Eurohypo.

Now, the Socimi managed by the real estate group Lar has become its new owner, after paying €61.6 million to the most recent owner: Credit Suisse.

With this new investment, Lar España has become the largest operator of retail parks in Spain, with more than 150,000 m2 in its portfolio. Its flagship assets include the Megapark complex in Barakaldo, where the Socimi owns both the Megapark shopping centre and the factory outlet (acquired for €170 million), as well as the leisure area; that operation was closed at the end of October.

This purchase also represents the first acquisition of a commercial asset by the Socimi in Madrid, where it already owns a luxury housing development, Lagasca 99, as well as two office buildings. At the end of last year, Lar España put its office portfolio, comprising four assets and worth €170 million, up for sale. Since then, it has sold two of the assets, both located in Madrid and both sold to the same buyer: the real estate firm Colonial.

During the first nine months of 2017, Lar España generated profits of €72.2 million, up by 55% compared to a year earlier, after earning €57.2 million, up by 36%.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España Puts Assets Worth €380M up for Sale

2 December 2017 – Expansión

After more than three years of actively making purchases, Lar España, the Socimi in which Pimco holds a stake, is entering a new phase. The firm, which presented the pillars of its 3-year business plan to analysts on Friday, announced that it is going to put assets worth €380 million up for sale. It expects to use the resources to distribute dividends, gain financial muscle to continue with the retail developments already underway and take advantage of potential purchase opportunities.

As part of this process, Lar will sell off its entire office portfolio, comprising four buildings, three in Madrid and one in Barcelona, worth €170 million in total. In September, the company sold one property located at number 336 Calle Arturo Soria (pictured above) to Colonial for €32.5 million.

To this figure, Lar España will have to add the €110 million that it expects to raise from the sale of its stake in the luxury housing development Lagasca 99, which it owns jointly with Pimco. The companies, which have already sold more than 70% of the development, plan to hand over the homes during the second or third quarter of next year. Moreover, the group plans to sell non-strategic assets, as well as those that have completed their cycle of maturity in the portfolio, for another €100 million.

In parallel, the group explained its investment plans for the assets in its portfolio. The firm is going to spend €247 million on capex. Of the total, 80% will be allocated to some of the retail developments underway, such as Vidanova Parc (Sagunto), which will open its doors in 2018 and Palmas Altas (Sevilla), which will be launched in 2019. The remaining 20% will be used to renew its existing asset portfolio.

In terms of new investments, the company has identified purchase opportunities amounting to €220 million in total and is already analysing almost 115,000 m2 for a number of operations, all retail spaces. Lar plans to close the year with assets worth €1.5 billion, of which 73% correspond to shopping centres.

In terms of the relationship with its manager, the President of Lar España, José Luis del Valle, expects to renew the contractual relationship with Grupo Lar, which is due to end in 2019. “They have been willing to adapt the contract to the development of the company and the markets”, said the group’s President. Last year, Lar’s managers agreed to lower their variable salaries and assume the difference between the share price on the stock market and the NAV, in an attempt to calm criticism from several investors.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Cerecedas Seek Financial Partner To Buy 30% Of Procisa

3 June 2015 – El Confidencial

Procisa, the real estate company made famous for developing the luxury La Finca estate is looking for a financial partner to provide the financial resources that it needs to continue with its other developments.

At a time when the interest of international funds in the Spanish real estate market is being called into question, one of the country’s iconic property developers is attracting interest from several overseas investors. Procisa, the company owned by the Cereceda family, which was made famous for its development of the luxury La Finca estate, is negotiating the sale of up to 30% of its share capital and is holding talks with several institutional investors.

The process, which is being managed by N+1, has been on the radar of the large players in the sector for several months – they see this as an opportunity to invest in a company that owns some of the most important plots of land in the capital.

After initially exploring the option of an IPO, which was dismissed following analysis with Citi, the real estate company has made progress in its talks with a small number of funds to which it has proposed the deal, with the clear message that their role will be limited to one of financial partner.

In line with the deals closed by other companies in the sector – GMP sold a 30% stake to GIC, and Acciona agreed to allow KKR to join as an investor – Procisa plans to form an alliance with a major investor, which will take a minority stake, but which will provide the financial resources the RE company needs to continue with its promotions.

N+1 has knocked on the doors of giants such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Cerberus, Bank of America, KKR and Blackstone to propose the deal to them. They could end up acquiring a stake of less than 30%, but this would be represent a historic milestone for this family company, led by Susana Cereceda, following death of her father, Luis Cereceda García, five years ago.

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A RE giant, heavily dependent on bank financing

With assets of €900 million, own funds of almost €200 million, debt amounting to €600 million and losses of €13 million in 2013 (the last year for which official results are available), the company is looking for a financial partner, after it reached an agreement with its lender banks last year to accommodate a loan amounting to €400 million, dating back to December 2009 and after it consummated the merger with Agruva and Luarce, some of the other companies through which the Cereceda family has constructed its real estate empire.

(…)

During these talks, the banks imposed a series of conditions on Procisa, which explains why the Cereceda family is now keen to find a financial partner that will allow it to resume its activity, after years of decreasing results and the creditors’ sword of Damocles hanging over its head.

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As well as La Finca, Procisa is also the owner of Parque Empresarial La Finca, an office complex on Calle Cardenal Marcelo Spínola (Madrid), as well as several office buildings spread across the capital and it is planning the development of two replicas of its famous Somosaguas development in La Romana (Dominican Republic) and Cartaya (Huelva).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake