Tag: mallorca

INBISA Starts Work on the New Torre Mariona Shopping Centre in Mallorca

26 July 2018 – Inmodiario

INBISA Construcción has started work on the construction of the new Torre Mariona shopping centre on plot 64 of the Son Malferit Industrial Estate in Palma de Mallorca, located between the Levante motorway and the main road to Manacor.

With a budget of more than €3 million, INBISA Construcción has teamed up with Grupo Ferran as the Project Manager, to construct the building, which is going to span more than 4,200 m2, and the urbanisation on the neighbouring plot measuring 3,400 m2. The property will comprise five premises, which will range between 140 m2 and 647 m2, dedicated to commercial, leisure and restaurant use. In total, the combined gross leasable area (GLA) will amount to 2,500 m2.

Moreover, the site will have an underground parking lot spanning 2,300 m2 with the capacity for 53 cars and 10 motorbikes.

It is worth highlighting that this is the fourth construction project in which the duo comprising INBISA Construcción and Grupo Ferrán are working for Hoteles de Palma, S.L., on this industrial estate, which is currently in the middle of development and which will provide services to the residential area of Nou Llevant. The previous projects involved the construction of three new commercial spaces, including the new Norauto facilities, as well as the renovation of a traditional windmill (…).

As Julio Aróstegui, Director of Retail at INBISA Construcción, highlights, “this new project in Mallorca follows others that we have undertaken on the island, where we have been working for more than three years now”. In this sense, he highlights the phased renovation of Mallorca Fashion Outlets for Via Outlets. “Moreover, it strengthens our position as a leading company in the renovation and construction of shopping centres and contributes to the expansion of the portfolio of projects in our Retail area, which includes renovations such as those involving the ABC Serrano Shopping Centre in Madrid, the Gran Casa Shopping Centre in Zaragoza, the Max Center Shopping Centre in Barakaldo and the construction of the new Finistrelles Shopping Centre in Esplugues” (…).

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake

None of the Homes on Mallorca’s Playa de Palma May be Let to Tourists

24 July 2018 – El Mundo

None of the homes, be they houses or apartments, on Playa de Palma may be let for tourist use, according to an announcement made today by the Councillor for Urban Planning, José Hila.

The councillor explained that the restriction follows the decision taken by the Govern’s Balearic Environmental Commission to declare the entire Arenal-Playa de Palma area a “mature” tourist zone.

The municipal government was planning to allow regulated tourist rentals in detached family homes on Playa de Palma, but the ruling from the Commission has put an end to that possibility.

Hila recalled that the urban nucleus of Palma has been declared a unique area and so there, only the holiday rental of detached homes will be permitted, as had been announced several weeks ago.

“We have calculated that right now there are around 23,000 homes susceptible to being rented out, equivalent to 12% of all of the homes in the Ciutat”, said Hila.

On the other hand, the Balearic Environmental Commission has also ordered that homes located on unprotected rural land and those in the airport area must adhere to the Consell of Mallorca’s Tourist Area Intervention Plan (PIAT).

The councillor highlighted that the responsibility of the Cort in terms of tourist rentals has been to establish the zones, but that if any resident is aware of illegal practices then he or she just report it to the Ministry of Tourism, which is the competent body for matters of infringement.

All of these agreements will have to be endorsed by the Government in the coming days and will enter into force once they have been published in the BOIB.

Original story: El Mundo 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ibiza’s Real Estate Market is a “World of its Own”

11 July 2018 – Diario de Ibiza

The real estate market in Ibiza is not encouraging (for the majority): the available stock of homes “is residual”, the majority of homes bought there are rented out, the peak prices reached in 2017 have been exceeded…and all of this is being compounded by a distinct shortage of land. All in all, it is a troubling scenario for those wishing to live on the island all year round.

Tinsa’s Regional Director for the East and South of Spain, José Antonio López, warned on Wednesday that the lack of land, combined with the demand for housing “is generating a dangerous melting pot” in the Balearic Islands. As such, he is asking the administration to get involved to facilitate the availability of land for property developers.

Those were the words used by López in response to a question from participants at a Proinba-Tinsa real estate meeting held in Palma on Wednesday, where the situation of the residential real estate market was discussed, in particular, the market on the coast.

López warned that this situation may “lead to serious problems” on the islands, where “young people need primary residences” and they “need options”. “For this reason, land is required, and the administration needs to get involved”, said Tinsa’s Regional Director, before adding that the supply of urban land with building permission is “almost non-existent”.

What’s more, “the supply is going to decrease” and with the “surplus demand”, we are seeing “dangerous growth that cannot be met”. In this context, “rental is not an option because those circumstances are also being taken advantage of”. In fact, according to data from Tinsa, in areas such as Ibiza (town), many people are buying to let (…).

Based on data from Tinsa, the average monthly mortgage payment on the Balearic Islands is very high, €792, well above the average for Spain as a whole, €543/month. The financial effort being made by families on the islands is also greater, given that they spent 22% of their household income on mortgages during the first year, compared with the national average of 16.8%.

Ibiza and Formentera set a new record

Of the 12 coastal municipalities analysed on the Balearic Islands, Sóller leads the increase in prices over the last year, with price rises of 21%. Ibiza and Formentera towns came in close behind, with 17.8%, followed by Santa Margalida (17.7%), Palma (14.7%) and Llucmajor (13.8%).

Palma is one of the top five most expensive capitals in Spain, with an average price of €1,951/m2, and in the last year, its growing trend has exceeded the average for the autonomous region.

By contrast, the municipalities that have grown by the least are Sant Lluís and Mahón (3.7%), Ciutadella (4.5%) and Manacor (7.1%) (…).

Ibiza is “recovering too quickly”

According to data from Tinsa, the real estate sector on the coast in Mallorca is “clearly recovering”, whilst in Menorca, there are “signs of recovery” and in the case of Ibiza, there may even be an “excessive recovery”, in López’s opinion.

Prices have been “rising rapidly” on the white island, on a consistent basis for the last few years, and the YoY variation is well above the average. In fact, current prices have already exceeded the maximums seen in 2007.

On the basis of all of these indicators, the Regional Director at Tinsa said that Ibiza’s real estate market could be considered “a world of its own, set apart from other islands and provinces” (…).

Original story: Diario de Ibiza (by E.P.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Gestilar Launches Plan to Address Mallorca’s Scarce Housing Supply

6 July 2018 – Eje Prime

Gestilar is thinking about the Mediterranean. The property developer has started the summer by marketing the first 89 homes that it is building in Mallorca. As part of its €123 million investment plan, the real estate company is going to build 400 homes over the next few years in Palma across three developments in the Nou Llevant area, to the south-east of the city.

Mediterrània 1, the residential development through which the real estate firm has arrived in the Balearic Islands, is going to comprise homes with two, three and four bedrooms. It is designed for locals, both first-time buyers as well as those looking to reposition”, explain sources at Gestilar speaking to Eje Prime.

On an island with a “shortage of structural supply and economic stability”, Mallorca has become “one of the most desirable markets in Europe for investing in the real estate sector”, according to Raúl Guerrero, Director of Developments at Gestilar.

At the end of 2017, the property developer led by Javier García-Valcárcel purchased three plots in the Balearic capital with a total surface area of 55,300 m2. “We set our sights on Palma due to the shortage of new housing projects that have been built there in recent years”, explains Guerrero, who highlights the “the pent-up and unfulfilled demand” that exists in the city.

The first of the developments comprises several four- and seven-story blocks with their ground floors allocated to commercial premises. The design of the project has been entrusted to the Spanish architecture studio L35, which has created an urbanisation with substantial common areas.

Located 500 metres from the beach and the port of Portixol, Mediterrània 1 will have communal spaces with a swimming pool, a gym and a games area for children. The construction of the first phase is due to start between the last quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2019, with the aim of handing over the first keys before the end of 2020.

“There is space for new projects in Palma” 

Gestilar’s interest Palma is not the first from a Spanish residential property developer in recent months. A few days ago, the listed company Aedas Homes put on the market its fourth project in the Balearic capital and several other companies are working to begin projects this year.

This growing interest in Mallorca comes in response to the sales rates on the island that place it at the top of the ranking in the residential sector, behind Madrid and Barcelona. “It is still too early to assess the rates of our own developments, but for the last few months, we have been monitoring and updating our market research, and the results of this analysis reveal a high rate of marketing in the area”, explains Guerrero (…). According to the director of Gestilar, “there is space for new projects in Palma”, where the property developer has already opened an office.

In this regard, the property developer believes that Palma is going to be one of the cities, like Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao, that will look to improve its positioning abroad. In the Balearic capital, we are seeing a recovery in terms of property development activity, where a significant number of developments have started to be marketed between December 2015 and October 2017, which means that home completions are now growing, according to Gestilar (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by J. Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bankinter’s Socimi Buys 4 Retail Premises from Inditex for €12.5M

15 June 2018 – Eje Prime

The Galician giant Inditex is continuing to divest some of its real estate assets and the main players in the sector are taking advantage to acquire retail premises on some of the country’s main high streets. Ores, the Socimi owned by Bankinter and the Portuguese firm Sonae, has purchased a package of four assets from the owner of Zara for €12.5 million. The establishments, which together span more than 1,930 m2 are currently leased to the female fashion chain Stradivarius.

Ores Socimi has acquired one store measuring 700 m2 at number 28 Rúa de Urzaiz, in Vigo; another measuring 450 m2 at number 23 on Calle de los Fueros, in Vitoria; a third measuring 430 m2 at number 2 Calle Emilio Arriesta, in Pamplona; and a fourth measuring 350 m2 on the corner of Plaza del Olivar and Calle San Miquel, in Mallorca.

“With this acquisition, financed by available cash held by Ores Socimi, the company is continuing to fulfil the investment objectives set out in its business plan and in accordance with the financial parameters committed to the shareholders”, explain sources at the group.

The purchase of these stores, located on the main high streets of the respective cities, follows another acquisition carried out at the beginning of this month in Madrid. That deal involved an establishment located at number 157 Calle Alcalá, with a surface area of 374 m2, as revealed by Eje Prime. Those premises are currently rented out to the restaurant group Tim Hortons (…).

Ores is aimed at private banking clients. Although its asset portfolio is, for the time being, limited, the Socimi made its debut on the stock market with the aim of investing €400 million in commercial premises on the high street, as well as in supermarkets, retail parks (measuring up to 20,000 m2), bank branches and single assets with long-term rental contracts and solvent tenants.

Bankinter and Sonae Sierra launched this new venture in the real estate sector in record time. The two groups constituted the company on 15 December last year and, in just two months, completed the vehicle creation process, raised sufficient capital to get it moving and made the leap onto the stock market.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Taylor Wimpey Enters Sotogrande & Strengthens its Presence in Ibiza

28 May 2018 – Eje Prime

Taylor Wimpey España is entering one of the most luxurious urbanisations in Spain. The Spanish subsidiary of the British real estate group is backing Sotogrande, synonymous with luxury housing, in its business plan for 2018, which also includes the launch of around twenty developments in the Balearic Islands, Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, the three markets where it already has a presence and “in which we will continue working”, says Reyes Coll, Marketing Director at Taylor Wimpey in Spain, speaking to Eje Prime.

So far this year, the real estate company has launched eight new projects. Four of them are located on the Costa del Sol, three in Mallorca and the eighth is in Alicante. The aim of the company is to “launch between five and ten more promotions before the end of the year”, says Coll.

Taylor Wimpey’s main business in Spain is second homes for foreigners, which account for more than 90% of the company’s housing reservations.

In the Balearic Islands, where land is scarce and prices are growing rapidly, the company is finalising the requirements necessary to bring three new projects onto the market: Cala Lliteras, Cala Vinyes and Cala Gració. The latter is located in Ibiza, an island on which the real estate only has 22 homes to date, in Can Misses. The other developments in the Balearic region are located in Mallorca (…).

Almost twenty developments on the market

Without taking into account the aforementioned projects and those in the pipeline, the real estate company already has 19 developments up for sale in the country. Mallorca and the Costa del Sol are the two regions where most of its developments are located, with seven residential projects up for sale, whilst the company has five urbanisations on the market on the Costa Blanca.

Taylor Wimpey España’s business depends on foreigners interested in buying a second home in the country. This profile of buyer is growing again in line with the recovery of the economy. Indeed, the company recorded a 10% increase in its portfolio of international clients. “German, Scandinavian, British, Russian and Belgian buyers all stood out”, explains Coll. The General Council of Notaries explained recently in a report that those nationalities account for the fact that 20% of the homes purchased in Spain are acquired by foreigners. In 2017 alone, the company completed operations involving new homes with buyers from 32 different countries.

In the case of buyers from the United Kingdom, players in the Spanish residential market were fearful of the consequences that Brexit might have on sales. Nevertheless, sources at Taylor Wimpey explain that reservations from Brits have increased over the last nine months.

40% growth in post-crisis reserves

The end of the real estate crisis has also arrived for Taylor Wimpey España, whose reservations grew by 40% in 2015 and have continued to increase ever since (…).

According to its roadmap, the company is not planning any changes to the line of business that it has operated for sixty years. The property developer will continue to specialise in the construction of apartments and terraced homes in the most touristy areas of the country and will finance them solely using own funds.

Original story: Eje Prime (by J. Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Socimi Elaia Buys a Hotel in Mallorca for €5.7M

23 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Elaia Investment Spain is growing through purchases. The Socimi has acquired a hotel in Mallorca for a total value of €5.7 million, according to a statement filed by the group with the Alternative Investment Market. The asset acquired is Hotel Valparaiso, an establishment spanning 2,400 m2 on a plot measuring 4,400 m2, located on the seafront in Cala Murada, Manacor (Mallorca).

This represents Elaia Investment Spain’s sixth asset in the Balearic Islands. The hotel is located on the east of the island, on a cliff top, 17km from the underground lake in the Drach Caves and 3.5 nautical miles from Portocolom.

Elaia is a Socimi focusing primarily on the tourist accommodation sector (87% of its assets), whilst the rest of its portfolio comprises residential assets. Following this acquisition, the Socimi now owns 15 assets in total: two residential buildings in Madrid, seven tourist apartment complexes, five hotels and one project under development.

Batipart is currently the majority shareholder of Elaia, in which it holds a 66% stake. The other shares are distributed between 22 shareholders including Euler Hermès Reinsurance (13.81%), Allianz Invest Pierre (9.21%), managed by Immovalor Gestion, and other individual and corporate shareholders with minority stakes.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Ruggieri Family Acquires a Hotel in Mallorca for €70M

5 December 2017 – Eje Prime

The Ruggieri family is continuing to back Spain. A month after announcing the stock market debut of its Socimi Elaia Investment Spain (EIS), which has been trading on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) since 2 November, the French family has acquired a hotel in Mallorca for €70 million. The operation has been carried out through Lagune, an investment vehicle specialising in tourist and healthcare real estate assets, which is owned by the clan’s holding company, Grupo Batipart.

The hotel, located in the Mallorcan area of Cala Romántica, has 267 rooms and will be operated by the chain Iberostar. The intention of Lagune is to completely remodel the establishment to increase its category rating and turn it into a four-star property.

The establishment is the first that the investment vehicle has acquired in the hotel sector in Spain, although it already owns 16 healthcare residencies in the country. It purchased those properties at the beginning of this year and entrusts their management to the nursing home firm DomusVi.

Currently, the Ruggieri family controls other assets in Spain, through EIS (in which it holds a 66% stake) in Madrid, Barcelona, the Costa del Sol, Mallorca and the Costa Brava. In Europe, the family office owns a real estate portfolio worth around €1 billion, located in France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hyatt To Open Its New 5-Star Hotel In Madrid In December

6 November 2017 – Cinco Días

Nine years after it stopped managing Hotel Villa Magna, the North American hotel chain Hyatt, is finalising its return to Spain and will benefit from first-mover advantage in the battle between the luxury hotels in Madrid. It will be the first to open, but close behind it will be followed by the five-star Four Seasons hotel in Canalejas, the four-star RIU hotel in Plaza de España and the five-star Starwood hotel in the former Hotel Asturias.

The hotel will be located in the heart of Gran Vía, will have 159 rooms (of which 10% will be suites with views over the iconic street) and will be very focused on tourists with a high purchasing power. Gonzalo Maggi, Director of the hotel, highlights that it will be the first hotel to operate under the Centric brand in Europe. “The main features of the brand including being at the centre of the action. We are targeting clients who want to explore, get to know the city and discover new things and who want to use the hotel as a launch pad for their stay”, says Maggi, who admits that the building work is being accelerated to ensure that the hotel will be ready to open in December to take advantage of the Christmas rush.

Maggi defines the client that his hotel is targeting as “lifestyle”, which serves, in his opinion, to differentiate its offer from those of the other operators that are going to compete with Hyatt. “We are going to target people who place a lot of importance on design, fashion, the people they share space with and the gastronomy they seek. We are going to position ourselves in the high-end segment. Of the scale of traditional five-star hotels, we are going to aim a bit lower, but in the highest range of the new establishments”, he says. Another feature of the chain is the food. “We are going to have a music studio in the hotel lobby specialising in vermouths, a restaurant with international food and a rooftop bar, which will open in the first quarter of 2018”, he says (…).

The Director of the Hyatt Centric forecasts that to start with, 40% of the hotel’s clients will come from the USA, where the brand has been established for 60 years and is very well known. The rest will come mainly from three European countries (France, Germany and the UK) as well as from certain Asian countries. Maggi does not rule out that the hotel will also spark interest in the domestic market, despite its high prices, given its good location.

The director of the hotel highlights that Spain represents a very interesting market, as shown by the opening of the Park Hyatt in Mallorca a year and a half ago, although he is sure that the main opportunities are in Madrid and Barcelona (…). Asked about the hotel moratorium, he says (…) “as soon as they let us build there, we will launch ourselves into that market. It is a fantastic city and has a great deal to offer”, he says.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Carlos Molina)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Matutes Family Buys Real Cinema In Madrid For €17M

2 October 2017 – Eje Prime

Madrid is still active in terms of real estate transactions. The former Real Cinema, located opposite the Teatro Real de Madrid, is going to pass into the hands of Marc Rahola Matutes, nephew of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abel Matutes, and cousin of Abel Matutes Prats, for €17 million.

The building, which has a constructed surface area of 2,300 m2, will undergo a remodelling, which could see Matutes’ total investment rise to €24 million, according to El Confidencial.

According to sources in the real estate sector, the company that owns the property, Selbridge SL, purchased it in 2003 and has constituted a purchase option over the entire domain of the property in favour of White Land, a company administered by Rahola Matutes. The building occupies a plot of land measuring 900 m2 and houses a performance hall.

Marc Rahola Matutes launched his career at the Palladium Group. In addition, the director manages the investments of the fund Ocean Group Capital, which he created after leaving his role at Matutes’ company, and through which he has bet heavily on the hotel sector.

The fund started out by acquiring the iconic OD Ocean Drive, located in the Marina Botafoch area. Then, it bought three luxury hotels in the Balearic Islands: OD Port Portals, in Mallorca; OD Talamanca (formerly Hotel Victoria) and OD Can Jaume, a holiday farm property, both in Ibiza.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake