Tag: maximum rent

Alibaba Signs Lease for its New HQ in Spain

14 December 2017 – Eje Prime

The Chinese giant Alibaba is shaking up the office market in Madrid as the year-end approaches. The Asian e-commerce group has been negotiating for several months to open offices in Madrid from where to lead its operations in the Spanish market. In the end, it has signed a rental agreement for its Spanish headquarters at number 4 Avenida Europa, in Alcobendas, a building owned by the real estate group Gosa. Until now, the technology firm Paypal also had its headquarters in the building (…).

Alibaba will move its Spanish team to the new offices in Alcobendas, which measure approximately 1,000 m2, in the middle of February, according to sources close to the operation. At the moment, the Asian giant’s employees are managing the firm’s Spanish operations from a co-working office. Alibaba has declined to comment on the planned move.

Alibaba’s arrival at number 4 Avenida Europa comes just months after Paypal’s departure from the same building. Currently, that US firm shares offices with Google and Intel in Torre Picasso, as revealed by Eje Prime.

The property that will house Alibaba’s new offices is also home to the headquarters of the cosmetics group Clarins and the Chinese firm Ansteel. Commscope is another company that had its headquarters located in the building until the middle of 2017, but in July it decided to move to number 19 on the same street.

Alcobendas has become one of the hubs of business excellence in Madrid. Indra, VASS, Emerson, Televent, Acciona, Bankinter, Europcar, Canon and Toyota are just some of the multinational companies that have chosen to locate their offices in the Madrilenian town.

Alibaba’s new office, which the company has been anticipating since February, has the capacity to accommodate the almost forty people that make up its Spanish workforce. The team is led by Estela Ye, who was promoted to General Manager of the company in Spain in March.

The office market in Madrid

Leasing of office space during the third quarter of the year in Madrid amounted to 93,173 m2, which represented an increase of 2% with respect to the same period in 2016, although, according to a report from Aguirre Newman, 16 fewer operations were closed (96).

One of the most active areas in the capital was the Other Business District (RDN), which accounted for 31% of the total space leased. Nevertheless, the report highlights that leasing in the Central Business District (27% of the total) and in the OUT area (23%), saw the most significant increases, more than doubling their figures with respect to the same period in 2016.

In terms of rents, the maximum recorded during Q3 was €36/m2/month, whilst the average rent in the CBD area was €28.96/m2/month. In the Decentralised area, the average rent amounted to €12.71/m2/month.

Original story: Eje Prime (by A. Pijuán)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aguirre Newman: Inv’t in Offices Exceeded €1.7bn in YTD Sept

1 December 2017 – Eje Prime

The office sector in Spain is stable. During the first nine months of the year, the sector accounted for investment amounting to €1.7 billion, in line with the investment level recorded during the same period in 2016, according to the Office Market Report compiled by the real estate consultancy firm Aguirre Newman.

“The main indicators of the office market (the availability rate, the uptake rate, rental prices and the evolution of stock) have continued their positive behaviour previously observed in recent years”, explain sources at the consultancy firm.

“The high level of economic activity in Spain, combined with the strong economic performance of the main countries in our environment, are having a clear impact on our two main office markets”, they say.

Focusing on Madrid, the gross leasing of office space during the third quarter of the year amounted to 93,173 m2, which represents an increase of 2% with respect to the same period in 2016, although, according to Aguirre Newman’s report, 16 fewer operations were closed in 2017 (down to 96).

One of the most active areas in the capital was the Other Business Districts segment (RDN), which accounted for 31% of the total area leased. Nevertheless, the report highlights that the leasing of space in the Central Business District (CBD), with 27% of the total and the OUT area, with 23% of the total, showed significant increases, more than doubling the figure recorded during the same period in 2016 in absolute terms.

Regarding rents, the maximum recorded during that period was €36/m2/month, whilst the average rent in the CBD area was €28.96/m2/month. In the Decentralised area, the average rent amounted to €12.71/m2/month.

In Barcelona, during the third quarter of 2017, 57,000 m2 of office space was leased, which represented a decrease of 32% with respect to the same period in 2016. Nevertheless, the cumulative figure for the year increased by 8% with respect to the first three quarters of 2016, to reach 265,000 m2.

During the period, 103 operations were closed, with an average surface area of 562 m2, in line with the situation observed in previous periods. The most significant operation by size was the deal closed by WeWork, which leased more than 6,500 m2 of office space in the 22@ district.

“In terms of rents, the upwards trend is continuing both in terms of maximum levels, as well as averages”, explain sources at the consultancy firm. The maximum rent recorded during the period was €23/m2/month, whilst the average rent in the CBD was €18.25/m2/month. In the Decentralised area, the average rent reached €14.01/m2/month.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel

Zara Vacates Redevco’s 2,300m2 Store On c/Goya

30 November 2017 – Eje Prime

Redevco ends the year with another store up for rent. The fund that specialises in retail has terminated its contract with Zara, the main brand of the Galician giant Inditex, after it closed one of its flagship stores in Madrid, located at number 47 Calle Goya. The store in question has been owned by Redevco for seven years, according to sources at the group, and has a retail surface area of 2,300 m2.

The Pan-European investment fund acquired the premises in June 2010 for €27 million. At the time, it signed a long-term lease contract with Zara, which had operated in the store since 2005. The fashion chain, which closed its doors on 27 November, will continue to operate in the area from its stores located at number 23 Calle Serrano and number 16 Calle Conde de Peñalver.

Inditex’s main chain has great penetration in the Spanish market. Currently, the chain operates more than 2,236 stores all over the world, of which 434 are located in Spain, as at the end of the first half of 2017.

Zara’s departure from the premises will allow Redevco to renegotiate the rent with a new operator. Currently, the average rental price for a store on this shopping street is €120/m2/month, with maximum rents reaching €170/m2/month. Calle Goya has almost 100 shops and an average return of 4.8%.

Redevco manages almost 50 real estate assets in Spain and Portugal, worth €800 million. The company, led in Spain by Israel Casanova, who sits on the fund’s management board, and Jordi Soriano, Director of the asset portfolio, employs a team of 17 professionals.

In recent months, the group has strengthened its team in Spain. In March, the company appointed José Carlos Torres, formerly of Aguirre Newman, as the new Head of Investments for the group to lead the fund’s acquisitions team in Spain and Portugal (…).

The fund, which manages more than 173 rental contracts across the Iberian Peninsula, has more than 300,000 m2 of retail space under management. Redevco is clearly focused on the acquisition of commercial opportunities and on the administration and management of assets for third parties (…).

Around the world, Redevco manages a portfolio of more than 400 assets located in the main shopping areas of Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, the UK and Switzerland (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja and Pilar Riaño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

C&W: 130,000 m2+ Of Office Space Leased In Sant Cugat Since 2015

7 November 2017 – Eje Prime

The office business in Cataluña is not all about Barcelona. Sant Cugat del Vallès has become the most sought-after office sub-market on the periphery of the Catalan capital, not only for users but also for investors and property developers. More than 130,000 m2 of space has been leased there in the last three years, according to the Marketshot report, compiled by the real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield.

In 2015, more than 75,000 m2 of office space was leased in this Barcelona town. Sant Cugat del Vallès has always played an important role in Barcelona’s office space leasing figures. In the years 2015 and 2016, 54 rental operations were closed in Sant Cugat covering a surface area of 104,000 m2 (27% of the total signed in Barcelona as a whole).

The most important operations, including turnkey projects, in terms of size in recent years have been: Stradivarius (with 26,400 m2), Laboratorios Echevarne (with 12,000 m2), Mapfre (with 10,000 m2) and Natura Bissé Internacional (with 9,200 m2).

“Although the sub-market is maintaining the tone, the volume of absorption in 2017 has not exceeded 18,000 m2 (7% of the total leased in Barcelona)” – explain sources at the consultancy firm – “Nevertheless, we are not surprised to see fewer operations, given that the supply has been decreasing and the limited space that is still available is very fragmented”.

There is more than 115,000 m2 of potential office space in Sant Cugat, of which 100,000 m2 is located on buildable land. The potential for stock growth in the area is significant and, if all the projects come to fruition, the office park in this sub-market could increase by 22%.

As a result, the plots of land have great potential to respond to the lack of space in the area. “The Can Sant Joan and Can Ametller areas stand out for being home to the most iconic projects. Moreover, they are very well connected through their access to both public and private transport”, explain sources at the consultancy firm.

The increase in activity in the office market in Barcelona, the appeal of different business areas, other than the CBD and the city centre, added to the pre-leasing formula, which is present in the Barcelona market again for the first time since 2008, are all driving up rents. In the last year, the maximum rent in the peripheral areas rose by 7.5%; the minimum had been maintained between 2013 and the first quarter of 2017, but then the first significant increases started to be seen.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake