Tag: Media Markt

Aberdeen & Catella Acquire El Manar Shopping Centre For €40M

12 July 2017 – Cinco Días

The firm Harbert Management Corporation has sold the El Manar shopping centre in Valencia for €40 million, according to sources familiar with the operation. The buyers are the companies Catella and Aberdeen, which have created a joint venture to undertake the transaction.

El Manar has a gross leasable area of 24,000 m2 and is located in the city of Massalfassar, in the metropolitan area of Valencia. According to the directory compiled by the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres, the property is managed by CBRE, was inaugurated in 2007 and comprises around twenty stores, with the Carrefour hypermarket proving to be the main draw. El Manar is also home to stores operated by Media Markt, C&A, Kiwoko, Sprinter and the toy shop Poly and it has 1,344 parking spaces. Each year, the centre receives 2.4 million visitors.

El Manar was promoted by the Pradera Group, and Harbert purchased it in 2014, in an operation whose consideration was not disclosed at the time. Three years later, the fund from Alabama has sold the asset in a deal that has been advised by CBRE and Eversheds Sutherland. Meanwhile, the buyers have been advised by the law firm Dentons.

Catella is a Swedish investment manager, which also acts as an advisor in real estate transactions. In Spain, the firm is led by Javier Hortelano.

Meanwhile, the British fund Aberdeen has €360,000 million under management around the world. In Spain, the firm is led by Ana Guzmán Quintana.

Original story: Cinco Días (by A. Simón)

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE GI Buys Office Building In Barcelona For €65M

4 July 2017 – Eje Prime

CBRE’s real estate investment vehicle is continuing to grow its portfolio of assets in Spain. The company has acquired the property at number 8 on Calle Fontanella, in Barcelona, for €64.7 million, according to a statement issued by the firm. The building, which is used for mixed (office and retail) purposes, was owned until now by Avignon Capital.

The building has a surface area of 8,126 m2 and is located next to Plaza Catalunya. The property has a 100% occupancy rate with an average rental period of more than 12 years.

The ground floor, basement and mezzanine levels of the building constitutes prime retail space and is leased to Media Markt. Meanwhile, the office floors of the asset are leased in their entirety to the Generalitat de Cataluña.

In this way, CBRE’s investment vehicle is continuing its investment policy in the Spanish market. Last month, the group reached an agreement to acquire 70% of the H2O Rivas de Madrid shopping centre. The other 30% will remain in the hands of Alpha Real Trust Limited, which used to own the whole centre, and with which CBRE has created a joint venture.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

South African Fund Vukile Acquires 9 Retail Assets For €198M

4 July 2017 – Expansión

A new institutional investor has arrived in Spain. And it comes from an unusual place for large investors in the Spanish real estate market: South Africa.

The South African real estate investment fund (REIT) Vukile Properties has completed its first operation in Spain by purchasing nine commercial assets located all over the country. The South African firm has disbursed €198 million for the properties, which have a combined surface area of 117,700 m2.

Of that amount, €193 million will be paid to the owner until now, the company Redevco Iberian Ventures, a joint venture created in 2015 by the groups Ares and Redevco to invest in the Iberian Peninsula.

Vukile has completed its purchase through the Spanish company Castellana Properties. This company, previously known as Vinemont Investments, changed its corporate structure last summer, to become a Socimi, after completing a capital increase of €12.6 million.

The first properties acquired by this Socimi form part of the portfolio that the Dutch company Redevco has been creating in the Iberian Peninsula over the last few years. The assets include five stores in the Parque Principado de Asturias complex and Parque Oeste, in Alcorcón (Madrid), spanning a surface area of 13,600 m2. The largest property is the Kinepolis complex, in Pulianas (Granada), measuring 25,900 m2 distributed over six stores.

97% of these retail spaces are leased to operators such as Mercadona, Día, Media Markt and fashion labels such as C&A and Kiabi.

For its first operation in Spain (and Europe), the South African REIT, which is listed on the Johannesburg and Namibia stock exchanges, has joined forces with the brothers Lee and Chad Morze, who it defines as “well-known and successful businessman living in Spain”. According to the commercial registry, Chad Morze is the administrator of Diversified Real Estate Asset Management, a company whose primary activity is the provision of tax, audit and accounting advice. Created at the end of 2015, the company has not filed any annual accounts yet. Lee Morze is also registered as an administrator of the same company.

Of the total amount disbursed (€198 million), Vukile has announced that it will contribute own funds amounting to €103 million, whilst the other almost €95 million will be obtained through a bank loan to Castellana Properties from the entities Santander, CaixaBank and Bankia, amongst others.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Primark Buys New Flagship Store In Mallorca From Carrefour Property

31 March 2017 – Eje Prime

The Irish company has completed the purchase from Carrefour Property of a space where will open its flagship store in Palma de Mallorca, located in the Fan Mallorca Shopping Centre. The establishment has a commercial area of 5,700 m2, spread over two floors.

Primark’s flagship store in Palma de Mallorca will be the operator’s third large-format store in Spain. It will be exceeded in size only by the establishment that the firm has on Calle Gran Vía in Madrid and by the store it has in Granada.

Fan Mallorca Shopping, which opened its doors on 22 September 2016, involved investment of more than €190 million to secure more than 112 stores, housing international and domestic brands, such as H&M, Mango, C&A, Cortefiel, Sfera, Women’secret, Springfield; and operators such as Decathlon, Media Markt, Samsung, Artesiete Cines, Starbucks, VIPS, La Tagliatella, Udon, Pandora, Jean Louis David and Dock 39, amongst others.

The shopping centre, which generated 1,500 direct jobs and 2,000 indirect positions, has a constructed surface area of 170,000 m2 and a commercial area of more than 72,000 m2 (gross leasable area), plus 2,800 parking spaces.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar Buys A Shopping Centre & 22 Eroski Stores From Rockspring For €111M

29 March 2017 – Inmodiario

The Socimi Lar is continuing to build up its collection of assets. It has spent €111 million buying the Parque Abadía shopping complex in Toledo and a portfolio of 22 Eroski stores, from the British fund Rockspring. It has completed these purchases entirely using its own funds, just one week after securing bank financing amounting to €104 million.

Parque Abadía, which Lar has purchased for a price of €63.1 million, is the largest retail space in Castilla-La Mancha, with a gross leasable area of 54,100 m2 – of which 37,114 m2 forms the subject of the transaction – and currently has an occupancy rate of 100%. It is the most iconic retail complex in the area, with retailers of the calibre of Alcampo, Media Markt, Decathlon, Leroy Merlin and Kiabi.

The location of Parque Abadía is another one of the asset’s strong points. Specifically, it is located on the motorway between Madrid and Toledo, which makes it highly visible and means that it can be accessed very easily. Parque Abadía is just ten minutes away from Toledo’s city centre and more than 300,000 people live within half an hour of the shopping centre by car.

Meanwhile, the 22 stores that Lar has purchased for €47.6 million are completely occupied and operated by the Eroski Group. They have a combined surface area of 28,822 m2 and the portfolio is very diversified from a geographical perspective.

Ten of the stores are located in the País Vasco – the area in which the retailer has its highest market share -, seven are located in the Balearic Islands, two in Navarra, another two in Cantabria and one in La Rioja.

The incorporation of these assets into Lar’s portfolio is allowing it to grow in the retail asset space. It now owns more than €1,000 million retail assets, which account for 75% of the Socimi’s total assets.

Lar owns 31 real estate assets, whose value amounts to €1,385.7 million, of which €1,072.4 million correspond to 16 retail spaces located in Madrid, Toledo, the Balearic Islands, La Rioja, Vigo, Valencia, Sevilla, Alicante, Cantabria, Lugo, León, Vizcaya, Navarra, Guipúzcoa, Palencia, Albacete and Barcelona.

Original story: Inmodiario 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Deutsche AM Finances 51% of Neinver & TH RE’s Nassica Purchase

20 December 2016 – Cuatro

Deutsche Asset Management (AM) has granted a loan amounting to €71.5 million to the joint venture between TH Real Estate and Neinver to finance its acquisition of the Nassica shopping and leisure centre in Madrid, whereby contributing 51% of the €140 million that was disbursed for the transaction.

Deutsche AM reported that the financing will be provided through its senior debt real estate fund.

At the beginning of November, TH Real Estate and Neinver completed the purchase of the Nassica shopping centre from the private equity firm KKR for €140 million.

At the beginning of 2015, Neinver and TH Real Estate signed a strategic alliance to create a leading platform of outlet centres in Europe, in which they each hold a 50% stake and through which they own several assets, in addition to the complex located in Getafe.

Constructed in 2002 and located in Getafe, in the south of Madrid, Nassica has a surface area of 53,000 m2, which is divided into 44 spaces for retail, restaurants and leisure.

The property, which was completely renovated in 2015, has a high occupancy rate and a large variety of retail outlets, including a Carrefour, MediaMarkt and Toys R Us, as well as other domestic and international brands.

The shopping centre attracts 6.4 million visitors per year and is easy to access given its strategic location close to two major highways. Moreover, it is next to The Style Outlets, an important shopping centre, which is managed by Neinver. (…).

Recently, Deutsche’s real estate debt investment division completed the €57 million refinancing of a portfolio of investments in Mayfair, London, as well as a new €750 million mandate for a German institutional client.

Deutsche AM’s real estate debt business has a total volume of €2,000 million (as at 7 November 2016).

Original story: Cuatro

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España’s Profits Soared By 77% To €47M In YTD Sept16

17 November 2016 – Expansión

Lar España generated a profit of €46.6 million during the first nine months of the year, which represents a 77% increase with respect to the same period last year, driven by the purchase of new assets, an increase in rental income and the affluence of its shopping centres.

The Socimi boosted its revenues from rental income by 80% between January and September, to €42.23 million, of which 90% was generated by its shopping centre portfolio, making Lar the third largest operator of this type of establishment in the country.

In fact, Lar España’s largest three tenants, by rental income, are Carrefour, which accounts for 7.78% of its total rental income, followed by Inditex (5.8%) and Media Markt (5.5%).

In terms of financing, at the end of September, Lar España recorded financial debt amounting to €455 million, meanwhile, on the other side of the balance sheet, its asset portfolio was worth around €1,201 million.

The fourteen shopping centres owned by the Socimi saw a 6.5% increase in visitor numbers during the first nine months of the year, well above the average in the sector (1.3%). Similarly, sales at Lar’s centres increased by 9.2%, compared with an average increase of 2.7% across all establishments.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Belgian Fund Ascencio Finalises Purchase Of Parque Abadía

8 November 2016 – Expansión

The Spanish real estate market is starting to welcome new players. After two years during which opportunistic funds and Spanish Socimis have been responsible for the lion’s share of investment operations, 2016 has seen several institutional investors and companies enter the market.

Such is the case of Ascencio. The listed Belgian real estate company (SIR, according to its French acronym), which specialises in well-located commercial assets with first-rate tenants, has decided to place its focus on Spain.

After years focusing on the Belgian market (where 62% of its assets are located) and France (which accounts for 33% of its portfolio), Ascencio arrived in Spain in March with the purchase of three premises in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, leased to the chain Worten, owned by the Sonae group. In this first operation, Ascencio spent €27.3 million, a figure that it is going to almost triple with its second transaction in Spain, given that the Belgian firm is the favourite to buy the Parque Abadía retail complex in Toledo.

Parque Abadía, which has a surface area of 64,000 m2, is the most important retail establishment in the province. With a retail surface area covering more than 54,000 m2, its main tenants include Alcampo, Decathlon, Media Markt, C&A, Conforama, Kiabi, Merkal and Norauto. Leroy Merlin also operates and owns a store in the complex, which has a surface area of more than 9,000 m2.

Inaugurated in November 2011, the retail complex has 2,680 parking spaces. Last year, Parque Abadía received more than six million visitors, and that figure is expected to be even higher in 2016.

Several investment funds and Socimis have expressed their interest in the property. Nevertheless, Ascencio’s offer, amounting to €80 million, is the best positioned, say sources close to the process.

The vendor is the British fund Rockspring, which has been focusing its investments in Spain on logistics centres in recent months, including the purchase of assets as well as the development of new establishments.

The sale of Parque Abadía is expected to be closed before the end of the year, according to sources in the market. Ascencio currently has funds amounting to €600 million to invest in the three European markets in which it has a presence, and has named Spain as its primary focus.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España Doubles Its Profits In H1 To €43.3M

13 September 2016 – El Economista

Lar España Real Estate recorded a net profit of €43.32 million during the first half of this year, which represents a two-fold increase compared with a year ago, when its profit amounted to €19.34 million, according to reports from the Socimi.

At the end of June, the company chaired by José Luis del Valle, owned a portfolio of properties amounting to €1,050 million. That amount is equivalent almost twice the value of its assets a year earlier and represents a revaluation of 9.3% with respect to the amount paid to acquire them.

The investment made to incorporate new assets into the portfolio of buildings and improvements that, according to the firm, has been performed under its management, boosted the Socimi’s rental income by 9%, to €26.9 million.

In turn, the gross operating profit (EBITDA) amounted to €23.80 million between January and June, whereby tripling the €8.30 million recorded during the same period in 2015.

The retail group Carrefour, the textile company Inditex, Media Markt and the public engineering company Ineca are Lar’s largest four tenants, given that they generate between 5.1% and 8.1% of their total rental income.

Reduce debt

In terms of financing, Lar España ratified its commitment to continue advancing towards its dual aim of reducing its cost of debt, which amounted to €456 million at the end of June, and extending its average maturity period, which currently amounts to almost seven years, on average.

The Chairman of the Socimi thinks that the half-yearly accounts will allow the company “to successfully tackle its commitments to shareholders”.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corum Convictions Sells Retail Outlet In Tarragona For €9.43M

31 May 2016 – Mis Locales

The real estate consultancy BNP Paribas Real Estate has advised Corum Convictions, the real estate investment company owned by Corum Am, regarding the sale of a retail outlet in Tarragona worth €9.43 million.

The asset, located in the Les Gavarres shopping area in Tarragona is leased to Media Markt, the European leader in the sale of domestic appliances and high quality IT equipment.

The property has been acquired by Actipierre Europe, the real estate company owned by Ciloger, which, in turn has been advised by Invesco Real Estate to carry out the transaction. Corum Convictions applies an open and opportunistic strategy to its investments with a high rate of distribution, and to this end, it invests in all types of assets (offices, shops, healthcare, hospitality, business, car parks…) both in France as well as across the Eurozone.

Vincent Dominique, Director of Corum Am, has said that “With this sale, we continue to drive our opportunistic acquisition and arbitrage strategy, which benefits from the effects of economic cycles. In fact, based on what we expected in 2013, the year in which the most recent economic cycle in Spain bottomed out, both in terms of the macroeconomic environment and the real estate investment sector, the decrease in rates has allowed an increase in asset values, which has resulted in high and secure rental income and first-rate tenants”.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake