Altamar, Amira & Orienta Take Their Student Hall Socimi To The Next Phase

12 September 2017 – Eje Prime

The company, which specialises in student halls of residences, is preparing a new phase of growth involving the acquisition of new assets, as well as changes in its management team following the departure of Fabrizio Agrimi, one of the leaders of the project, who has decided to leave the group to embark on new challenges.

One of the most obvious changes is the new name of the Socimi, which had been called Collie Investment until now, and which will now start operating under the brand Student Properties Spain Socimi. Sources at Altamar say that this is “a much more commercial name, which reflects the activity that the group focuses on”.

Another change facing the company created by the three funds is the loss of one of the directors who was leading the project, Fabrizio Agrimi, who until now was the CEO, partner and member of the analysis and investment team at Atlan Capital. The company, founded in 2006 by Altamar Capital and Aguirre Newman, currently has more than €2,500 million in assets under management.

Before joining Atlan Capital in 2007, Agrimi, who for the time being does not want to give any more details about his next move, had already obtained extensive experience in real estate investments and M&A deals in Spain, the UK and Italy (…).

Agrimi’s role in the new Student Properties Spain Socimi will be taken by Miguel Zurita, a director at Altamar since February 2013. Previously, the executive was a partner at Mercapital and Investment Director at Mexcapital.

The Student Properties Spain Socimi project was launched in March. Backed by the Altamar Capital, Amira Real Estate Asset Management, and Orienta Capital, the initial investment to develop the project was more than €11 million.

For the time being, the company owns one asset in Madrid, which it is renovating to turn it into its first halls of residence for students and in which it has invested almost all of the €11 million with which the Socimi debuted. “The idea now is to continue sounding out the market” – explain sources at Altamar – “we currently own just one asset in Madrid, but we are assessing opportunities in Granada, Salamanca, Sevilla and Valencia, in other words, in the main university cities in Spain”.

Altamar, Orienta and Amira

Altamar Capital Partners is an independent financial services group that strives to provide institutional and high net worth investors with access to alternative investments, amongst other services (…).

The firm was constituted in Spain in 2004 and employs a team of 110 professionals at its offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Santiago de Chile and New York (…).

Meanwhile, Amira Real Estate was founded in 2006 by professionals in the real estate market specialising in the management of equity and real estate investments in Spain. (…). The group specialises in advising domestic and international clients with an interest in the Spanish real estate market, who are looking for a management platform to channel and monetise their investments.

Orienta Capital was created in 2002 and operates out of two headquarters in Spain, located in Bilbao and Madrid. The group, led by a team of professionals with experience in the real estate business, is chaired by Emilio Soroa, a former director at Seguros Bilbao. The team is completed by former directors of Safei, Beta Capital Mees Pierson, Merril Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Banif.

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

BBVA & Ortega Will Need To Reach An Agreement To Sell Occidental Hoteles

9 March 2015 – Expansión

BBVA is the primary shareholder in Occidental. Through a number of investment companies, the bank controls 57.53% of the chain.

Amancio Ortega, the owner of Inditex, holds a 23.62% stake through his investment company Partler 2006. The other shareholders together control less than 20%.

The shareholders of Occidental Hoteles return to the market in search of a buyer, after the transaction with Barceló failed in December. Disagreements over price will be key to the divestment. (…). The investor duo, which together own more than 81% of the company, are again looking for a replacement. (…).

Plan

In 2007, the partners acquired Occidental from Mercapital and La Caixa for €700 million, including a debt of €229.5 million. The owners planned to invest €340 million to grow the chain and convert it into a world leader in the leisure segment, but that was suspended due to the economic crisis.

Over time, Occidental became a non-strategic investment and after restructuring the business and refinancing its debt in 2013, BBVA and Ortega launched a process to sell their stakes at the beginning of last year. (…)

According to sector sources, BBVA and Ortega were trying to sell at a price in line with what they paid eight years ago, however the offers they received included discounts of between 40% and 50%, given the investment required in Occidental’s hotels. At the last minute, an agreement with Barceló and CPG fell through; according to terms of the alliance between the two parties, the fund was going to assume the financial outlay and Barceló was going to take over the management of the hotels.

Given the situation, the shareholders of Occidental decided to suspend the process, although they are now resuming their search for candidates. And that is where the discrepancies arise over how to execute the divestment.

Ortega, who put an end to his adventure with the NH Hotel Group a year ago, is keen to accelerate his exit from Occidental, whose value may well decrease over the medium term, since there is no plan in place to allow it to keep growing. Meanwhile, BBVA is more reluctant and has put a (price) limit below which it is not willing to divest. Both investors have signed an agreement, which means that they will study any offers they receive.

The problem is that sooner or later, they will have to reach a consensus, since an agreement exists between the shareholders that links the approval of agreements in meetings to a favourable vote of at least 51% of the voting rights of Occidental.

Moreover, on an exceptional basis, for matters such as the appointment of the chairman, a minimum quorum of 66% is required. (…)

The hotel chain has now started to modernise its portfolio, which includes 13 hotels, most of which it owns. In recent years, Occidental has significantly reduced its portfolio – when BBVA and Ortega acquired their stakes, the group had 80 hotels and 18,500 rooms.

Original story: Expansión (by Yovanna Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake