Tag: Meridia Real Estate III

Meridia III Raises €44M to Grow its Property Portfolio

31 January 2019 – Idealista

The Catalan fund Meridia is giving a boost to one of its Socimis. Meridia Real Estate III, led by the businessman Javier Faus, has increased its capital by €44 million, according to an announcement made by the group in the Official Gazette of the Mercantile Registry (BORME). This increase will serve to allow the company to continue with its business plan and add new properties to its portfolio.

According to explanations provided by the company to Idealista News, this increase forms part of the normal operation of the investment vehicle during its investment phase. Meridia Real Estate III is a vehicle dedicated to investment in all segments of the real estate sector in Madrid and Barcelona. The company’s portfolio currently comprises nine assets, including office buildings, industrial platforms and a shopping centre.

One of the most recent operations to be closed by the investment vehicle was the acquisition from the US fund Värde of a plot with a buildable surface area of 24,600 m2 in the 22@ district of Barcelona for €25.8 million.

The company, which purchased that land through its Socimi Meridia III, has already paid half of the cost of the operation. Payment of the remaining €12.9 million has been postponed until 17 March 2020, and it has been guaranteed by a mortgage on the land acquired, according to reports by the company to the stock market regulator.

With this purchase, the company is seeking to undertake a transformation plan for tertiary purposes in the Barcelona district. Currently, Meridia III owns more than 60,000 m2 of buildable space in the 22@ district, making it one of the leading investors in that area of the Catalan capital.

Meridia’s Socimi has been listed on the MAB since the end of last year. The company has starred in some of the most important operations of the last two years, both in the office market, as well as in the retail segment (…).

The fund manager is preparing to launch its fourth fund onto the market before the end of this year. The company is currently in the pre-market phase in territories such as Benelux and Israel, amongst others. The group’s new investment vehicle will join Meridia II, currently in its divestment phase, and Meridia III.

Original story: Idealista (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Meridia’s Socimi Invests €26.5 Million in an Office Building in ​​Madrid’s Financial District

26 March 2018

Meridia’s socimi is growing its participation in the office sector. The fund, led by the Catalan executive Javier Faus, bought 90% of an office building in Madrid’s financial district. The group is in negotiations to acquire the remaining 10% in the coming days. The total price for the property is expected to involve an investment of 26.5 million euros.

The building has 7,000 square meters of area, according to Meridia Real Estate III Socimi, the company through which the fund is finalising the deal. Merida is financing the purchase with equity and a seven-year loan, granted by a Spanish financial institution, of 17 million euros.

Meridia’s socimi listed on Spain’s Alternative Stock Market (MAB) on December 29, the 47th socimi to join the MAB and the last in 2017. The socimi’s shares started trading with a market value of one euro per share, giving the company a capitalisation of 78.5 million euros. The company, which was established last year, is the fund’s third investment vehicle, created by Faus in 2001.

The vehicle has attracted the attention of various investors since its inception. The last to announce its interest in the socimi was the Puig family, which owns the Puig perfume and fashion group. The group acquired 5.25% of the socimi’s capital through its real estate investment firm Inmo.

In addition to the Puigs, its main shareholders include: the institutional investor Dreof, based in New York, which holds 18.39% of the group, a church pension fund, with 15.75%, the European institutional investor Periza Industries (1.13%), the Israeli Harel investment and financial services group (11.98%) and Credit Suisse (7.88%).

The rest of the socimi’s capital is in the hands of two local family offices: Anangu Grup, the principal holding of the Catalan company Eurofred (6.56%) and the Puig family’s Inmo (5.25%). According to a document sent to the Alternative Stock Market, the president of Meridia, Javier Faus, personally owns 5.21% of the socimi.

Original Story: EjePrime – C. Pareja

Translation: Richard Turner

Meridia Converts New RE Fund Into A Socimi

19 May 2016 – Expansión

The private equity manager Meridia has decided to convert its latest real estate fund, Meridia Real Estate III, into a Socimi, which will be listed on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) within a maximum period of two years, according to sources at the company led by Javier Faus (pictured above).

The fund, which was constituted last year, has available resources of around €250 million, but its investment capacity increases to €600 million including its bank debt.

The same sources explained that the conversion into a Socimi comes in response to the fact that, unlike its predecessors, large institutional players have invested in this fund – together with a family office. Such players tend to employ the REIT structure for their operations in the real estate sector. REITs are very similar companies to the Spanish Socimis, with significant tax incentives and the obligation to list on the stock exchange.

Meridia Real Estate III debuted in April with the acquisition of a batch of eight office buildings and a logistics warehouse located in Madrid and Barcelona. The package, which belonged to the real estate fund Segurfondo Inversión, managed by Inverseguros, was sold for €52.45 million. It is a diversified portfolio with great potential.

Original story: Expansión (by J.Orihuel and M.Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake