Tag: Microsoft

CaixaBank will Occupy Norman Foster’s New Building in Colón (Madrid)

4 June 2019 – Voz Pópuli

According market sources, CaixaBank has won the bid to acquire the iconic glass-cube Axis building that Normal Foster is building in Plaza de Colón in Madrid.

The bank has reportedly fought off competition from Tesla and Microsoft and so the property will be occupied by a sole tenant, rather than by various shops and offices as initially envisaged.

The building work is expected to be completed at the end of this year and the property will comprise three open-plan floors, with large transparent façades overlooking Plaza de Colón and Calle de Génova, as well as a rooftop terrace.

Original story: Voz Pópuli (by David Cabrera)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

WeWork Doubled its Losses in 2018 Due to Global Property Purchases

27 March 2019 – Eje Prime

The US co-working company WeWork doubled its losses in 2018 to USD 1.9 billion (€1.7 billion), due to the huge outlay it made expanding its business around the world. Nevertheless, it did also double its revenues to USD 1.8 billion (€1.6 billion).

The company founded by Adam Neumann in 2010 closed 2018 with shared offices in more than 100 countries as well as rental contracts with several major corporates, such as Microsoft, Adidas and Citigroup, which account for one third of its tenants.

The valuation of the company, which leases space to 401,000 people globally, amounts to USD 47 billion. In Spain, the company has five spaces in Barcelona and four in Madrid, with new openings imminent.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Is Málaga the Silicon Valley of the South? Its Offices Generate Yields of 7.25%

7 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Málaga is positioning itself as the possible Silicon Valley of the south of Spain. The second most populated city in Andalucía and the only Spanish city in the Top 10 for the best quality of life in Europe, according to Eurobarómetro, has attracted several technology giants in recent years. The interest from these companies in moving to the area and the lack of available space have driven up prime yields in the office market in Málaga to 7.25%, making it the most profitable place to own an office in Spain, according to data from CBRE.

The international consultancy highlights that Málaga is “consolidating its position as a city of reference in Spain in the development of the technology sector”. Oracle, Accenture, Microsoft, Huawei, Ericsson, Indra, Atos and Cisco, amongst others, have all opened offices in the city. The meeting point for these companies is the Andalucía Technology Park (PTA), recently included in the catalogue of European Digital Innovation Hubs, compiled by the European Commission, and which recorded a turnover of €1.9 billion in 2019, up by 8%.

In addition, the province is home to other smaller clusters, such as Málaga SmartCity and the ‘Polo de Contenidos Digitales de Málaga’, the first hub with those characteristics in Spain and which aims to accelerate projects and companies related to the digital sector.

The increase in demand for offices in the city also comes in response to the future forecasts for growth in the region. In fact, Oxford Economists names Málaga as the city where the economy is going to grow by the most in Spain over the next decade. The good connectivity of the province abroad and tourism are some of the factors driving those predictions.

In recent years, Málaga has enjoyed a facelift in recent years with improvements in its infrastructures, and the airport and port as anchors for tourism and business. In addition, the population has increased to 570,000 inhabitants in recent years and there are now more than 40,000 companies, of which 87.1% specialise in services.

These drivers have reactivated the office market, which has taken advantage of the boost in demand, on the rise since 2015. Rentals cost €17/m2/month in the city’s best buildings and the occupancy rate in the prime area exceeds 90%.

The shortage of competitive products in terms of location, finishes and facilities, has driven the increase in yields. In comparison with Madrid and Barcelona, the variation in prime yields is great, improving the yields of 3.25% and 4% that were being registered in the two major Spanish capitals at the end of the third quarter 2018.

Moreover, the office market in Málaga also generates higher yields than the market in Bilbao, although it is not far behind with average yields of 7%, as well as those in Sevilla and Palma, which do not exceed 6.75%. The yields in Valencia and Zaragoza amounted to 5.25% and 6%, respectively, in September last year (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Jabier Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Procisa Group Undergoes A Corporate & Financial Makeover

30 December 2016 – Expansión

Procisa, the group owned by the Cereceda family, which in turn owns La Finca, the business and luxury residential complex, in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) has embarked upon a profound corporate and financial restructuring process involving: a capital injection amounting to €395 million; the entry of the US fund Värde; and the strengthening of its corporate governance.

In terms of the corporate changes, from now on, the company will be organised around the Grupo La Finca holding company, which will in turn own three separate companies: La Finca Global Assets, dedicated to the real estate business and to the operation of the high-end office market; La Finca Casablanca, which will construct the largest luxury residential development containing more than 500 homes; and La Finca Real Estate, upon which the group’s future development will hinge.

Under the framework of this operation, the US fund Värde, owner of Dospuntos (the former real estate division of Sanjose) and owner of a stake in Aliseda, Banco Popular’s real estate asset manager, has acquired 39% of La Finca Global Assets. The US private equity firm, which manages more than $40,000 million in assets around the world, has been one of the most active investors in Spain since the outbreak of the crisis.

Portfolio

By virtue of the agreement signed yesterday, Värde, which must have paid around €130 million for its stake, will become a shareholder of the current office buildings in the portfolio and of the new projects in this area of the business. In addition to the La Finca business park, La Finca Global Assets’s properties include a property located on Calle Marcelo Spínola – a business centre comprising seven seven-storey buildings – and another property on Calle Martínez Villergas, comprising three seven-storey buildings.

Meanwhile, the La Finca business park, covering 220,000 m2 of premium rental space, comprises 20 buildings, 16 of which are used as offices plus the remaining four, located in the centre of the complex, which are used to provide the necessary services to the users of these offices. The complex’s current tenants include technological companies such as Orange and Microsoft.

In terms of the injection of funds, the company has signed a financing agreement with a syndicate led by Société Générale, CaixaBank and Santander amounting to €395 million, which it will use to pay off existing debt and tackle new projects. According to the latest available balance sheet, Procisa’s debt amounts to €525 million.

Specifically, the subsidiary La Finca Casablanca is planning to construct a development containing 515 luxury and exclusive homes, a shopping and leisure centre, as well as sports facilities and a golf course, in the south of Pozuelo de Alarcón.

New directors

Meanwhile, the group owned by the Cereceda family has strengthened its corporate governance by hiring some new directors. Susana García-Cereceda, the current Chairman of Procisa and one of the heiresses of the family empire created by the businessman Luis García Cereceda, who died in 2010, will lead the holding company and each of its subsidiaries, as the CEO.

In addition, Grupo La Finca will hire Jorge Morán as the Vice President of the holding company. (…). Moreover, Värde will join the Board of La Finca Global Assets with the appointment of three board members. (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Värde Given Green Light To Buy 40% Of La Finca Global Assets

14 November 2016 – Real Estate Press

In August, a judge suspended the sale of part of Procisa to the fund Värde, due to a family dispute, which left the operation up in the air. Now, the precautionary measures have just been lifted and the BOE has published its proposal for the carve out of the firm into three companies, which will allow the definitive sale to go ahead.

The agreement carves out Procisa into three companies: La Finca Global Assets, containing the office assets; La Finca Promociones y Conciertos Inmobiliarios, containing the residential assets; and La Finca Somosaguas Golf. Sources close to the operation indicate that this is the final step in the process for the agreement with Värde to be signed.

The new company that owns the office assets will be converted into a Socimi. For the time being, the consideration paid for the operation will not be revealed. Meanwhile, Procisa, founded by the late Luis García Cereceda, is being led by the second generation of the same family, in the form of Susana García Cereceda.

The new Socimi’s main asset is the La Finca business park in Pozuelo, constructed alongside the luxury residential urbanisation. The company contains 20 buildings, of which 16 are offices and the rest are used for social and commercial purposes. Tenants at the site include companies such as Microsoft, Orange and Accenture. The Hotel AC La Finca is also located there. This is one of the most sought-after business parks in Madrid, with an occupancy rate of almost 100%, according to market sources. The future Socimi will manage an office surface area covering 227,000 m2, which includes other office properties in addition to the complex in Pozuelo.

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ibercaja Completes Sale Of Caja 3’s Industrial Portfolio

13 September 2016 – Expansión

Ibercaja is still putting the shine on its balance sheet ahead of its IPO, which is expected to take place at the end of next year or the beginning of 2018. Having transferred the administration and sale of 14,000 real estate assets to the platform Aktua in February, it is now on the verge of getting rid of all of its non-strategic holdings.

According to sources at the group, the bank has divested more than 200 business projects since 2012, which has allowed it to reduce its volume of portfolio investments by approximately €285 million. But the most important achievement is that it has now managed to finalise the investment plan inherited from Caja 3, as defined by Brussels, when that entity received public aid in 2012. 129 companies from the former savings banks were identified with an investment volume of €153 million, which means that Ibercaja is fulfilling all the requirements.

Nevertheless, it still needs to return that aid. Caja 3 received €386 million in contingent convertible bonds (CoCos) signed by the FROB, of which Ibercaja returned €20 million in March. The remaining balance has to be repaid between March and December 2017.

These divestments represent one of the pillars of Ibercaja’s strategic plan for 2015-17, together with the repayment of the aid; the issue of €500 million in subordinated debt from last year; the sale of problem debt to property developers; the transfer of its real estate assets to Aktua; and this year, its growth plan in Madrid; and its digitalisation plan, for which it has signed a strategic agreement with Microsoft.

In fact, within its specific divestment plan for 2015-2017, approximately 100 companies were identified as possible divestment targets, whereby reducing the volume of its investment portfolio by approximately €180 million. Currently, according to sources at the group, it has divested 53 companies, including total and partial sales. In total, it has decreased its investment in corporate projects by €68 million, with a positive contribution to the group’s consolidated result of €10 million. Its profits amount to €23 million since 2012. Meanwhile, sources at the group added that capital amounting to €27 million has also been freed up. In total, own funds have increased by €50 million.

The companies

In addition to the sale of Gestión de Inmuebles Salduvia, which was included in the agreement reached with Aktua in February this year, Ibercaja’s other major divestments include, by order of importance: the divestment of the Naturiber Group (specialising in the meat sector), Portobelio and Ahorro Corporación Infraestructuras (private equity funds), Ahorro Corporación Gestión (the fund manager), Titulización de Activos, Imaginarium (the toy retailer) and ATCA (a technology development company).

Over the next few years, Ibercaja plans to continue executing its divestment plan, which involves more than 50 additional sales, which will allow it to reduce its portfolio by approximately €112 million more, with the resulting positive impact on the income statement and an efficient allocation of capital.

Ibercaja reported profits of €72.3 million during the first six months of 2016, up by 3.7% compared to a year earlier, thanks to the sale of its real estate arm, as well as sales of debt.

Original story: Expansión (by D. Badía)

Translation: Carmel Drake

A Revamp Of Avenida Diagonal Would Boost RE Inv’t

4 August 2016 – Mis Locales

With the debate raging over whether or not to reform Avenida Diagonal, between Paseo de Gracia and La Plaza de las Glorias, real estate investments are firmly under the spotlight. Following the approval of the proposal by the municipal council, planned for next summer, at a cost of around €11 million, the door has been opened to the extension of the prime area, currently centred around the commercial thoroughfares of Rambla de Catalunya and Paseo de Gracia, to other areas of the city centre.

The renovation includes increasing the width of the pavements by up to 40%, moving the tramlines to the middle of the avenue and restricting private traffic to just two lanes in each direction. Those are the main changes of the reform, which would generate 1,000 new jobs, 500 direct and another 500 indirect.

“The renovation of La Diagonal would turn it into one of the state of the art thoroughfares not just in Spain, but in Europe. Moreover, it would generate lots of business opportunities for an area that has historically been regarded as a transit route”, said Gerard Marcet, Founding Partner at Laborde Marcet. The renovation would give priority to citizens and would boost businesses in the area. On the stretch between Paseo de Gracia and Paseo San Juan alone, 100 premises are either vacant or in a precarious situation, which could see their fortunes turned around thanks to this refurbishment.

The project has been prepared on the basis of the city’s urban mobility plan, which forecasts a 20% reduction in private traffic by 2018, which would allow the space designated for bicycles and pedestrians to be increased, and the stretch of La Diagonal between Paseo de Gracia and La Plaza de las Glorias to be converted into a pedestrianized area. (…)

“Investing in La Diagonal means attracting investment and businesses from all over the world, as well as to another main focal point: Diagonal Mar”, said Marcet. The main commercial focus of attraction in the 22@ district has a surface area of 88,000 sqm, contains 200 shops, 40,000 employees and more than 4,800 parking spaces.

Companies such as Sara Lee, ADP, Henkel Ibérica, ISDIN, RBA, Microsoft Ibérica, Telefónica, Indra and Sanofi are some of the companies that are already located in the area.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake

Procisa To List La Finca Business Park As A Socimi

12 May 2016 – Cinco Días

The real estate company Procisa is finalising a major corporate restructuring process, which will culminate in the IPO of its office business. The company, renowned for having constructed the luxury La Finca urbanisation in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) will separate its activity into two companies. The residential development business will be called La Finca Procisa and the RE asset business will be called La Finca Global Assets.

The new RE asset (offiec) company will be converted into a listed Socimi, according to sources familiar with the operation. These types of companies have the advantage of being exempt from corporation tax, in exchange for having the obligation to distribute dividends every year. Like all Socimis, La Finca Global Assets will have a period of two years to debut on the stock market.

From the beginning, the Socimi will benefit from having Värde Partners as one of its shareholders – the US fund is currently finalising the acquisition of a 40% stake in the real estate company. The fund, created in Minnesota (USA) in 1993 has been very active in the Spanish market in recent years. (…). The consideration to be paid by Värde in this operation has not been revealed, but the deal is expected to close within the next few days.

The company, founded by the late Luis García Cerceda, is now being led by the second generation – Susana García Cereceda is the Chairman, and it controls the property developer through the holding company Michigan 42. The real estate company recorded revenues of €83.8 million in 2014, the most recent figures available in the registry, and losses of €19 million, along with long-term debt of €511 million.

The new Socimi’s main asset is the La Finca business park in Pozuelo, constructed alongside the luxury residential urbanisation where several footballers live, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Fernando Torres. The complex comprises 20 buildings, including 16 offices.

Tenants include companies such as Microsoft, Orange and Accenture. The Hotel AC La Finca is also located there. It is one of the most sought-after business parks in Madrid, given that it has just 0.3% of free space, according to market sources (…).

The future Socimi Finca Global Assets will manage a surface area of offices covering 227,000 sqm. As well as the complex in Pozuelo, the company also owns other office buildings, which will be included in the operation. These include the Marcelo Spínola business centre, constructed in 1991, comprising seven buildings.

In the Méndez Álvaro area, the company owns the Torre Suecia, which is currently leased to the technology firm Ericsson. Close to the A-2, it manages the Martínez Villergas business centre, which houses, for example, Warner’s headquarters in Spain. Moreover, it owns other office buildings on the sought-after streets of Serrano and Almagro.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Värde Finalises Acquisition Of 40% Of La Finca Business Park

28 April 2016 – Expansión

Procisa– the real estate company owned by the García Cereceda family – is finalising an agreement with the American fund Värde Partners to sell it a 40% stake in its office business, which includes, amongst others, assets in the exclusive La Finca Business Park, located in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), according to sources in the sector. (…)

Procisa, the group that specialises in offices and luxury residential developments, recently constituted a company under the name Grupo La Finca and divided its business into two distinct areas: one operating in the office segment, which is where Värde will acquire its stake; and the other operating in the residential business, which will continue to be fully owned by Procisa.

Susana García Cereceda will continue to lead the new Grupo La Finca, where she will serve as CEO, the same role that she currently performs in Procisa’s family business.

In the same way, García Cereceda will lead the two business lines into which the group has been divided.

To complete the organigram of the new real estate company, it is expected that new members with experience and background in the sector will join the company over the next few months.

Residential business

In terms of the residential business, Grupo La Finca wants to expand through new housing developments, as well as in the exclusive development in Pozuelo de Alarcón, next to the Parque Empresarial. The main features of this urbanisation include security, privacy and exclusivity. The group’s intention is to develop a new complex, to complement the detached and terraced houses that currently comprise La Finca.

With its upcoming investment in La Finca Global Assets (the name of La Finca’s office division), Värde Partners, which currently controls the real estate division of Grupo San José, with a 51% shareholding, and which also owns a stake in Popular’s servicer Aliseda, will take a leap into the high standing office business, which will allow it to expand its presence in the commercial and professional business segment in the future.

The private equity fund Värde Partners has been one of the most active investors in Spain since the crisis began. Its first major operation was closed last August, when it acquired 51% of the real estate company San José to construct 1,500 homes in Spain.

In 2014, it purchased 51% of Banco Popular-e’s card business, whereby the entity recorded profits of more than €400 million.

Moreover, a year earlier, it acquired, together with Kennedy Wilson, the real estate arm of Popular, Aliseda, for approximately €800 million. At the global level, the fund, founded in Minnesota in 1993, manages more than USD 40,000 million and has 200 employees around the world, of which 65 are professional investors with more than 12 years of experience.

From now on, its assets in Spain will include La Finca Global Assets, whose assets comprise not only the La Finca business park, but also other iconic buildings owned by Procisa, including a business centre comprising seven, 7-storey buildings on Calle Marcelo Spínola and another property comprising three, 7-storey buildings on Calle Martínez Villergas. (…).

Meanwhile, the park in La Finca, has a surface area of premium leasable space covering 27,000 m2, comprising 20 buildings (16 offices and 4 for the provision of services for use by office workers). Current tenants include companies such as Orange and Microsoft. (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake