Saba Buys 800 Parking Lots from Indigo for €200M

12 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Saba is expanding in Europe. The subsidiary of CriteriaCaixa, which specialises in the acquisition and management of parking lots, has acquired 800 car parks from Indigo for €200 million. The package sold comprises 169,000 parking spaces spread over several countries across the continent, including the United Kingdom and Germany.

In addition to British and German territory, Saba has also entered Slovakia and the Czech Republic with this purchase. Those four countries join the five where the company already had a presence, namely: Spain, Italy, Portugal, Andorra and Chile. In total, the company managed 210,000 parking spaces to date.

By virtue of this operation with Indigo, which is owned by the investment fund Ardian, the Spanish company has almost doubled the size of its portfolio, which will increase to 378,000 parking spaces, distributed across 1,175 parking lots, according to Expansión.

Salvador Alemany, President of Saba, has said that the purchase of this package of alternative assets “consolidates Saba’s industrial project over the long term, giving coherence to the roadmap marked by the company with the aim of making it a first-rate international player”.

In 2017, Saba recorded revenues of €213 million, with an EBITDA of €100 million and net financial debt of €330 million.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin’s Profit Rose By 47% In Q1 To €66.6M

16 May 2017 – Expansión

The real estate company, which merged with Metrovacesa last year, recorded total revenues of €119.9 million in Q1, up by 52.9% compared to last year, the majority of which came from rental income.

Merlin Properties, in which Santander and BBVA hold stakes, generated a net profit of €66.6 million between January and March, up by 47.1% compared to the same period last year.

The revenues of the real estate group, the largest in Spain and one of the largest in Europe, following its integration of Metrovacesa, registered total revenues of €119.9 million, which represented an increase of 52.9%.

Most of that figure corresponded to rental income, with gross rental revenues of €115.3 million, up by 50.1%. In turn, of the total rental revenues, €53.4 million corresponded to offices, €22.6 million to shopping centres, €26.1 million to high street retail premises, and €8.9 million to logistics assets. Merlin’s EBITDA improved by 47.5% to €99.4 million, and it recorded a margin of 82.9%.

At the end of the first quarter, Merlin’s gross asset value (GAV) amounted to €10,026 million. The group invested €206 million between January and March, mostly on the acquisition of new assets (€188.7 million). Its net financial debt amounted to €4,570 million.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Owner Of McKinsey’s HQ Puts Its RE Portfolio Up For Sale

19 May 2015 – Expansión

 More than €200 million / The Cotoner family is selling six buildings in Spain and two in Paris

A new batch of office buildings has sparked interest amongst large investment funds, Socimis and family offices. There are eight buildings in total – six in Spain and two in France – located in some of the most iconic streets of both countries. In total, they occupy a combined surface area of more than 27,000 m2 and generate more than €3 million in annual rental income.

The assets are owned by the company Marzabal S.L., created by the Cotoner family to manage its real estate assets. They include eight buildings: two in Pairs, one in Navarra, another one in Bilbao and four in Madrid. The jewel in Marzabal’s crown is located in the capital: the current headquarters of McKinsey. The consultancy firm has occupied the building, located on Calle Sagasta 31, for years, as well as several floors in the adjoining building. Both are owned by the company now for sale.

In total, the building houses 10,114 square metres of office space (fully leased) and 93 parking spaces; it generates annual rental income of €1.64 million.

Rental income

The other buildings in Madrid include a historical building (from 1923) on Avenida de Felipe II; another one on Paseo de Eduardo Dato; and a third on Francisco de Rojas, occupying more than 4,400 square metres and leased to several tenants, including the distance learning university, Uned. Currently, they generate rental income of more than €500,000 per year.

Marzabal also owns a residential building in Tudela (Navarra), built in 2013, measuring more than 2,650 square metres, which also houses several shops on its ground floor.

In Bilbao, the company owns a residential property measuring around 800 square metres, located in the old town, next to the San Francisco de Asís church.

The company for sale is the owner, in turn, of a company based in Denmark, which owns two office buildings in Paris. One of them, located in the “second district” of the French capital, houses office space measuring 2,100 square metres and is fully leased to the private equity company Partech International.

It generates rental income of almost €900,000 per year.

The second asset in Paris includes four office buildings measuring 4,200 square metres and 39 parking spaces. The property, located on Pereire Boulevard does not currently have any tenants.

Bids are expected to amount to more than €200 million for the batch of assets, although the book value of the Spanish assets amounts to €68 million, with share capital of €10.4 million and net financial debt of €34 million. The Danish company, which owns the two properties in France, is worth €62 million; its share capital amounts €37 million and has net financial debt of €24 million. The Spanish entity’s main creditors are BBVA and Santander; the Danish entity’s main creditors are Crédit Foncier and BNP.

Bids are expected to be received during the first half of June and the process will close during the following three weeks. The sale is being managed by the private banking division of Banco Santander and the firm Aiga Investment.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake