Sareb Invites 20 Investors to Participate in the Sale of its Socimi Témpore

20 December 2018 – El Economista

A formal process is being launched after initial interest was received from three buyers, including one that stood out from the US fund TPG.

On Tuesday, Sareb opened a formal process to sell Témpore, its rental home Socimi, according to confirmation provided by sources in the sector speaking to El Economista. The bad bank, which has not engaged an external advisor for this divestment process, has invited 20 investors to participate.

In November, Nicolás Díaz Saldaña, CEO of the residential company, acknowledged that a Data Room had been enabled containing information about the Socimi and that access had been granted to it for five investors interested in the acquisition of Témpore.

In the end, three offers were received, of which the ones from Ares and TPG stood out, the latter being the highest. In light of the expressions of interest, Sareb decided to raise the matter to its Board of Directors, which yesterday launched an orderly sales process in which investors may participate by invitation only.

According to the same sources, Sareb has not imposed any conditions regarding what percentage of its stake is for sale (it held 98.38% at the end of June), and so it will be open to all offers.

The Socimi has just carried out what will be its last non-monetary capital increase subscribed by Sareb amounting to €150 million to acquire 1,769 assets in total, of which 850 are rental homes. The operation, which forms part of the right of first refusal agreement (ROFO), which Sareb and the Socimi signed, allows Témpore to double in size to reach €325 million.

Growth plan

Before announcing the sales process, Témpore had a growth plan underway with the aim of achieving a portfolio worth €500 million and in this way having sufficient volume to make its debut on the main stock market. That was explained at the time by Díaz Saldaña, who noted that in order to continue growing, “we will have to look for financing, be it from the bank or an alternative, such as a bond issue”.

Amongst the different options, the Socimi is analysing the purchase of whole buildings of rental homes and is also studying the acquisition of developments under construction that are currently in the hands of Sareb. In addition, it is considering buying turnkey projects through delegated promotion. “In the case of the latter, the first projects would be with Sareb, given that at the moment, for the other property developers that we have spoken to, it is more profitable for them to sell in the retail market”, said the CEO.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Sareb announced the sale of some land in the Torre Salses area, in Lleida, for the construction of a large shopping centre, spanning more than 60,000 m2. Eurofund Capital Partners has paid €8.3 million for that plot, whose sale was agreed in 2016.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb’s Board Suspends the Sale of its Socimi Témpore to Launch a ‘Transparent Process’

19 December 2018 – El Independiente

The sale of Tempore Properties, the Socimi owned by the Company for the Management of Assets proceeding from the Restructuring of the Banking System (Sareb), was almost a done deal, but the plug has been pulled at the final hurdle. Sareb and the investment fund TPG were in the midst of closing the final details of the operation when the Board of the so-called “bad bank” decided to reject the offer. To the bewilderment of the US group, the directors of Sareb have demanded the launch of an ordered and transparent sale process, according to sources familiar with the events speaking to El Independiente.

Tempore, which has just carried out a non-monetary capital increase for €150 million and which will soon manage 3,300 real estate assets worth €325 million, received several offers at the end of November. The bid from TPG was successful over the others, but the process did not have all of the guarantees, and so the members of Sareb’s Board of Directors took the decision to block the transaction.

“It makes sense, especially taking into account the legal problems that could be generated if a government agency participates in exclusive processes”, indicated sources in the sector. “The directors have to be increasingly careful with the operations that they approve or they may incur serious faults”, added another.

In this way, the entity that it seemed was going to become the new owner of the Socimi, TPG, is the shareholder of companies such as Spotify, Airbnb, Burger King, Lenovo, Ducati and Grohe, amongst others.

Sareb, in which the State owns a 45% stake, wanted to close the operation before the end of the year and improve the appearance of its accounts, which are set to report losses, for another year. Now, however, that operation will have to wait until 2019.

The Tempore portfolio being sold by Sareb is concentrated (80%) in the metropolitan areas of Spain’s major capitals, with the remaining assets located in geographical areas with significant demand in the rental market, such as Valencia, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Málaga and Almería.

Azora is responsible for the management of the portfolio, specifically for the administration and sale of the assets. The Socimi is led by the Director of Rentals at Sareb, Nicolás Díaz Saldaña. Before joining the bad bank, Saldaña led the international team at Metrovacesa during the toughest period of the real estate crisis (…).

Several sources in the financial sector have indicated that Sareb must maximise the cleanliness of the operations that it participates in, especially after some institutions have been called out for irregular sales.

The Bank of Spain took Sareb to task over some suspicious activity following an inspection, according to a report to which El Independiente has had access.

Original story: El Independiente (by Ana Antón)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Sells its Socimi & its 3,300-Asset Portfolio to TPG

4 December 2018 – El Independiente

Sareb, the Company for the Management of Assets proceeding from the Restructuring of the Banking System, is closing the final details of the sale of its Socimi Tempore Properties to the private equity fund TPG.

The company, which is in the middle of a non-monetary capital increase amounting to €150 million and which will soon manage 3,300 real estate assets worth €325 million, received several offers at the end of November, including from the fund Apollo. In the end, the proposal from TPG has proved victorious, according to sources speaking to El Independiente.

The US group TPG, which has USD 94 billion in assets under management, is the shareholder of companies such as Spotify, Airbnb, Burger King, Lenovo, Ducati, Saxo Bank and Grohe, amongst others.

The so-called bad bank, in which the State holds a 45% stake, hopes to close this operation before the end of the year, in order to improve the appearance of its accounts, which will again feature losses.

The Tempore portfolio sold by Sareb is concentrated (80%) in the metropolitan areas of the major capitals, with the remainder located in regions with significant demand in the rental market, such as Valencia, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Málaga and Almería.

Azora is responsible for the management of the portfolio – it performs the administration and marketing activities for the assets directly. The company is led by the Director of Rentals at Sareb, Nicolás Díaz Saldaña. Before his arrival at Sareb, Saldaña was at the helm of the international department at Metrovacesa during the most complicated period of the real estate crisis.

Sareb is selling its Socimi at a time when these types of companies are in the Government’s spotlight, in light of the insistence of Podemos to toughen up the beneficial tax regime that has facilitated the expansion of the vehicles in recent years.

The Bank of Spain has also started to monitor the Socimis as a potential focus of instability for the financial sector and links the rise of these vehicles to the sharp increases in the prices of offices and commercial premises.

Original story: El Independiente (by Ana Antón)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Témpore Properties Starts Out with a Portfolio of 1,383 Homes

28 November 2017 – Sareb

Témpore Properties, the Socimi constituted by Sareb, the ‘Company responsible for the Management of Assets Proceeding from the Restructuring of the Banking System’, has started its journey with a package of 1,554 assets, of which 1,383 are homes and the rest are associated assets (storerooms and garages). The total value of the transferred assets amounts to €175 million.

The portfolio transferred by Sareb is concentrated in the metropolitan areas of Spain’s large capitals (80%); the remainder is located in geographical areas that have high demand in the rental market, such as the provinces of Valencia, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Málaga and Almería. The homes have an average size of 93 m2 and have two or three bedrooms.

The management of this portfolio has been assigned to Azora, which is going to be directly responsible for the work required to administer and market the assets. In parallel, Sareb is continuing to work with its advisors Renta 4 and Clifford Chance on Témpore’s stock market debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB), which will take place at some point in the next few weeks, once all of the necessary procedures have been completed.

Diaz Saldaña, Head of the Socimi

The culmination of the asset transfer process coincides with the configuration of the management team of Témpore Properties, headed by the Director of Rentals at Sareb, Nicolás Díaz Saldaña.

Diaz Saldaña has extensive experience as a senior manager in the real estate and financial sectors, with a special focus on the international market. Between 1991 and 1997, he developed analysis services for the Institute of Economic Studies. Subsequently, Saldaña held different positions at BBVA between 1997 and 2008, where he rose to lead the bank’s subsidiaries in Benelux and Germany. Before joining Sareb, Saldaña led the international division at Metrovacesa during the toughest period of the real estate crisis.

Original story: Sareb

Translation: Carmel Drake