Tag: objectives

Companies are Invited to Buy Industrial Land in Galicia with Discounts of up to 50%

23 February 2019 – La Voz de Galicia 

Galician companies, as well as those from outside the region interested in moving into Galicia, will have a batch of 1.25 million m2 of subsidised business land available to them. The discounts will range between 30% and 50%, depending on the area. With this plan, the autonomous administration is providing continuity to the strategy it has outlined in recent years, which allowed it to award almost 1.5 million m2 of land across Galicia between 2015 and 2018, mostly under a sale-purchase regime.

The public company Xestur, which is in the hands of the Xunta, has called a new tender this year through which it is making available 929,422 m2 of land: interested companies have until the middle of March to process their applications with the aim of acquiring 281 plots located in 17 business parks across the region.

Specifically, the plots being offered by Xestur are located on six industrial estates in the province of A Coruña (…); four in the province of Pontevedra (…); another four in the province of Lugo (…) and finally three in the province of Ourense (…).

Besides the almost 930,000 m2 being offered by Xestur, the Xunta is going to add another 322,258 m2 of industrial plots, also for a subsidised price, owned by the Galician Institute of Housing and Land (Instituto Galego da Vivenda e Solo (IGVS)), which are available to be awarded at any time (…).

Specifically, the offer from IGVS comprises 153 plots in total, located in 15 business parks across Galicia, including: three in the province of A Coruña (…), five in Lugo (…); six in Ourense (…) and finally one in Pontevedra (…).

The mobilisation of industrial land is one of the objectives outlined by the Xunta to attract companies to the region and avoid them abandoning the area (…).

Original story: La Voz de Galicia

Translation: Carmel Drake

Blackstone Will Pay Merlin, Santander & BBVA €948M for 50.01% of Testa

18 September 2018 – Cinco Días

Another major movement in the real estate sector and with the same star as the buyer: the US giant Blackstone. After acquiring the Socimi Hispania, which specialises in hotels, the fund has now set its sights on Testa, the largest owner of rental housing in Spain.

Blackstone has already agreed to purchase 50.01% of the Socimi (…) from three of Testa’s largest shareholders (Merlin Properties, Santander and BBVA), according to a statement filed by the real estate company with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) on Monday. Nevertheless, Acciona, the other major shareholder, has not sold its stake. The US fund manager is carrying out the operation through the company Tropic Real Estate Holding and is paying €948 million, whereby valuing Testa at €1.895 billion.

Blackstone is paying €14.327 per share. The company’s closing price at the end of trading on Friday was €14, representing a premium of just over 2%.

Blackstone is keeping the offer open for the other shareholders. In fact, the document sent to the exchange by Testa explains that the bidder “has committed to buying all of the remaining shares in the company” under the same conditions.

Testa’s shareholders regard this operation as an exit following their failure to launch a major IPO in June, when the political uncertainty, above all surrounding Italy, caused a surge in the markets. The intention of Merlin, Santander and BBVA (and to a lesser extent Acciona, which wanted to remain as an industrial partner) was to divest their stakes with that great stock market debut. Now they have found an escape route with Blackstone as the buyer.

Merlin also reported on Monday that with this operation, it will raise €321.2 million in exchange for its 16.95% stake in Testa. The funds obtained by Merlin will be used to reduce its debt in line with the objectives set out in the company’s business plan.

BBVA, which owned 25.24% of Testa has also sold all of its shares. Meanwhile, Santander sold just 7.82% of the 36.87% that it held in Testa, which made possible the operation that has given Blackstone control over the entity.

The new Testa Residencial is a listed real estate investment company promoted in 2016 by the banks and Merlin. The latter company had been left with homes following its purchase of the former Testa from Sacyr in 2015; meanwhile, Santander and BBVA contributed rental homes from the property developer Metrovacesa. Finally, last year, Acciona incorporated more than 1,000 homes, worth €340 million, to close the current alliance between the four shareholders.

Testa is currently the market leader in the residential rental sector in Spain. It has a portfolio of 10,615 units, worth €2.675 billion, mainly private housing, with annualised gross rental income of €85 million and an occupancy rate of 91.4%.

Original story: Cinco Días 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Montepino Invests €6M+ in a New Logistics Centre in Madrid

10 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Montepino is continuing to invest in the logistics sector in Madrid. The property developer has just finalised the construction of a logistics and innovation centre on the Alcobendas industrial estate, in which it has invested €6 million.

The space measures 6,300 m2, comprising a warehouse spanning 5,000 m2 and an adjoining building for offices. The plot, which will house the distribution operations for CooperVision on the peninsula, has a parking area spanning 16,000 m2, with capacity for 128 vehicles.

Montepino has led the design of the plans and the execution of the construction work, entrusted to the construction company MLN S.A. and completed within a period of six months. The project has been designed so that, in the future, the space may be extended by an additional 2,000 m2.

Several companies from the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector also have operations on the Alcobendas industrial estate, where this new logistics complex is located. The area is considered a strategic location in which many companies centralise their distribution operations for the rest of the peninsula.

Montepino will include this new asset in the portfolio of the recently created joint venture between the property developer and the manager CBRE Global Investors. Montepino’s objective is to expand and double the current value of its partnership through the completion, during the course of 2018 and 2019, of the more than 300,000 m2 of space currently has under construction, as well as the acquisition of new opportunities.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Liberbank Transfers €180M in Toxic Assets to JV with G-P-Bolt

18 May 2018 – El Economista

Liberbank has transferred real estate assets with a gross accounting debt of around €180 million to a joint venture with G-P-Bolt, in which it will hold a 20% stake, according to a statement filed by the financial institution on Friday with Spain’s National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV).

This joint venture, in which G-P-Bolt will hold the remaining 80% stake, has been constituted with the purpose of managing, developing and owning a portfolio of foreclosed assets from Liberbank and its group.

Liberbank has highlighted that the close of this transaction, which has a neutral effect on its income statement, forms part of the strategy to reduce its non-performing assets (the most doubtful foreclosed assets), which has resulted in a decrease of €1.82 billion between 31 March 2017 and 31 March 2018, equivalent to a 30% reduction in its stock.

Finally, Liberbank has reiterated its objectives in terms of the quality of its assets communicated to the market and expects to achieve an NPA (non-performing assets) ratio of less than 12.5% by the end of this year.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Azora Engages UBS to Prepare Its IPO

13 March 2018 – Expansión

Azora wants to take advantage of the investor appetite in the real estate sector and the euphoria on the stock market to make its public debut. The manager, led by Concha Osácar and Fernando Gumuzio, has engaged UBS to prepare its IPO, in an operation that will allow it to raise capital to invest in new assets.

With this move, the company seeks to create a portfolio, primarily, comprising hotels with properties both in Spain, as well as overseas, and to generate returns on the capital invested, taking advantage of opportunities in a bullish market, explain market sources speaking to Expansión.

As a next step, Azora will meet with analysts this week to explain its plans to them. Sources consulted at the manager limited themselves to indicating that the Board of Directors is considering different strategic alternatives, in addition to the creation of new private investment vehicles to accelerate its growth. “In this context, all of the options that would allow us to achieve the company’s objectives are being evaluated. Nevertheless, no specific decisions have been taken yet in this respect”, they add.

Azora has a long track record in the sector and experience in the stock market, given that it manages Hispania, the Socimi in which George Soros holds a stake, which made its stock market debut in March 2014. With more than 200 professionals, it has raised more than €2.2 billion in own funds and has €4.4 billion in assets under management. Specifically, in 2004, it launched its first investment vehicle, Lazora, to invest in homes and student halls in Spain.

Portfolio

The manager used to control, together with Corporación Financiera Alba, the leading operator in the student hall of residence market, Resa, before it sold it in September to a joint venture formed by AXA Investment Managers, CBRE GI and Greystar.

Lazora has become one of the leading specialists in rental housing in Spain with €1.6 billion in assets under management. In the office segment, Azora has invested in buildings in Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic, whilst in hotels, it manages €2.2 billion in assets.

With this move, Azora is set to join other groups that have made their stock market debuts in recent months, such as the property developers Neinor, Aedas and Metrovacesa, as well as those that are planning to do so in the near future, such as the property developer Vía Célere and the financial asset management firm Haya Real Estate.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Realia Buys Land & Reactivates Its Property Development Business

12 March 2018 – Expansión

Realia, the real estate firm controlled by Carlos Slim (pictured below), has acquired a plot of land in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), with a buildable surface area of 44,755 m2, from the Ministry of Defence for €27.5 million. This is the first land acquisition that the company has undertaken since the Mexican magnate took control of the entity, and sees it join the wave of investments that companies in this segment are making in land in light of the reactivation of the sector, reports Europa Press.

In the case of Realia, the land purchase forms part of the reactivation of its construction and house sale activities, which it had suspended, firstly due to the crisis and, subsequently due to the process to restructure and clean-up the company. In this way, it is going to allocate this land to undertaking one of its first three housing developments. The other two, which are going to be built on the portfolio of land that the company already owns are located in Sabadell (Barcelona) and Palma de Mallorca.

Strategy

Realia’s strategy to resume its property development activity involves analysing new build construction projects in “areas where demand is consistent and the supply is very low or new”, such as specific areas of Madrid and Barcelona and “certain other places with the same market characteristics”, according to a statement made by the firm in its annual report for 2017.

That is one of the company’s main objectives for 2018, together with the improvement in margins through the streamlining and optimisation of expenses, and the recovery of prices.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Neinor Buys 7,000m2 Plot Of Land In Valencia

5 April 2017 – Expansión

Neinor Homes is stepping on the accelerator and strengthening its presence in Spain by entering a new region. The property developer – which debuted on the stock market on Wednesday 29 March –  has completed the purchase of its first plot of land in Valencia, with a buildable surface area of 7,000 m2, where it will construct 54 homes. This acquisition allows the company, which is controlled by the US fund Lone Star, to expand its operations to Valencia, where it is considering opening a local office.

According to the company, the market in Valencia displays the characteristics that it demands for its investments: a shortage of structural supply, a lack of competition, positive population growth and unsatisfied demand. For this reason, it is looking for “new opportunities in the city”.

Since the beginning of January, the company has invested €51.5 million in the purchase of buildable land in Sitges, Gerona, Sabadell, Mairena de Aljarafe (Sevilla), Sazares (Málaga), Madrid and Valencia. These plots will allow the developer to build more than 700 homes on almost 90,000 m2 of land.

The CEO of Neinor, Juan Velayos (pictured above), said that the purchases made during the first quarter place the company on the road to exceed its annual objective in terms of acquisitions, set at €200 million. “It is a confirmation that we are still able to buy carefully selected plots of land from non-natural landowners, such as banks and companies without any development activity”.

In this way, sources at Neinor underlined that each one of these operations exceeds the profitability objectives set by the property developer and that they were closed only after rigorous legal, technical and commercial due diligence had been completed.

The firm has 1 million m2 of land in its portfolio, with a gross value of €1,120 million, on which it plans to construct more than 9,000 homes.

At the end of February, the company had 60 active developments – already started or planned to be launched – in País Vasco, Madrid, Cataluña, Andalucía and the Community of Valencia, on which it plans to construct 4,002 homes.

The property developer plans to reach cruising speed in 2020, with the completion and delivery of between 3,500 and 4,000 homes per year.

The company, which plans to announce its results on 26 April, closed last year with revenues of €228.6 million and a gross operating profit (EBITDA) of €9.6 million.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Vbare Debuts On The MAB With Almost 200 Rental Homes

27 December 2016 – Idealista

With just a few days left until the end of the year, the stock market is still receiving new Socimis. The trickle of debuts is incessant and on this occasion, the star of the show is Vbare Iberian Properties, a vehicle that owns a portfolio of residential rental assets.

The company has debuted on the stock market at a price of €12.90 per share, which represents a market capitalisation of €20.6 million, according to the consultancy firm Grant Thornton, and as such has become the twenty-eighth Socimi to trade on the MAB.

According to idealista.com, the company is backed by foreign capital (one of its main shareholders is the Israeli investment firm Value Base) and it has 183 real estate assets in its portfolio. Almost all of them are homes, but the Socimi also owns some garage spaces and some storerooms.

All of the properties are rented out and are located in the Community of Madrid. They are worth €20.84 million in total, according to Aguirre Newman. Half of the homes are located in Madrid capital, although the company also owns other homes in the municipalities of Aranjuez, Móstoles, Parla and Torrejón de Ardoz. In total, they have a useful surface area of more than 2,000 m2, comprise between one and four bedrooms and have an average occupancy rate of 72%.

One of the objectives that Vbare has set itself for the future is to raise more funds to allow it to expand its asset portfolio and to make the jump onto the main stock market, where some of the largest Socimis are already listed (Lar, Hispania and Axiare; meanwhile, Merlin Properties is listed on the Ibex).

In its market debut prospectus, the Socimi explained that it wants to centre its portfolio on residential real estate assets, aimed at middle-class tenants and located in the metropolitan areas of Spain’s major cities. In other words, areas with significant demand and with future development prospects in the short and medium term.

“Our properties are currently located in the metropolitan area of Madrid, this represents our first phase of investment. Progressively, the Socimi plans to diversify its asset portfolio by acquiring properties in the metropolitan areas of the main provincial capitals in Barcelona, Málaga, Valencia, Alicante, Bilbao, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Palma de Mallorca and La Coruña, which represent the company’s core business”.

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s ‘Bad Bank’ Tries To Increase Real Estate Sales

4 April 2016 – WSJ

Executives at Spain’s “bad bank” said Thursday that the entity is shifting into a higher gear and will try to increase sales to investors over the next year.

The bank, known by its Spanish acronym Sareb, announced that it sold 11,256 real estate assets in 2015, including homes, undeveloped pieces of land and commercial property. That represents a 26% decline from 2014.

Sareb was created by the Spanish government in November 2012 as a depository for the most troubled Spanish banks to unload €51 billion ($58 billion) in risky real-estate-related assets. The banks that unloaded their assets were either fully nationalized or had received some state funds as Spain sought to right a banking sector that was going belly up.

Original story: WSJ (by Jeannette Neumann)

Edited by: Carmel Drake

Barceló Buys Spain’s 5th Largest Tour Operator

11 January 2016 – Expansión

The travel division of the Barceló Group has acquired all of the shares in Spain’s fifth largest tour operator, Special Tours, which specialises in tours of Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, Africa and Oceania, as it continues progressing with its plans to internationalise and strengthen its position in Latin America.

The Mallorcan group, which did not disclose any of the financial details of the operation, will incorporate Special Tours’ entire workforce, comprising 300 employees. It will also maintain the company’s current operations, which are headquartered in the Ciudad de la Imagen in Madrid, as well as its management team, led by Carlos Jiménez (pictured above), who will continue to be the CEO of the company after the integration.

The Barceló Group has said that this operation, which is pending approval by the corresponding regulatory bodies, forms part of the company’s commitment to product specialisation and internationalisation and goes some way towards fulfilling its objective of becoming a major player in the Latin market.

In this sense, the Barceló Group said that Special Tours has been operating in every country in the Latin American market, where it plays a very important role, for more than 30 years.

Focus on Latin America

The Corporate Director General of the Barceló Group’s travel division, Alejandro Subías, said that the operation represents a “significant” boost to the firm’s strategic plan and allows it to continue its commitment to consolidating its position in Latin America.

“With the integration of the team led by Carlos Jiménez, we are continuing to grow, complementing and strengthening our current product portfolio, and to offer even more travel options and experiences to our clients, which is the real raison d’être of our group”, added the director.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake