INBISA Completed the Construction of Logistics Projects Spanning 330,000 m2 in 2018

8 April 2019 – Press Release

INBISA Construcción completed the construction of logistics projects spanning 330,000 m2 in 2018, up by 80,000 m2 YoY, and has already handed over more than 110,000 m2 of completed logistics space so far this year.

The strong boost in the logistics sector across the country has contributed to the company’s growth, with operators in the retail and e-commerce sectors demanding much of the new space, especially in Madrid and Cataluña.

INBISA Construcción offers a complete service across all phases of the logistics process, from asset construction to property management, providing solutions to each one of its clients’ needs.

In recent months, the company completed the development of the Puerta Centro de Guadalajara industrial estate, an innovative logistics centre for Montepino Logística, a leading property developer in Spain in the development of turnkey projects, and Luís Simões, one of the country’s leading logistics operators.

Original story: Press Release

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Eurofund Finalises the Entry of a Partner into its Project in Lleida & Starts Marketing

25 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Eurofund is taking another step towards making the Torres Salses retail park a reality. The company is finalising the incorporation of a partner into its project in Lleida, which will result in a global investment of between €80 million and €100 million. In parallel, Eurofund has now started to market the retail park.

According to explanations provided by sources in the sector speaking to EjePrime, the group is finalising the signing of an agreement with a capitalist partner to handle the investment that the complex will entail. It is a typical move within Eurofund’s strategy, which typically turns to partners to finance investments whilst the fund manager itself takes care of the management.

In parallel, Eurofund has now started the marketing phase of the retail park in Lleida, which will have a surface area of 56,000 m2. The company has started making contact with operators in the leisure (cinema), restaurant, DIY, furniture, gym and food sectors, typical firms in these types of developments.

The Torres Salses project, whose construction will begin in the autumn (2019), is located between the Magraneres and La Bordeta neighbourhoods of Lleida. The complex will become one of the few commercial and leisure spaces in the area.

Last October, Eurofund received the green light from the plenary of the Town Hall of Lleida to undertake the project. In December, Eurofund Parc Lleida signed an urban management agreement with the Town Hall to execute the widening and lengthening of the Víctor Torres road and the modification of the urban planning order for the Sur 42 sector of Torre Salses.

Subsequently, in the middle of December, Eurofund made effective the purchase from Sareb of 140,000 m2 of land in Torre Salses (Lleida). The purchase, carried out through Eurofund Parc Lleida, was completed after Eurofund successfully navigated Sareb’s processes, in particular, those relating to overseas investments.

Following those processes, Eurofund is now just waiting for the commercial licence to be granted for the retail park.

Grupo Eurofund currently owns retail assets amounting to more than €3.5 billion, including centres that it has constructed, as well as those still under construction. The fund manager was founded in 1994 and its first major development was Parc Vallès, in Terrassa (Barcelona).

The company is the owner of complexes such as Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza, and has an alliance with the British operator Intu to develop new shopping centres in Málaga, Valencia and Vigo. Over the last eighteen months, Eurofund Capital Partners has converted almost €350 million into real estate operations in Spain.

Original story: Eje Prime (by P. Riaño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Torre Sevilla Shopping Centre Opens its Doors

26 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Torre Sevilla has been completed, six years on. The shopping centre, promoted by CaixaBank, will open its doors to the public today, whereby culminating an urban development program that began to take shape in the 1990s. The complex alone, located in the centre of Sevilla, has involved an investment of €100 million, a third of the total amount spent on the macro-project.

Torre Sevilla is opening its doors at the height of the Retail Apocalypse and at a turbulent time for the sector in Sevilla: Palmas Altas announced last week that it has changed its name to Lagoh, whilst the Alcora shopping centre project has been cancelled.

The new complex in Sevilla is a mixed development that includes, as well as a shopping centre, an office building, a Eurostars hotel, CaixaForum Sevilla and Parque de Magallanes. The shopping centre, designed by the Argentinian architect César Pelli, comprises two large buildings with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 26,700 m2 and a constructed surface area of 43,000 m2.

The complex will open its doors with a 95% occupancy rate, and with Primark, Fnac and Ikea as the drivers. “People don’t go shopping anymore, they go for a walk, and formats such as hypermarkets are no longer the drivers”, explains Antonio Cayuela, President of BuildingCenter and sole administrator of Puerto Triana (the company that controls the complex).

In this sense, Cayuela emphasises the location of Torre Sevilla, in the heart of the city, and its integration with the office building and hotel, which ensures footfall “every day of the week”.

“Shopping centres are changing, just like retail: the trend is now returning to local businesses, with smaller but very accessible formats, close to the city”, says the executive. The property developer forecasts that the centre will receive around 8 million visitors per year.

Torre Sevilla’s offer includes, amongst others, the first stores from Ikea, Primark and Xiaomi in the city centre, as well as restaurants and services such as a gym and a catering facility – a cross between a supermarket and a restaurant – serving homemade food to take away.

“Hypermarkets are no longer the drivers”, says Cayuela. “We have ruled out cinemas, because they occupy a lot of space, because there are lots of them and because in the era of Netflix, they are no longer attractive”, he says.

“Omnichannel” corner to compete with the internet 

In this sense, Torre Sevilla is also planning to incorporate new concepts over the medium term to encourage omnichannel integration and attract footfall to the complex at a time when the online channel is gaining more and more traction.

In this sense, the company will launch a space called Omni Tech, which will integrate different omnichannel tools, such as click and collect. “We want to be a leader in the implementation of new ideas in terms of omnichannels; although I do not think that the online channel will ever completely substitute a physical purchase, it is important to have a good experience in person to attract people to stores”, says the executive.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Iria P. Gestal)

Translation: Carmel Drake

ECE Finalises Purchase of 3 Shopping Centres from Sonae & CBRE GI for €450M

8 June 2018 – Eje Prime

The portfolio of shopping centres jointly owned by Sonae Sierra and CBRE Global Investors could be on the verge of having a new owner. The German company ECE is reportedly finalising the purchase of three shopping centres from the two groups for between €450 million and €500 million, according to sources close to the operation speaking to Eje Prime. Sonae Sierra and CBRE GI jointly own these three assets (50% each).

With the purchase of this portfolio, ECE would begin to acquire its first assets in Spain, given that since it carried out the acquisition of Auxideico Gestión in 2010, a company specialising in the management of retail complexes and which previously belonged to ING Real Estate Development, it has not closed any transaction of this kind.

The centres that may be added to the portfolio of the German firm ECE are: Gran Casa en Zaragoza, the largest of the three; Valle Real (Cantabria); and Max Center (Barakaldo, Bizkaia). The two current owners already announced when the sales process was launched that they expected to pocket around €500 million from the sale.

If the operation with ECE goes ahead, it will represent the real estate giant’s first purchase in Spain since its arrival. Eight years ago, the group headquartered in Hamburg and the leader of the European market in urban shopping centres, acquired the Spanish firm Auxideico Gestión, which was, at the time, responsible for the management of fourteen shopping centres.

Until last year and following its acquisition by ECE, the group controlled more than 25 retail complexes in Spain, including Albufera Plaza, Montecarmelo and Moraleja Green in Madrid, Alcalá Magna in Alcalá de Henares and Parc Central in Tarragona. In 2017, Auxideico finally stopped operating in Spain due to “its small business volume”, according to sources in the sector. Across Europe, ECE has more than 195 shopping centres under management.

ECE, a giant with a healthy investor appetite

Founded in 1965 by Werner Otto, ECE now has more than half a century of experience in the sector under its belt. The family-owned company develops, plans, builds, leases and manages shopping centres and invests in real estate projects.

With a retail surface area of 7.2 million m2 and around 21,000 retail operators, the shopping centres managed by ECE generate annual sales of more than €23 billion and have a market value of €30 billion. Moreover, ECE has a stock of shopping centres under construction and being planned, with an investment volume of €3.2 billion.

ECE, in addition to specialising in the management of shopping centres, also operates in the real estate sector with other types of assets. The company owns a portfolio of logistics assets spanning 913,000 m2 and office buildings measuring 1 million m2.

Shopping centres, a good business in Spain

The fact that a group such as ECE is showing interest again in this business in Spain is due to the good outlook that the studies predict for the sector. Spanish people both visited and spent more in shopping centres in 2017, and the turnover in this types of assets increased by 1.5% last year with respect to the previous year, whilst visitor footfall grew by 1.1% YoY.

The sectors that performed the best last year with respect to 2016 in terms of sales were the household, leisure and restaurant segments, with increases of 5%, 3,7% and 2,7%, respectively, according to a report from Cushman&Wakefield (…).

Shopping centres will continue to be the most sought-after assets by investors, primarily international funds. The Spanish retail market closed 2017 with 555 active shopping centres and a stock spanning 15.8 million m2, according to the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres (AECC).

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Prologis & Goodman Bid for 24,700 m2 Logistics Plot in Valencia

26 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Giants in the logistics sector are looking to expand their domains in Valencia. Prologis and Goodman have entered the auction for a plot of land spanning 24,700 m2 in the Valencia Logistics Park, also known as PLV. The space is currently owned by the Generalitat Valenciana, which has also put a second industrial plot up for auction, on the same industrial estate and spanning 8,600 m2, for which it has received just one offer.

In total, three other groups have also bid for the largest plot of land up for sale, besides the two international operators, namely: Inversiones y Terrenos Rústicos, VGP Naves Industriales Península and Servicio y Calidad, according to Valencia Plaza.

The five companies are bidding for a plot that the administration has placed on the market offering the option of the purchase and surface area rights, although the Generalitat is going to prioritise offers that express an interest in carrying out an operation over the second point.

After this operation, the Valencian administration will still need to sell 44,600 m2 of logistics land and 16,900 m2 of tertiary land. Moreover, the Generalitat is planning to place another 46,800 m2 of space on the market this year for a concession for a heavy vehicle parking lot on the M2 plot of the logistics park.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s First Logistics Megahub will Open in Antequera (Málaga) in 2019

19 April 2018 – Cinco Días

The first logistics megahub in Spain is starting to become a reality almost a decade after it was initially proposed. The entity known as Megahub Andalucía – a public-private initiative – has engaged the consultancy firm CBRE to search for the first major operators ahead of the imminent authorisation of the project that the Junta de Andalucía is expected to grant in June. At stake is €350 million of investment in an industrial hub for the south of Spain and north of Africa, which should be ready by 2019.

Megahub Andalucía is located in the municipality of Antequera (Málaga), in what the European Union calls a multi-modal hub, given that the European Atlantic and Mediterranean railway and road goods corridors meet at this point, the ports of Algeciras, Málaga and Sevilla are all close by, as is the AVE station in Antequera and the airport of Málaga (the fourth largest for cargo transport in Spain).

“Megahub Andalucía is located in the centre of Andalucía with respect to the large populations, both in terms of consumption and production”, says Ramón Vázquez, head of the project at CBRE. The word hub is used because several European transport networks converge on this point and the pre-fix mega has been added, in turn, because the warehouses that are going to be constructed on the plots will extend up to 200,000 m2.

The Junta de Andalucía holds a 40% stake in the company, through Red Logística de Andalucía, and the remaining 60% is held by a private company Puerto Seco de Antequera, which comprises, in turn, several companies, most notably Acotral, a local operator that has been an integrated supplier of Mercadona since 2003.

The Junta is expected to approve the special plan in June, which will allow work to start of the urbanisation of the area, after many years of delays. “The project was launched 10 years ago but has been delayed on several occasions due to urban development problems and due to the crisis. It was conceived as a logistics area and is now being reborn as a logistics megahub”, says the expert at CBRE.

The urbanisation work may begin in June and will have an estimated cost of €70 million, which will be funded by the Junta and the company Puerto Seco de Antequera. Later, around €280 million of funding will be received from investors and operators to build the macro logistics warehouses and production centres. In theory, the megahub should be operational by the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020.

The logistics hub in Antequera spans 3.3 million m2, of which 1.03 million m2 is going to correspond to logistics warehouses. There will also be an industrial park, destined to production activities, measuring 919,000 m2, plus a service centre (comprising a hotel, restaurant, training centre, businesses…) spanning 317,000 m2 and finally a railway terminal, which will connect with the goods station in Bobadilla (owned by Adif).

The project coincides with the huge boom that the logistics market is sparking in Spain, due to the reactivation of the economy, the pull from e-commerce and the needs of the major operators such as Amazon. Last year, more than 1.5 million m2 of logistics space was leased, according to data from CBRE, up by almost 20% (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

HI Partners Acquires Remaining 50.1% of Hotel Abama in Tenerife

12 March 2018 – Expansión

HI Partners has been making its first acquisitions since being taken over by Blackstone Real Estate. Banco Sabadell’s former hotel holding company has taken ownership of 100% of Hotel Abama Golf & Spa de Tenerife after acquiring the 50.1% share capital that it did not yet control from the Polanco family.

The company led by Alejandro Hernández Puértolas already purchased 49.9% of the luxury Canarian tourist resort from Tropical Hoteles – a subsidiary of the Polanco’s investment group, Timón – a year ago, and has now become its sole owner.

Luxurious five-star resort

Ritz Carlton is going to continue managing the establishment, which has a luxury five-star rating and 461 rooms, of which 148 are villas. Located in the town of Guía de Isora, the resort was designed by Melvin Villarroel. It spans a surface area of 90,000 m2 and has a two-starred Michelin restaurant run by the chef Martín Berasategui.

HI Partners, which Blackstone acquired last year for €630 million, owns 16 hotels comprising 4,684 rooms, which are operated by chains such as Ritz-Carlton, AC by Marriot, Lopesan and Meliá.

Original story: Expansión (by S. Saborit)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Palm Capital Acquires 3 Logistics Projects in Getafe from BCM

26 February 2018 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

Palm Capital has become a protagonist in the Spanish logistics market with the acquisition of three projects in the Los Gavilanes Business Area in Getafe from the property developer BCM (MCA Group). The operation, advised by the real estate consultancy Proequity, involves the acquisition, under the forward funding method, of three turnkey logistics projects with constructed surface areas of approximately 33,000 m2, 25,000 m2 and 27,000 m2, respectively.

The price for which the agreement has been closed has not been disclosed by the parties, but the value of the three completed projects is estimated to amount to around €100 million.

The first project that is going to be constructed will comprise two platforms measuring 22,000 m2 and 11,000 m2, which may house up to four different operators. It is expected to be ready for delivery by the first half of 2019.

With this acquisition, Palm Capital is going to become the main owner in the Los Gavilanes Business Area, with more than 85,000 m2 of leasable logistics space under ownership. Gavilanes represents the first acquisition that Palm Capital made in the Spanish logistics market and marks the beginning of an ambitious expansion plan through which it intends to acquire and build more logistics assets in the short term.

The Los Gavilanes Business Area is positioned in a strategic location in the south of Madrid, 16km from the centre of the Spanish capital. It has quick access to the A-4 highway between Madrid and Andalucía and 1,500 m2 of its façade overlooks the M-50 ring road. For this reason, first-class companies such as Amazon and Decathlon have already chosen the location for their distribution centres.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake

TH Real Estate Buys Hypermarket In L’Aljub Shopping Centre For €18.7M

17 October 2017 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

TH Real Estate has purchased the hypermarket premises in the L’Aljub Shopping Centre in Elche, from Eroski, through its investment vehicle SEVA (Southern European Value-Add Mandate) for €18.7 million. SEVA is a vehicle managed by TH Real Estate for the investors TPG Real Estate and Partners Group, focusing on value-added investments and returns within the retail sector in Southern Europe. Including L’Aljub, this vehicle includes three assets managed in Spain and Italy, worth more than €300 million.

This investment in L’Aljub involves 9,900 m2 of space corresponding to the hypermarket, as well as 4,500 m2 of space occupied by Primark and a 200 m2 petrol station, operated by Eroski.

TH Real Estate is planning to carry out improvements at the property. Eroski will continue as the tenant and will undertake a restructuring of the space, which will reduce the hypermarket space to 5,100 m2. That will free up approximately 4,800 m2 of leasable space for the entry of new operators, whereby expanding the shopping centre area, which currently receives more than 7 million visitors per year, on average.

The L’Aljub shopping centre, which is owned by TH Real Estate, has a constructed surface area of 43,000 m2 and contains more than 100 stores. It is home to many of the major fashion, leisure and restaurant brands, such as H&M, Inditex, Primark and ABC cinemas. It is located in the city of Elche, 20km away from Alicante and 50km from Murcia, which makes it a strategic enclave on the southern axis of the Mediterranean Arc.

“We are very happy with the completion of this transaction and we are hoping to carry out the activities and remodelling work necessary to equip this asset with greater added value, as well as promote the incorporation of new operators, which will be very positive for clients visiting the centre”, said Marta Cladera de Codina, Director of TH Real Estate for the Iberian Peninsula.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Amazon Revolutionises The Logistics Sector

9 February 2017 – Expansión

The boom in e-commerce and the arrival of the large distribution giants, like Amazon, have caused a genuine tsunami in the real estate market and in the way we understand logistics. Logistics assets – which were, until recently, the ugly duckling of the sector – have really blossomed and now represent one of the investment segments with most potential, given their risk-return relationship, according to the experts.

Operators are increasingly looking for more large logistics warehouses on the outskirts of cities, which they combine with distribution centres situated on ring-roads to make deliveries on time and on budget.

“The effect is a reflection of new consumer habits and online purchases, as well as of consumer expectations, which require products to arrive on time and to be easily returnable (inverse logistics)”, explains Antonio Montero, Director of the Industrial-Logistics business at Aguirre Newman.

Alberto Larrazábal, National Director of Industrial and Logistics at CBRE, said that there has been an increase in the e-commerce market. “Operators are increasingly demanding more logistics and distribution space. In Madrid and Barcelona, 400,000 m2 and 700,000 m2 of space was leased, respectively, in 2016 and e-commerce accounted for 25% of those amounts.

Javier García-Mateos, Partner in Financial Advisory at Deloitte said that “retailers are starting to use their own establishments in cities as logistics and distribution points for e-commerce”.

García-Mateos also said that there is greater demand for the development of cross-docking warehouses (which reduce the time needed for logistics operations and which can be adapted to the needs of e-commerce) in the vicinity of the main urban nuclei. (…).

“Logistics spaces are moving increasingly closer to cities, there are even warehouses inside city centres. These are points where companies can serve their customers in the fastest and most effective way”, said Luis Guardia, Director of the Logistics and Industrial Area at JLL.

Guardia also explained that the major department stores are also committed to opening “regional hubs” to get closer to the major urban nuclei.

Development activity

In terms of investment, Larrazábal considers that the logistics and industrial sectors are becoming more fashionable by the day. “Large funds and private investors will end up acquiring these assets”, he said.

Over the last three years, investment volumes have grown considerably, to reach more than €800 million last year.

One example of this investor appetite is Merlin’s purchase of Saba Parques Logísticos – the company that groups together Saba’s stakes in five parks – for €115 million.

“The logistics market is interesting as it allows the Socimis to diversify and add new assets to their portfolio that generate returns not afforded by the other assets at the moment”, said García-Mateos. Other operators that are committed to this market include Logicor (Blackstone), Zaphir, Prologis, Rockspring, GreenOak and the joint venture between Colony and Neinver.

In the same way, experts indicate that development activity has resumed. “Developers and investors know that there is latent demand in high quality logistics assets and this is encouraging them to buy land and build assets”, said Montero

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake