Grupo Zriser Sells the Alameda Building in Valencia

2 October 2018 – Valencia Plaza

Grupo Zriser, the investment arm owned by Ana and Pablo Serratosa, has sold the Alameda Building, located on Calle Antiga Senda de Senent in València. The buyer is the fund Loreto Mutua, previously known as Montepío Loreto, and linked to workers in the aviation sector, and a historical shareholder of the now extinct Banco Valencia.

The building, which was acquired by Grupo Zriser from Acciona Inmobiliaria in December 2009, has a surface area of more than 11,000 m2 dedicated in its entirety to offices and parking spaces. The building is fully occupied and is located in one of the premium areas of the city for business activity.

This operation, which according to real estate sources has been brokered by Olivares Consultores, forms part of Grupo Zriser’s strategic plan, which considers both the selective divestment of buildings and corporate stakes, as well as the acquisition of industrial companies, real estate assets and technologies.

“The Alameda Building is one of the most iconic office buildings in Valencia, located in one of the best business districts”, said Pablo Serratosa, Chairman of Grupo Zriser. “Moreover, it has a very well-diversified tenant base by solvency and commitment to the building; it is undoubtedly a great asset” (…).

In recent years, Grupo Inmobiliario Zriser, founded in 2007 following the departure of Ana and Pablo Serratosa from Nefinsa, has become one of the major real estate companies in the city by volume of gross leasable area. Its tenants include local companies and multinationals alike (…).

Original story: Valencia Plaza (by Estefanía Pastor)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Meliá Finalises Sale & Leaseback of Palacio de Congresos Hotel in Valencia

20 July 2018 – Las Provincias

The tallest skyscraper in Valencia is on the verge of changing hands. The sale of Meliá’s Palacio de Congresos Hotel, located on Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas, number 52, is being finalised for €50 million, according to sources speaking to Las Provincias. The operation is expected to be signed in September and several investors have expressed their interest in acquiring the former Hilton Hotel.

The owner of the iconic property, the fund Colony Capital, took just two months to put it on the market after acquiring it in February when it purchased the fund Continental Property Investments (CPI), the former owner of the hotel. According to the same sources, the candidates to acquire the building now include Socimis, institutional investors and family offices, such as the Valencian Zriser group, the firm owned by Pablo Serratosa. Another interested player is AXA Real Estate, the company that acquired the Hilton Hotel Diagonal Mar in Barcelona last year.

Despite the change of owner, the management of the hotel will continue to be entrusted to Meliá, which signed an extendable 10-year operating contract in 2011. It is a strategic asset for the hotel group, given its location next to the Palacio de Congresos, which makes it the best-positioned accommodation on the market for business people and guests of events organised in the Valencian enclave.

A yield of 5%

According to sources familiar with the operation, the asking price for the hotel was €45 million, which was the “minimum to make an offer”. Nevertheless, the market was pricing it at around 10% more, approximately €50 million and some even think that it will be sold more than that. “Socimis and institutional investors look for yields of 5% per year”, they reveal.

In addition, the sale price per room will range between €165,000 and €175,000. In terms of the price per overnight stay, hotels of this kind with an occupancy rate of 80% typically range between €90 and €95 per room. The expectation is that the former Hilton will cost around €100 per night in five years time.

The former Hilton is a 5-star hotel that opened its doors to the public in May 2007. It stands 117 m tall and has 29 storeys, with 269 rooms, 33 suites and two presidential suites. Moreover, it has a convention room and 18 meeting rooms. The building was constructed between 2002 and 2006 at a cost of €110 million, double the price at which the owners want to sell it for now. It was in 2010 when the owner company, the firm Hotel Palacio de Congresos SL, sold the property to CPI to avoid its definitive closure after that company filed for voluntary creditor bankruptcy.

Original story: Las Provincias (by Elísabeth Rodríguez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Zriser Made a Profit of €14M from Sale of 2 Properties in 2016

5 January 2018 – Valencia Plaza

Inversiones Grupo Zriser, the company that groups together the rental assets of Ana and Pablo Serratosa (pictured below), closed 2016 with the sale of two properties that generated a profit of €14.3 million. That is according to the Directors’ Report in the company’s consolidated accounts, which shows that 2016 was a good year for the investment vehicle owned by the Serratosa siblings.

One of Zriser’s most important sales – at the beginning of 2016 – was the Generali building, located at number 29 Plaza del Ayuntamiento in Valencia, to the businessman Juan Luis Gómez-Trenor, who was the founder of the now extinct Colebega and shareholder of Coca-Cola Iberian Partner.

Zriser purchased the building from Generali Seguros for €29 million and sold it for more than €30 million, almost 50% more. The building, next door to the Town Hall, is located in the financial and retail centre of the city and houses the regional headquarters of Generali Seguros in the Community of Valencia and a branch of the company; the main tenant of the property is the law firm Garrigues.

The other property sold by Zriser in 2016 – in the month of November – is located on Paseo de Ruzafa 18 and is known for housing one of the first Berskha (an Inditex brand) stores in the centre of Valencia. That property has a surface area of more than 2,200 m2 spread over a basement level, commercial space and commercial mezzanine, plus four additional floors, measuring 400 m2 each in a strategic location and where Décimas opened. The two operations were advised by Olivares Consultores.

Turnover rose by 48% in 2016

Inversiones Grupo Zriser, where the siblings also consolidate their other investee companies, generated a turnover of €48 million in 2016, up by 48% compared to 2015, when the figure amounted to €32.4 million. An even greater improvement was seen in terms of profits, which rose from €598,770.15 in 2015 to €7.88 million in 2016.

The accounts also reflect some losses due to impairment as a result of the results obtained by certain companies and a failure to fulfil some of the business plans initially set out. That happened in the case of the machinery company Inrema for a value of €408,957; Punt Mobles XXI, for €974,561.34; and Auditorías de Medios SL, for €1.6 million.

In subsequent events, the accounts also highlight the sale in 2017 of the company Moldcom Composites (McBath), specialising in resin bath products, to Nazca Capital. In this regard, the financial statements indicate that the transaction generated “significant” profits for Zriser.

Original story: Valencia Plaza (by Estefanía Pastor)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Invesco Invests €30M In A Residential Development In Valencia

11 July 2016 – Valencia Plaza

The international fund Invesco has invested around €30 million in a 15,000 sqm residential development in Valencia. The chosen site is the Ciudadela building, which has been used as office space until now, and which has been purchased from the company Ciudadela in a transaction brokered by Olivareas Consultores. The building is located between Cronista Carreres and Paseo de la Ciudadela, overlooking the river.

According to the Director of the Residential Sector at Olivares Consultores, José Ramón Ballesteros, who is marketing the homes, this project will involve the construction of 58 homes of varying sizes, with between two and five bedrooms. Finished to a very high standard, the building will have a gym and solarium for exclusive use of the residents. The homes will be sold to the public for between €3,000/sqm and €3,200/sqm.

This investment comes after years of small investments by funds…During the month of September, the prices and plans will be made available, although a high number of reservations have already been placed. Invesco is one of the most important investment management funds in the world, with assets under management worth more than USD 800,000 million.

This residential development is just another example of the on-going reactivation of the property market in the city of Valencia. The Zriser Group, the investment arm of the Valencian entrepreneurs Ana and Pablo Serratosa, are also selling a complex of luxury homes off-plan, located at number 11, Avenida de Francia. The complex, which represents the firm’s first foray into urban development, is called Llum Plaza and will be constructed next to the Hotel Barceló, on a plot of land that the company acquired in 2014, according to sources from the Zriser Group. That development contains 34 three- and four-bedroom homes and has already seen strong demand.

Sareb has also launched two developments in the city of Valencia, which will add a total of 118 new homes. The plots of land owned by the bad bank are located on Calle Río Escalona – between Avenida del Puerto and Paseo de la Alameda – and on Avenida Alfahuir.

Original story: Valencia Plaza (by Esfefanía Pastor)

Translation: Carmel Drake