Tag: PAI

Moncofa States that €8 Million is Needed to Complete PAI Belcaire Sur

25 August 2018

Piscivall, the developer which was removed from the project, only had guarantees for €800,000. A plenary session to assess the future development of the plan will be held on September 3.

After several months of work by municipal technicians, the dissolution of the Belcaire Sur PAI (Integrated Action Plan) in Moncofa is expected to cost millions of euros, since the total amount needed to complete the development – with measures roughly 270,000 m2 and has been blocked for more than a decade – approaches eight million euros.

An extraordinary plenary session of the corporation will be held in the town hall on September 3 to assess the plan’s future. The settlement established, though it still requires final approval, a claim of 5,984,894 euros against the developer, Piscivall, in addition to another credit of 1,987,427 euros in favour of the city council, reaching a total of 7,881,321 euros.

However, the company entered bankruptcy, owns no property and only has a guarantee of 865,843 euros. So, the result for the municipality is expected to be extremely negative in regards to Moncofa, considering that only 10% of the amount may be recovered.

During the reparcelling procedure for the Belcaire Sur PAI, numerous plots of land that were owned by the City Council were jointly awarded to the Piscivall development company and, individually, to its two main partners (Alfonso López and Javier Debón). Subsequently, the two investors acquired all of the company and town hall’s properties through a procedure of the reciprocal requirement, “thus stripping the company of property even though it had only given the city council a guarantee worth 10% of the losses,” the mayor, Wenceslao Alós, lamented.

Allegations

On the other hand, it is clear that Alfonso López and Javier Debón “have not been able to prove that they have paid a single euro in development fees” that they would be liable for as owners (7,158,321.46 euros), an amount that they claim to have paid, although “no effort has been made to validate the claim,” said Alós. That quantity apparently cannot be claimed because the developer did not make any payments. However, the matter is not finished, since Piscivall, which does not have a corporate relationship with both companies, sold credits it may have with the town hall to a new firm, SolMoncofa, constituted by the two investors.

“It has not been possible to prove any crime, but the socialist government’s management caused us to lose the land in return for a ridiculous guarantee and left the municipality a problem which will cost millions,” he added.

Original Story: El Periódico Mediterráneo – Miguel A. Sánchez

Translation: Richard Turner

 

Land Use In Espai Vila-Real May Be Modified

20 October 2017 – El Periódico Mediterráneo

“Clearly, times have changed”. With that phrase, José Benlloch, the mayor of Vila-real, acknowledged that the plots of land in Espai Vila-real may be reclassified (in terms of their use), now that the Government has decided that the intermodal station will not be constructed in Castellón.

One door closes, but others open, and the Town Hall wants to be prepared not to waste its opportunities. It is for that reason that Benlloch is planning to meet the owners of the land, spanning 1 million m2, which comprises this Comprehensive Action Plan (PAI), to find out “what options are being considered in terms of its ownership and to inform them about the current possibilities”.

The mayor seems willing to modify the uses of the land if necessary and to “change the terms of the program, provided there are expectations on the part of the owners”. The one option the municipal corporation has ruled out is the large shopping centre that the Popular Government’s team, led by Juan José Rubert, planned in 2007. That plan included, amongst other matters, the arrival of the Swedish multinational Ikea in the town.

Mediterranean Corridor

One of the options that is gaining strength at the moment is the conversion of these plots, located opposite Porcelanosa, into a logistics hub, linked to the construction of the third strand of the Mediterranean Corridor. Such infrastructure is being demanded not only by the Regional Government but also by most of Valencia’s businesses. “We are aware that if this goes ahead, users will need places for storing goods temporarily, and we think that these plots are perfect for that, given that they are located in the heart of a very industrial district, La Plana Baixa”, explained the mayor.

Even though this idea will be on the table at the meeting between the Town Hall and the landowners, Benlloch is convinced that this question may be “compatible” with other proposals linked to the installation of new industries and projects relating to services, as well as the business that may be negotiated over the next few months. That said, the mayor wants to begin the new phase that is been opened by drawing “a roadmap that is shared” with the owners.

Original story: El Periódico Mediterráneo (by Xavi Prera)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Torreblanca Golf Attracts Swedish, Belgian & Chinese Investors

18 October 2017 – El Periódico Mediterráneo

Swedish, Belgian and Chinese investment funds have all expressed an interest in developing the Doña Blanca Golf de Torreblanca project, whose foundations were initially approved again by the Town Hall (of Torreblanca) last Tuesday, during an extraordinary plenary session. The expectation is that the project will be awarded at the beginning of 2018 and may become a reality in 2022.

In fact, the government’s team says that even before launching the tender for the program, it already has half a dozen companies and investors on the table, who have registered their interest in the urban planning project. Three of them are backed by foreign capital.

In the opinion of the councillor responsible for Town Planning, Rosana Villanueva, that fact reflects the interest that the golf project has sparked. The plan is to maintain intact the characteristics of the initial program, created in 2005, and for the project to be put out for tender for around €58 million, which will represent a saving of €3.5 million with respect to the initial plan, which exceeded €61 million in total.

The PAI (‘Programa de Actuación Integral’ or Comprehensive Action Program) is considering extending the site by 1,910,254 m2, with 600,000 m2 allocated to the 18-hotel golf course and an urbanised area spanning 1,233,255 m2, with 4,410 homes, as well as hotels, tennis courts, a football pitch, shopping centres, 125,000 m2 of green space, a promenade and a coastal park measuring 80,000 m2. And the companies have expressed their interest in the complete development.

In fact, the PAI is one of the Town Hall’s priorities. That has been highlighted by the socialist mayor, Josefa Tena, since the beginning of her term and, now past the half-way point, she is continuing to back the golf course as a generator of employment and driver of tourism in the municipality. Its launch would represent one of the highest aspirations of the local government, “along the creation of employment”.

“Moreover, it would foster tourism and develop a coastal space with green, sustainable and controlled urbanism. Given its location and proximity to the airport “the seasonality of local tourism could be evened out; moreover, it will be the only beachfront golf course (in the country), which makes it a very attractive prospect indeed”, said the mayor.

The document to be presented to the plenary session will include an appendix with the foundations for the tender work for the construction firms, in order to speed up the process and ensure that the megaproject is given the green light as soon as possible.

Original story: El Periódico Mediterráneo (by Merche Martinavarro)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cortefiel’s Founder Lists Its Socimi Inmofam 99 On The MAB

21 December 2016 – Expansión

The Hinojosa family has listed its real estate Socimi Inmofam 99 on the stock market. The company primarily owns retail premises worth around €48 million.

Another Socimi will debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) today (21 December) – Inmofan 99 will be the twenty-sixth Socimi to join the market and will do so with a portfolio worth €48.05 million.

Although the name of the company may not be well known, one of the most representative families in the Spanish fashion world is behind this Socimi: the Hinojosa family. The founders of the Cortefiel group, which owns the brand of the same name, as well as Springfield, Women’s Secret, Pedro del Hierro and Fifty Factory, have decided to convert their real estate company into a Socimi and whereby benefit from the tax advantages afforded by this type of investment vehicle.

Founded as a limited company in June 1999, Inmofam has focused its activity on managing the real estate assets of the Hinojosa family. In September 2015, the company converted itself into a Socimi and 14 months later it is debuting on the stock market with a market capitalisation of €38.83 million.

Diversified portfolio

Inmofam 99’s portfolio comprises a batch of stores that the Hinojosa family held onto after selling the Cortefiel textile group to the funds CVC, PAI and Permira in 2005. The nine assets are leased to the textile group that they founded: six of them are Cortefiel stores, two are Springfield stores and one is a Women’s Secret shop. The stores are located in Madrid, La Coruña, Oviedo, Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, Málaga, Valencia, Zaragoza and two in Valladolid.

In December 2004, the company bought its real estate jewel, a 2,620 m2 store located on Calle Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, which is one of the most iconic stores of the Cortefiel brand in Madrid.

The Hinojosa and García-Quirós families (which have been related for years) receive rental income of more than €883,000 for this store. Nevertheless, Cortefield has notified the Socimi of its decision to terminate the rental contract from 31 December, which has led Inmofam to update its value for this property to €11.75 million.

The other eight retail premises are worth between €2 million and €7.1 million. The former relates to a store on Calle Zorrila in Valladolid, which Cortefiel will also vacate at the end of the year, which has been taken into account in its valuation. Moreover, it owns several floors, for residential and office use, in Oviedo.

In 2005, the Hinojosa and García Quirós families sold the Cortefield textile group to the funds CVC, Permira and PAI for €1,440 million. Currently, Joaquín García-Quirós Rodríguez chairs Inmofam and Juan Hinojosa Vacas, Almudena Hinojosa Bermejo, Gonzalo Hinojosa Fernández-Angulo and Dario Hinojosa García-Puente complete the Socimi’s Board of Directors.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake