Saba Sells Stakes In 5 Logistics Parks To Merlin

26 September 2016 – Expansión

The parking management company Saba has closed an agreement with the Socimi Merlin Properties to sell Saba Parques Logísticos, the company that groups together stakes in five logistics parks.

In a statement, Saba, which did not disclose the consideration paid for the sale, clarified that the operation includes stakes in the following logistics parks: CIM Vallès (Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Barcelona); Lisboa Norte; the Logistics Park in the Zona Franca, in Barcelona; Sevisur, in the ZAL in Sevilla; and Arasur, in Álava.

Saba stated that the competition authorities have already approved the operation, which is expected to be signed within the next few weeks. The firm also explained that this sale forms part of its strategy to reorganise its asset portfolio to focus on its parking activity.

In fact, since 2011, the group has invested €482 million to strengthen its car park business.

Logistics parks accounted for 14% of Saba’s revenues last year, whilst its car park business generated the remaining 86%. Saba has operations in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Chile.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ortega Finalises Purchase Of Torre Cepsa For €500M

9 September 2016 – Expansión

The countdown has begun to one of the major operations of the year in the real estate sector. Ipic (International Petroleum Investment Company) – the Abu Dhabi state fund that owns the oil company Cepsa, the current tenant of the property – has notified Bankia of its intention to exercise its purchase option over Torre Cepsa, according to sources close to the operation.

The exercise of this call option unblocks the process that Ipic initiated several months ago, as part of its plan to execute the option to acquire the building and then sell it on to a third party almost immediately. On the basis of the offers received, the Arab Emirate fund has favoured the bid submitted by Pontegadea – the investment arm of Amancio Ortega.

Ponteagadea, which has become one of the largest real estate investors in Spain and overseas, is the clear favourite to purchase the property, which is located in the Cuatro Torres complex on Paseo de la Castellana (Madrid). Amancio Ortega, who is backed by the financial strength of his stake in Inditex, has offered to pay around €490 million for the property.

In October 2013, Bankia signed an agreement with Ipic to lease the tower that it owns, through its stake in Torre Norte Castellana. The lease contract was signed for a period of eight years, which may be extended by another seven years, on an annual basis.

Similarly, this agreement included a future call option, whose execution deadline is due to expire at the end of this month. Specifically, the expiry of this right drove Ipic to launch a process to look for investors interested in acquiring the asset. Ipic operates as a sovereign fund to channel energy investments from the Abu Dhabi Government.

According to Bankia’s audit report for 2015, the book value of the property is €384 million. That figure falls below the range of €400 million to €450 million at which the skyscraper was valued in 2013, when Bankia and Ipic signed their agreement.

Pontegadea is the second largest private real estate investor in Spain, with assets worth more than €6,000 million….surpassed only by Merlin (…). Amancio Ortega’s bid for Torre Cepsa is the favourite, but it is not the only one.

Other interested parties

Since the process to sell Torre Cepsa began, the asset has sparked interest amongst funds and investors, both at home and overseas.

The domestic players that have expressed interest in the asset include the Spanish Socimi Axiare. This real estate investment vehicle, which specialises in the office segment, held a portfolio of assets worth €1,048 million at the end of June.

One of Axiare’s main rivals is Merlin, the current owner of Torre PwC (previously known as Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso), which houses the headquarters of the professional services firm chaired by Gonzalo Sánchez, as well as the five-star Eurostars Madrid Tower hotel.

Torre Cepsa has 34 storeys and a surface area covering more than 109,000 sqm, of which 72,300 sqm corresponds to offices. The remaining space comprises five floors of parking.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo/M.A. Patiño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid Río Shopping Centre Will Open In October 2017

15 April 2016 – Expansión

Located opposite the Matadero, the shopping centre will open in October 2017 and will be directly accessible from the M-30.

The Plaza Río 2 shopping centre will open in October 2017 with a new design that will include an access road between Calle Matilde Gayo and the Manzanares river, as demanded by Carmena’s Government. “At the request of the Town Hall, there will be a wider than planned street connecting (the shopping centre) with the river. In addition, the façade will be more modern and less palatial, in order to better blend in with the environment”, said Bertrand Chevallereau yesterday, the CEO of Sociedad General Inmobiliaria de España (LGSIE), the property developer behind the new shopping centre.

Located in Usera, next to the Matedero Madrid, Plaza Río 2 will have three parking levels, three shopping floors and a terrace with eight restaurants. The lowest floor will be 7m below the level of the river. According to José Solana, Commercial Director of Sociedad de Centros Comerciales de España (SCCE), the project will comprise 150 stores including an Alcampo hypermarket, all of the Inditex brands, electrical appliance shops and a few sports stores “such as, for example, Décimas”.

Of the 150 stores, 30 will be large brands and the rest, 120, will be small and medium-sized retailers. “We have given priority to local retailers wanting to move in or open a second store in the shopping centre, but in general they do not want to move in as they cannot afford the investment or because they have concerns about moving here”, said Solana.

The shopping centre will be opened on a surface area measuring 40,000 m2, but there will not be any leisure facilities such as cinemas, bowling allies or recreational shops as there is not enough space, given that the shopping centre alone will take up 75% of the site. “What’s more, Matadero Madrid already organises lots of cultural events”, added Chevallereau.

Besides the obstacle to access the river directly, the main complaint lodged by Madrid Río’s neighbourhood associations relates to concerns that the construction of a new shopping centre will harm local retailers in the area and may cause transport problems. In this sense, Chevallereau said that local retailers have concerns that “are unfounded, at least in part”

By way of example, he referred to La Vaguada shopping centre – also built by the LSGI investment and development group – where he says that “many businesses have been generated around the building because it is an attraction for the public”. For Chevallereau, “the new shopping centre will not represent competition to small businesses but rather a dialogue”.

In terms of the disruption that traffic may cause in the area, he stressed that the shopping centre will be connected directly to the M-30, where the road exits the Manzanares tunnel, which means that “many cars will access it that way, without having to drive around the streets bordering the shopping centre”.

Original story: Expansión (by Noelia Marín)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Zurich Acquires An Office Building In Madrid From Metroinvest

21 January 2016 – Inmodiario

The Zurich Group has purchased an office building from Metroinvest on Calle Albarracín, 33 in Madrid, in the Julián Camarillo business district. The property, which was built in 2005, has a total surface area of 23,100 m2 and is occupied by the Town Hall of Madrid, from where it operates its municipal IT, police and mobility departments.

Cushman & Wakefield, the global real estate service leader, has advised the Spanish group on the sale of the property. The building has three floors (above ground), which are fully flexible and dividable, plus a ground floor and extensive underground parking with 279 spaces.

The Julián Camarillo business district, which was originally an industrial area, is well connected by metro and bus, and is close to several very busy thoroughfares and so has become one of the most sought after business districts in Madrid. For this reason, companies such as BBVA, Indra and Sant Lucía have all decided to relocate there.

Following this sale, Cushman & Wakefield, which have led the investment market in the last year, have now advised transactions amounting to more than €3,300 million in the last 2 years. (…).

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Saba Granted €465 Mn Loan

22/10/2014 – Expansion

Saba has received a loan amounting to €465 million for refinancing the corporate debt of its parking branch from nine banks. The operation was coordinated by CaixaBank and Santander, but also BNP, Sabadell, Société Générale and Popular took part in it.

The credit subsititutes and extends the one lent to the firm in 2011 when Saba got separated from Abertis. That loan was of €340 million.

The fresh equity not only does secure the assets inherited from Abertis but also the deals on Adif’s and La Caixa’s parking lots that totalled at €100 million.

Expected to reach maturity in 2021, the loan obtained by 1.24 percentage points better interest rate paid by Saba controlled by Criteria (a 50.1% stake), wit a differential of 2.75 points over the Euribor.

Additionally, Saba brings to the end financing which will allow it to manage 26 car parks in Barcelona until 2039. The company needs €232 million for that operation.

 

Original article: Expansión (by Artur Zanón)

Translation: AURA REE

Saba Aparcamientos Increases Capital By €120 Mn

6/10/2014 – Expansion

Saba reorganizes its structure with view to adding the municipal car parks in Barcelona and to ending refinancing of its indebtness estimated at between 450 and 500 million euros.

At the latest shareholders’ meeting. it has been agreed that on October 23rd the equity of Saba Aparcamientos (Parkings, translator’s note), which is an affiliate of the Saba infrastructure group, will be increased by €119.7 million in total. Approximately half of it, €58.15 million, proceeds from the sale of logistics hubs to Prologis, a transaction that took place in August. The amount will be intended for paying management fees of €232 million to the City Hall of Barcelona which will administer the 26 car parks over the upcoming 25 years.

The other part of the total, €61.5 million, will be raised through asset transfers. From now on, Saba Aparcamientos will exclusively manage all car parks of the group.

The debt restructuring concerns 180.000 parking spaces the group led by Josep Martínez Vila owns in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Andorra.

 

Original article: Expansión (by Artur Zanón)

Translation: AURA REE

Mutua And EQT Create The Third Largest Group Of Underground Car Parks In Spain

12/08/2014 – El Confidencial

Mutua Madrileña and the Nordic group EQT Infrastructure have reached an agreement to merge their car park businesses, Mutuapark y Parkia, respectively, a transaction which will give rise to the third largest private underground car park operator in Spain.

The new company will have a portfolio of almost 25.000 parking spaces distributed across 54 car parks and revenues of 30 million euros. The car parks of the new company have an average of around 32 years of life remaining on their licenses and are distributed across various autonomous regions such as Madrid, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia and the Canary Islands, among others.

With this move, what Mutua and EQT are trying to achieve is to prepare themselves for the future consolidation of the sector, which is still very fragmented compared with the situation in other comparable European markets.

Mutuapark, which manages 23 car parks in Spain with close to 8.000 parking spaces, was a business acquired in 2010 by FCC and combines owned car parks with licensed ones. Parkia, for its part, is present in Spain and Andorra, with 31 car parks (25 in Spain and 6 in the Principality) and 17.000 parking spaces. The business was acquired by the Acciona group in 2011.

In the new company created by the merger, EQT will have 66,8% of the share capital and Mutua Madrileña 33,2%. The transaction is waiting to receive the relevant administrative authorisations, which means it is likely to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

For Mutua Madrileña, this merger forms part of its strategy of diversifying its investments in businesses, always with the intention of achieving attractive profits in the long term with a moderate risk profile.

In the case of EQT, the agreement is based on its philosophy to invest in medium-sized companies of a high quality, which are market leaders in growing sectors, with the potential to become first line companies.

Original article: El Confidencial
Translation: Aura REE

Saba Wins the Parking Lots in Barcelona

2/07/2014 – Expansion

Saba outbidded Interparking at the auction assuming a partial privatization of the best car parks belonging to Barcelona City Hall.

The company chaired by Salvador Alemany presented the best financial offer stating that Saba will acquire 60% at Bamsa, a firm that is bound to manage the 26 parking lots in the downtown for the next 25 years. The remaining 40% will remain in hands of the City Council.

Saba, held by La Caixa, KKR, ProA and Torreal, has offered €232 million, juxtaposed with the €166.5 million proposal of Belgian Interparking. The price started at €160 million.

Apart from that, Saba also turned out to be better in technical aspects scoring by 91 points higher than the competitor. Another suggestion that convinced the City Hall was handing over 100% of the revenues above those foreseen in the bidding, whereas Interparking offered only 21%.

Although the socialist group of workers at the City Council raised objections to the sale, Barcelona´s mayor is very pleased with the deal. On signing the contract, the Hall will receive €100 million which will be intended for development of social housing blocks.

Over the past months, Saba has purchased car parks at 50 Adif´s railway stations and a bunch of parking lots from Aena, including spaces of the Barcelona-El Prat airport.

 

Original article: Expansión (by A. Zanón)

Translation: AURA REE

Saba Wins 23.000 Parking Spaces at Adif´s Railway Stations

Saba, a parking operator, together with preliminary award of parking lots at Adif´s railway stations has received a new boost in Spain. The largest contract in the country, 22.900 spaces on 72 parking lots of 51 stations, was at stake.  Among many other places, there are spaces in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Malaga and Seville.

The company owned by LaCaixa offered 141 millions for 10-year award, an amount that excelled the estimated budget of 136 millions. Saba outbidded 4 other firms, 3 of which have not managed to present their offers (Empark, Interparking, an alliance of Estacionamientos and Servicios-Continental Parking) and Isolux, which fought against Saba in the final bidding.

The 72 parkings´ annual revenues reach 30 million Euros and perfectly fit in Saba´s model to enter the award. Apart from parking space, the tenant (…) could also offer carwash or electrical charge.

Owned by Salvador Alemany and Josep Martínez Vila, Saba (separated from Albertis in 2011) (…) signed a management agreement on 14 airports at the Mediterranean area for 42.5 millions in 5 years.

(…) Saba will possess 180.000 parking spaces in 327 different spots.

Source: Cinco Días

The Government speeds up its strategy to sell properties belonging to the State.

In 2013, the Government wishes to speed up the sale and rental of buildings and plots in the hands of the Central Administration in order to continue fighting against the deficit and improving the functioning of the public sector.  According to a report accessible to this publication, the Government is “working on the identification of empty office buildings with no future administrative purpose, as well as on the evaluation of the possibility of placing them in the market”. They intend to “modify the urban coding of these properties before selling them, so that they may be used for lucrative purposes, thus increasing their value and the number of potential customers which could be interested in acquiring them”, the report declares.

In fact, some office buildings which could be “saleable” have already been valued. This is the case of the former headquarters of the national share market commission on Paseo de la Castellana, 19, in Madrid. Also the former studios of Radio Televisión Española at Paseo de la Habana, 75. There are still some buildings in the center of Madrid which are still graded as public equipment and need to be reassessed: this is the case of the headquarters of the former economic administrative court at Genova, 29 and the building of the General Directorate of National Heritage at Serrano, 35.

The Treasury Department has already taken into consideration the sale of these buildings. In order to place them at a better price in the market, the department controlled by Cristóbal Montoro points out “the convenience of selling them through competitive concurrence procedures, with openness and great publicity”. The Public Society of Real Estate Management of the Patrimony will be in charge of carrying out this procedure. The Treasury Department reserves the possibility of assuming the direct management of the operations should this be convenient for the operation.

But the plan to reduce the number of properties belonging to the State does not only affect the sale of office buildings. The sale of some plots is also being considered, but it is necessary to determine which ones can be sold. There are some in Madrid which comply with the requirements. There is a plot at Embajadores, 312, another at Francisco Remiro, 27 and another in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Arrollo Meaques) which could have “a suitability for building of more than 3000 square meters”.

There have already been significant savings thanks to the sale of buildings. Up to the 30th November 2012, according to the last information available, 7,2 million Euros had been deposited in the State´s cash register following the sales carried out by the General Directorate of National Heritage.

Without considering the figures of December, the income was already higher by 700.000 Euros than the one in 2011. The Housing Institute has also collected 44,1 million Euros in 2012 thanks to the sale of buildings and 1,9 million Euros for the Security Infrastructure Management. There have been savings for around 53 million Euros.

Nevertheless, the Government is not happy with the obtained results and detects that “in the last few months there has been a progressive deceleration in the achieved savings”. The State´s General Administration has 3035 properties in Spain and 567 leased buildings in other countries.

Source: Expansión