Savills Aguirre Newman: Tertiary RE Transactions Soar in January to Reach €910M

6 February 2018 – Eje Prime

The sales of the Parque Corredor shopping centre in Madrid and the 16 Inditex stores in Spain and Portugal have boosted the sector, which has already registered 40% of the total amount invested during the first quarter of 2017.

Operations in the retail segment have stepped up a gear. The Parque Corredor shopping centre in Madrid, and the portfolio of stores that Inditex put up for sale in Spain, represented a boost for the investor boom in the sector during the first month of the year. In total, those two operations accounted for €660 million of the €910 million that was spent on the sale and purchase of non-residential real estate assets in Spain during the month of January.

For the Inditex portfolio, which contained 16 stores located across Spain (14) and Portugal, the German fund Deka paid more than €500 million. That transaction was followed by another major retail deal, specifically, the purchase by the joint venture between Ares and Redevco of 70% of Parque Corredor, whereby absorbing the 40% stake in the centre that Sareb held, for €140 million.

Thanks to those two sales and others that were closed during the first month of 2018, the investment quota for the year has already reached 40% of the total figure spent during the whole of the first quarter last year, according to data from Savills Aguirre Newman.

Following a month of considerable activity, the forecast for the rest of 2018 is optimistic. Sources at the consultancy firm predict a year of “significant investment”. In this way, the volume of operations forecast for the office sector could exceed €2.0 billion, after investment in that segment amounted to €210 million in January.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Sells Parque Corredor Shopping Centre to Redevco & Ares

2 January 2018 – El Confidencial

In the end, there will be a sale. Sareb has managed to reach an agreement with Redevco and Ares to sell them the Parque Corredor shopping centre, in an operation that is expected to be closed within the next few days, according to sources familiar with the transaction. This deal will fire the starting gun for the complete transformation of the Madrilenian shopping centre.

As El Confidencial revealed, the entity chaired by Jaime Echegoyen had joined forces with Perella to complete one of the operations that has been on Sareb’s desk for the longest, but which has never ended up being signed (until now) for various reasons, including the dispersed shareholding of Parque Corredor and the divergent interests of those shareholders.

The sum of Sareb and Perella’s forces guaranteed that Redevco and Ares would take a majority stake in the shopping centre, given that the former holds 40% of the share capital and the latter holds 20%. But, more support was always needed to enable it to undertake a complete transformation and whereby compete with the neighbouring Open Sky, a shopping centre that is currently being constructed just four kilometres away.

In the end, both El Corte Inglés, the owner of just under 4% of Parque Corredor, which has an outlet store there, and Alcampo, owner of just over 20%, have decided to join the sale initiated by Sareb, according to the same sources (…).

The offer from Redevco and Ares values the whole centre at around €200 million, an amount that will be added to the planned investment of €20 million required to renovate the centre. The renovation project that has been entrusted to the Chapman Taylor studio.

Parque Corredor is a shopping centre giant with a retail surface area of 123,000 m2 and 180 stores, located in the Madrilenian town of Torrejón de Ardoz. Its tenants include the Spanish firm Mango, the Swedish retailer H&M, the Irish firm Primark and the French retailer Kiabi, all direct rivals of Zara.

This shopping centre went through its toughest time four years ago when Inditex decided to vacate because of the poor upkeep of the complex. Nevertheless, in recent times, confidence in the centre has been returning, with some of the retail group’s brands opening stores there, such as Bershka, Pimkie and Stradivarius. To date, there is no sign of the flagship brand Zara returning just yet.

Sareb has been advised in the operation by Knight Frank, Perella has received the services of Cushman & Wakefield, whilst Redevco and Ares have been working with Deloitte.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake