Roca Junyent Hires Silvia López Jiménez as a Real Estate Partner

The new partner at Roca has worked for several different law firms, in addition to having worked in-house as the Legal Director at various companies, such as Neinor Homes.

The law firm Roca Junyent has hired Silvia López Jiménez as a new partner in the real estate department. In addition to this area of expertise, the lawyer has experience in corporate governance, risk management and regulatory compliance in the international environment.

With her appointment to advise both domestic and international clients, the real estate department is strengthening and consolidating its position as one of Roca Junyent’s divisions with the greatest potential for growth in Madrid. The firm also has three partners in its real estate division in Barcelona.

Stoneweg is the Favourite to Acquire Atlético de Madrid’s 3rd Plot in Operación Calderón

31 May 2019 – El Economista

Earlier this week, it was announced that Azora, one of the largest rental home managers in the country, is set to buy two of the three plots that Atlético de Madrid has up for sale as part of Operación Calderón. Now, it has been revealed that the favourite in the running to acquire the third plot is the real estate firm Stoneweg, founded by Jaume Sabater and Joaquín Castellví.

Stoneweg will reportedly team up with a partner for the operation and will to dedicate the plot to rental homes. These types of projects are gaining weight in the capital in light of the high demand in the market, which has caused prices in some areas to soar. In fact, Azora is also planning to dedicate some of its two plots to rental housing.

Stoneweg is an expert in the rental home market with a portfolio of 10,000 rental units in the USA. In Spain, the firm operates through Stoneweg Living and has 10 developments in Barcelona, 9 in Madrid and 7 in various locations along the coast.

It is understood that Atlético de Madrid wants to complete the sale of all three plots before the end of June, as the club’s year-end is 30 June. The proceeds will represent a significant capital injection, which will allow AM to pay off some of its debt and buy more players over the summer.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Villar Mir Seeks Partners to Develop Inmobiliaria Espacio’s Land Portfolio

23 April 2019 – Idealista

The Villar Mir Group is looking for partners to inject capital into the development of the land owned by its subsidiary Inmobiliaria Espacio. The firm is going to put a portfolio of assets worth between €250 million and €300 million on the market. Its aim is to continue as the minority shareholder of the developments or to carry out the development of each promotion.

The plots of land are located all over Spain, including in Madrid (Valdebebas, Pozuelo de Alarcón and Alcorcón), Murcia, La Línea de la Concepción and Algeciras (Cádiz), Marbella (Málaga), San Juan (Alicante), Almería, Mallorca and Valencia. At the end of 2017, the plots were worth €256.9 million.

Original story: Idealista 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Amro Buys Sevillan Development in Iberian Roll-out

25 January 2019 – EGI

London-based investor Amro Real Estate Partners has bought a site in Sevilla, marking its second acquisition within its student housing platform in Spain and Portugal.

The deal forms part of the company’s strategy to create a 5,000-bed investment platform in the region.

Last year, Amro appointed CBRE to search for a student housing joint venture partner to undertake a €300m (£261m) capital investment in its Iberian expansion.

At the same time, it invested in a 360-bed student housing development site in Granada, which will launch in early 2020.

The site in Sevilla measures around 100,000 square metres (…).

Original story: EGI (by Pui-Guan Man)

Edited by: 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

Sareb Searches for an Ally to Develop Land Worth €2.5bn

3 January 2019 – Eje Prime

The bad bank is looking for a partner to increase its profitability through the development of its land. Sareb owns plots throughout Spain worth €5 billion, but almost half (€2.4 billion), lack building permits. For this reason, the company is combing the market to reach agreements with companies that specialise in converting plots into buildable sites.

The company is thus planning to turn the tide in its strategy for the management of its portfolio when the contracts that it has signed with several Spanish real estate servicers come to end, which they will do soon, according to El Economista.

At the end of the first half of 2018, Sareb’s buildable land had a value of €2.15 billion. The rest of the portfolio owned by the publicly owned company comprises rural plots, worth €450 million.

Sareb, with €36 billion on its balance sheet, is also working on the creation of a fund with a residential property developer in which it will own a large stake. By way of consideration (payment for that stake), the bad bank will grant land worth €800 million for the development of new homes. Aelca is currently the favourite in the running to be awarded that contract.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

RTV Grupo Inmobiliario Invests €10M in Purchase of Former Lluro de Mataró Cinema

5 June 2018 – Eje Prime

RTV Grupo Inmobiliario is continuing to expand its portfolio of properties in the Catalan market. The company is going to invest €10 million in the purchase of the former Lluro de Mataró cinema (the largest cinema in Spain in its hey-day) and its subsequent renovation, according to explanations provided by the group in a statement.

The start date for the execution of the construction work is planned within the next six months, once the building permits have been granted. The former cinema, which closed its doors in 2001, and the complementary office building, which used to house the Tax Authorities in Mataró until their move to the El Rengle building, has a total surface area of 9,650 m2, of which 4,500 m2 are above ground and the remaining 5,150 m2 are below ground. The buildings will be renovated in their entirety.

The new complex will comprise two residential buildings with 23 homes in total, a commercial space on the ground floor and two underground floors for parking. The plot on which the complex to be renovated is constructed and the area inside the block where the commercial space and parking lot will be located amounts to around 2,700 m2.

RTV Grupo Inmobiliario is working on residential promotions with similar characteristics in different areas of Maresme, including in Vilassar, Llavaneres and Mataró, and it plans to start work on new developments shortly in Barcelona and its surrounding area, Girona and Ibiza.

RTV Grupo Inmobiliario started its activity in 2000 focusing on the property development sector through the management and development of integral real estate projects. In recent years, it has managed the marketing of luxury homes, participated in advising real estate investments and worked on the administration and management of real estate assets.

It acts as a partner for several private banking divisions whose portfolio of clients are interested in diversifying their investments and returning to the real estate sector once again, taking advantage of the opportunities that are arising in the market.  In recent years, they have resumed the direct development of residential promotions in the regions of Cataluña and the Balearic Islands.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

ICG Makes €105M Investment in Eroski Spanish Hypermarkets

31 May 2018 – Property Magazine

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) will invest €105 million in six Spanish hypermarkets. ICG has partnered with Inmobiliaria Armuco S.L., a real estate company 45% owned by Eroski, a food retailer in Northern Spain, to acquire five of its hypermarkets and one more completely owned by Eroski in a primary sale and leaseback transaction underpinned by 21-year, CPI-linked, triple-net leases.

The assets are located in the Basque region of Spain and each rank in the top quartile in terms of Eroski’s trading performance. According to Savills, Spain has enjoyed a return to growth in excess of 3% for the last three consecutive years and is predicted to outperform the Eurozone, in terms of GDP, for the next three years.

Chris Nichols, Managing Director of ICG Sale and Leaseback, commented: “We are pleased to have partnered with Eroski on this transaction and to have acquired six assets in strategic priority locations for Eroski. We have a pipeline of deals, and are actively looking for further opportunities in this space, both in Spain and across the wider European market”.

ICG was advised by Savills and Eversheds.

Original story: Property Magazine

Edited by: Carmel Drake

Ardian Places Indigo Sale On Hold after Raising €700M in Debt

4 May 2018 – Expansión

Ardian and its partner Predica (Credit Agricole) have decided to put on hold the sale of their parking lot subsidiary Indigo, one of the giants in the European sector with significant interests in Spain. The shareholders, which have been looking at various options for their investment over the last year, have opted to re-leverage the company in the end, with a €700 million bond issue, which will be used to refinance some of the debt that expires in 2020, and also, to distribute an extraordinary dividend to shareholders.

With this move, the possible sale of the former VinciPark has been put on hold, after Ardian went off the idea of divestment in 2017 when it did not obtain satisfactory offers for the asset. According to sources close to the operation, Indigo’s shareholders were left with three options: put the “for sale” sign back up; re-leverage the company and distribute an extraordinary dividend to the shareholders; or encourage a merger agreement with other parking lot groups.

Until a few weeks ago, all three options were on the table. One of the possibilities involved exploring an alliance with the Spanish firm Saba. The parking lot group controlled by Criteria (La Caixa) is also undergoing a process of transformation after the decision was taken by its minority shareholders, which together hold a 49% stake, to exit the company. That round of contact did not prosper and Indigo decided to begin the procedure to launch a macro debt issue, which took place on 12 April.

Sources in the sector believe that a merger between Saba and Indigo would have business logic given the minimal overlap and their capacity to form a group with sufficient critical mass to explore a stock market listing. Trading on the stock market has always been the ultimate dream of Saba’s founding partners. By contrast, Ardian avoids investments in listed groups (…).

Indigo is, together with Qpark and Apcoa, the largest parking lot group in Europe. According to the latest available figures, the company recorded turnover of €897 million in 2017, with an EBITDA of €310 million. The company’s net financial debt amounts to €1.666 billion. Saba and Empark also feature in Europe’s Top 8 ranking of the largest parking lot groups, but their turnover figures are significantly lower than those of Indigo and QPark.

According to experts, another factor that would contribute to accelerating the corporate movements in the sector is the ownership structure. The giants in the sector are owned by investment funds and private equity firms with a relative dearth of long-term investors. QPark is controlled by KKR, whilst the German firm Apcoa is owned by Centerbridge. Ardian controls Indigo and Macquarie is the new owner of Empark. Saba is the only company with an industrial shareholder – Criteria – and a long-term interest (…).

Although not its largest market, Indigo conducts significant business in Spain. Revenues amounted to €41 million in 2017, with an EBITDA of almost €20 million. It is Indigo’s third largest market in Europe, after France and the United Kingdom. The outlook for Spain is positive. According to the consultancy firm DBK, revenues from the rental of parking spaces (…) in Spain and Portugal amounted to €1.145 billion in 2017, which represented an increase of 3.8% with respect to the previous year. In 2016, that figure grew by 4.5%.

Original story: Expansión (by C. Morán)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grosvenor Injects Another €15M into its Luxury Home JV with Amprop

29 January 2018 – Eje Prime

Grosvenor is still interested in growing in the Spanish market, hand in hand with its local partner. The British company has injected another €15 million into its Spanish joint venture with the Malayan firm Amcorp Properties Berhad (Amprop), created last year to build luxury apartments in Madrid. Both groups have financial muscle amounting to more than €200 million, which they plan to invest in the construction of new developments in the country.

In this way, Grosvenor and Amprop are continuing with the plans they started last year when they completed the purchase of an 820 m2 plot on Madrid’s golden mile on which to build a luxury residential development. That plot is located on Calle Jorge Juan, one of the most expensive areas to live in the Spanish capital.

The British fund, owner of more than 1,500 properties spread all over the world, transformed its fund Grosvenor Fund Management into Grosvenor Europe, with the aim of undertaking joint investments in key markets in Europe, including Paris, Madrid, Milan and Stockholm.

The alliance signed with Amcorp set itself the objective of backing value-added investments, where it assumes more risk but also receives greater returns. For these types of projects, the two groups have allocated a budget of €70 million.

Seven months after creating this alliance, the partners have closed their first investment, for an undisclosed sum. In this plot, Grosvenor and its partner will construct an exclusive development comprising six apartments and a penthouse with views over the Retiro park.

Grosvenor has not yet determined the price at which it will place these properties on the market although the average price per square metre for prime real estate in the Salamanca neighbourhood amounts to around €8,500. Although, according to the most recent residential reports, some developments are going for more than €9,000.

The purchase of these plots followed the acquisition of two buildings in Madrid in July, which it will transform into new residential and retail spaces (…).

Grosvenor in Spain

In the Spanish market, the fund has been led by Fátima Sáez del Cano since 2007, although it started to operate in the country in 1996. The director manages the fund that specialises in the office business and retail sector, which is also responsible for the management of funds and assets. Some of the properties under Grosvenor’s management in Spain include the Islazul shopping centre in Madrid and the Anecblau complex in Barcelona (…).

Moreover, in recent months, Grosvenor has decided to add new lifeblood into its leadership team with the hiring of new directors. Last September, the group recruited Javier García as the new Technical Director for the Spanish market (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake