Advenis Enters Spain with the Purchase of an Office Building in Madrid from Partners Group

The purchase of this asset is the first operation that the SCPI Elialys, which belongs to Advenis Real Estate, has carried out in Spain as part of its investment strategy for the coming years.

The global investment manager Partners Group has sold an office building located on Calle Gobelas 35-37, in La Florida (Madrid) to the SCPI Elialys.

The buyer, the SCPI Elialys, is a French real estate investment company, owned by Advenis Real Estate Investment Management. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed.

Partners Group Negotiates the Purchase of 5 More Office Buildings from Meridia Capital

10 January 2020 – El Confidencial

The Swiss manager Partners Group is in talks with Meridia Capital, led by the Catalan businessman Javier Faus, with a view to purchasing half of the office portfolio that Meridia put up for sale at the end of last year.

The two players enjoy a close relationship following a deal closed last April, which saw Partners acquire a portfolio of 18 offices from Meridia for €215 million, and the Socimi continuing to manage the portfolio.

A similar arrangement could be sought this time around. The portfolio on the table in 2020 comprises a dozen offices in Madrid and Barcelona worth around €200 million, although Partners is only interested in half of the properties.

Both parties declined to comment on the reports of a potential sale, however, sources in the know confirmed that a due diligence process has begun on five of the assets.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Meridia Sells 18 Buildings to Swiss Firm Partners Group

2 April 2019 – La Vanguardia

Meridia Capital has completed the sale of 18 buildings in Madrid and Barcelona to the Swiss firm Partners Group for €215 million. The properties are primarily office buildings, with a total leasable area of 91,000 m2, and account for the bulk of the assets that used to form part of the fund Meridia 2.

The most notable properties include Torre Meridian, and the Med I and Med II buildings in Barcelona, along with one building on Santa Leonor and another on Calle Alcalá in Madrid. The investment manager chaired by Javier Faus will continue to manage the properties.

The purchase represents the Partners Group’s debut in Spain and is the largest real estate operation to be closed in the country so far this year. Meridia began its divestment from Meridia 2 last year, with the sale of the building that houses the headquarters of Nestlé in Esplugues de Llobregat to the Korean group ICIS Asset Management for €87 million.

Meridia Capital Partners is an independent investment manager, with more than €1 billion in assets under management. Meanwhile, Partners Group is a Swiss private equity firm that manages assets worth €80 billion. The firm is also the largest shareholder of the jewellers Tous.

Original story: La Vanguardia (by Rosa Salvador)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Deutsche Bank Negotiates Purchase Of L’Aljub Shopping Centre

9 November 2017 – Expansión

The real estate sector is heading for a new investment record this year and shopping centres are one of the star segments on the rise. Deutsche Bank, which marked a milestone in 2016 with its purchase of Diagonal Mar, wants to strengthen its position in this market and to this end, is negotiating the acquisition of the L’Aljub shopping centre, located in Elche. The operation could be closed for a price of more than €170 million, according to market sources.

L’Aljub is currently owned by the fund Seva (Southern European Value-Add Mandate), managed by TH Real Estate for the investors TPG Real Estate – the real estate platform of the international manager TPG – and Partners Group. The consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield is advising the vendor and CBRE the buyer.

This investment vehicle, which also owns two other retail assets in Italy, has a combined value of €300 million. The three assets were acquired a year ago from TH Real Estate for €250 million.

In addition to the retail and leisure premises, L’Aljub also houses an Eroski hypermarket on the ground floor. TH Real Estate purchased that store from Eroski a month ago through this investment vehicle for €18.7 million.

This investment in L’Aljub includes the hypermarket, which has a surface area of 9,900 m2, as well as the space leased by Primark (4,500 m2) and the gas station (200 m2), operated by Eroski.

The shopping centre was inaugurated in August 2003 and has a surface area of more than 60,000 m2, spread over two floors, as well as an extensive underground car park. The centre is home to 120 stores and 3,200 parking spaces (free of charge). Some of its most high profile operators include Inditex, H&M, Primark, Mango and Cines ABC.

If the negotiations prove fruitful, Deutsche Bank would strengthen its position in the retail segment in Spain. Last year, the company purchased the Diagonal Mar shopping centre (Barcelona) for almost €500 million. After the purchase of Xanadú, that operation was the second largest ever closed in the shopping centre segment.

Investment

Another example of the interest in this type of asset was the purchase of Xanadú by Intu Properties in March for €530 million. Subsequently, the British created a company with TH Real Estate to share ownership of the Madrilenian shopping centre.

Banca March has also decided to back this kind of asset with the purchase of the ABC Serrano shopping centre in Madrid this summer for €130 million, debt included. Meanwhile, Klépierre acquired Nueva Condomina in Murcia for €230 million earlier this year.

In this way, investment in the segment during the 10 months to October amounted to €2,300 million, which suggests a high volume year, behind only the historical maximum, recorded last year, of €2,700 million.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

TH Real Estate Buys Hypermarket In L’Aljub Shopping Centre For €18.7M

17 October 2017 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

TH Real Estate has purchased the hypermarket premises in the L’Aljub Shopping Centre in Elche, from Eroski, through its investment vehicle SEVA (Southern European Value-Add Mandate) for €18.7 million. SEVA is a vehicle managed by TH Real Estate for the investors TPG Real Estate and Partners Group, focusing on value-added investments and returns within the retail sector in Southern Europe. Including L’Aljub, this vehicle includes three assets managed in Spain and Italy, worth more than €300 million.

This investment in L’Aljub involves 9,900 m2 of space corresponding to the hypermarket, as well as 4,500 m2 of space occupied by Primark and a 200 m2 petrol station, operated by Eroski.

TH Real Estate is planning to carry out improvements at the property. Eroski will continue as the tenant and will undertake a restructuring of the space, which will reduce the hypermarket space to 5,100 m2. That will free up approximately 4,800 m2 of leasable space for the entry of new operators, whereby expanding the shopping centre area, which currently receives more than 7 million visitors per year, on average.

The L’Aljub shopping centre, which is owned by TH Real Estate, has a constructed surface area of 43,000 m2 and contains more than 100 stores. It is home to many of the major fashion, leisure and restaurant brands, such as H&M, Inditex, Primark and ABC cinemas. It is located in the city of Elche, 20km away from Alicante and 50km from Murcia, which makes it a strategic enclave on the southern axis of the Mediterranean Arc.

“We are very happy with the completion of this transaction and we are hoping to carry out the activities and remodelling work necessary to equip this asset with greater added value, as well as promote the incorporation of new operators, which will be very positive for clients visiting the centre”, said Marta Cladera de Codina, Director of TH Real Estate for the Iberian Peninsula.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake

GSA Buys Oaktree’s Student Halls In Madrid & Barcelona

21 June 2017 – Expansión

GSA (Global Student Accommodation) has reached an agreement with Oaktree Capital to purchase its student halls of residence in Spain (which are owned and operated by an entity called Nexo). This operation, whose financial details have not been revealed, comes less than a year after GSA purchased Oaktree’s platform of halls of residence in the United Kingdom, comprising 7,100 beds, back in September 2016.

Both operations have been advised by the real estate consultancy firm JLL.

Nexo is one of the largest developers and operators of student halls of residence in Spain and currently owns a portfolio of approximately 2,300 beds located in Madrid and Barcelona – split between operational assets and those under construction.

The firm has three operational halls of residence in Madrid – Galdós, with 370 beds; El Faro, with 358 beds; and Claraval, with 186 beds – as well as the Lope de Vega University Residence, also located in the Spanish capital, which will open its doors in September 2017 and which will house 468 students, from both Spain and overseas.

The operation also includes two additional projects under development in Barcelona, which will be ready for use in 2019 and which increase the total number of beds to 2,234. The first centre, Barcelona Sants, will have 348 beds and the second, Campus Sur Diagonal, will have 504 beds.

Nicholas Porter, founder and President of GSA, said that the firm is continuing to fulfil its plans for rapid expansion in Europe with its focus on higher education markets.

Interest from funds in this segment has increased in recent months. In order to benefit from this situation, Azora and Grupo March have put RESA up for sale – it is the largest student residence management platform in Spain, with 9,000 beds – and interest has already been expressed by Axa, Round Hill, the Canadian pension fund CPPIB, CBRE Global Investment and Partners Group, amongst others.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

TH Real Estate, TPG & Partners Group Create New RE Fund

3 November 2016 – Expansión

TH Real Estate, TPG Real Estate and Partners Group have created a new fund, which will focus on opportunistic and value added investments in the retail segment in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

The initial capital for the fund, which is called “Southern European Value-add Mandate” or Seva, comprises three retail assets located in Spain and Italy, worth more than €250 million. The fund will be managed from TH Real Estate’s offices in Madrid.

“This opportunistic and value added joint venture is looking for other assets that may benefit from remodelling, reconfiguration and brand renovation to offer greater value”, explained the Director of TH Real Estate for the Iberian Peninsula, Marta Cladera de Codina (pictured above).

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake