Tag: Paseo de la Habana

Exina Acquires Building on Paseo de la Habana for €21MM

9 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Exina, an investment vehicle controlled by the president of Santa Lucía Seguros, Carlos Javier Álvarez Navarro, acquired the office building located at Paseo de la Habana, 101, just a few meters from Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana. The area has been the focus of a number of real estate deals in recent times. Navarro reportedly paid 21 million euros for the asset, which he acquired from Philip Morris.

The building has a surface area of 4,000 square meters and has four floors and two additional floors for parking.

Original Story: El Confidencial – E. Sanz

 

The Lawyers’ Mutual Society Buys Paseo de la Habana, 3 for €23.4M

3 April 2019 – El Confidencial

Grupo Millenium has sold an office building on Paseo de la Habana, 3, in Madrid to the Mutualidad de la Abogacía (Lawyers’ Mutual Society) for €23.4 million. In fact, the deal was signed in April 2018, but has only just come to light after the Mutualidad published its annual accounts for last year.

The building has been completely renovated and is leased in its entirety to Gunni & Trentino, the Spanish company specialising in high-end interior decoration, which houses its headquarters there. The property is located in a prime area, just 100m from Paseo de la Castellana and Nuevos Ministerios, and comprises 3,000 m2 distributed over five storeys.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Eventbrite to Open its First European Development Centre in Madrid

15 February 2019 – Europa Press

The global technological event management and ticket purchasing platform, Eventbrite, is going to create its first European development centre in the Spanish capital, whereby strengthening its presence in the country after acquiring Ticketea in 2018, according to reports from the entity.

Eventbrite has 14 offices across 11 countries, with a global team of 1,000 workers, of which 80 are based at its offices in Madrid and Alicante.

With the opening of the new development centre, which will open its doors in May 2019, the company expects to triple its team, primarily with engineers and product developers.

The new centre will be located in a four-storey building spanning more than 2,300 m2 on Paseo de la Habana in Madrid. It will house a workspace, cafeteria, library, relaxation areas, a lactation room, outdoor recreational spaces and an area open to the local community where the company plans to organise events and meetings (…).

Original story: Europa Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Goldman Sachs Pays €63M for A Plot of Land in Madrid

6 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Goldman Sachs is targeting the prime housing market in Madrid. The US investment fund has just purchased a plot of land in the centre of the Spanish capital for €63.7 million. The development of luxury apartments planned for the site is going to be built by the Catalan property developer Uniq.

The acquired plot is located at number 147 Paseo de la Habana and has a finalist surface area of 10,000 m2. The vendors are members of a family from Asturias. In the bid for this plot, Goldmans competed with other funds and property developers, such as Grupo Ibosa, Grosvenor, Pryconsa, Domo and Nozar, according to El Confidencial.

With this partnership, Uniq will have the possibility of increasing its presence in Madrid, where it already has a project underway in a former tenement building in Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz. Now, the Catalan property developer is going to build a development less than 1km from Paseo de la Castellana and the Santiago Bernabeú.

The area in which the development will be located has been receiving a lot of investment from wealthy Latin American families, recently. They are driving prices up in the residential market since they are “willing to pay well above the market average”, according to sources in the sector speaking to Eje Prime. They are interested in withdrawing their capital from their countries of origin, many of which are unstable, economically speaking, to invest in Spanish real estate, which offers them greater security.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grupo Ibosa Acquires 10,000m2 Plot on Paseo de la Habana for c. €70M

24 July 2018 – El Confidencial

It has undoubtedly become the most expensive land operation since the start of the real estate recovery. Paseo de la Habana, 147 has smashed all records, given that almost €70 million has been put on the table for its 10,000 m2, which represents a repercussion price of between €6,500/m2 and €7,000/m2. That figure is significantly higher than the expectations of the plot’s vendors, which had set a sales price range of between €60 million and €65 million.

Since the real estate bubble burst, no one has paid such a high repercussion price for a plot of land. The figure comfortably exceeds the €5,000/m2 that the builder Rafael Ortiz and the popular shipping entrepreneur Fernando Fernández Tapias paid in 2007, at the height of the boom for a plot located on Juan Bravo 3, where the Spanish capital’s largest luxury development is currently being constructed, Lagasca 99.

Since coming onto the market just three months ago, the plots have passed through the offices of more than a dozen property developers and private investors and, although many of them agree on the high price of the operation, the fact is that the plot has had half a dozen suitors in the end.

The companies that placed an offer on the table include Nozar, Grosvenor, Domo and Pryconsa, although the successful bidder in the end was Grupo Ibosa, according to some of the candidates that have been left out of the process, speaking to El Confidencial. Both JLL, the consultancy firm advising the sales process, and Ibosa declined to comment in this regard.

The plot in question is located in the heart of Madrid, opposite the Cuban consulate, just 700 m from Paseo de la Castellana and 1km away from the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, where the supply of buildable land for sale is very scarce. In fact, the vast majority of the projects in the area are being built in renovated properties.

Five detached homes are currently being constructed on the acquired plot, with surface areas of between 300 m2 and 400 m2 each, which will have to be demolished to make way for the buyer’s future project. All indications are that a luxury apartment development will be built on the plot, which will be added to the high-end projects that Ibosa currently has underway in Valdemarín – on some plots it acquired from Blackstone – and in Aravaca, and marketing of which has just been launched.

The lack of new build product in the area and the high demand explain this pressure on prices. The development will be built in the Chamartín district, which is home to some of the most sought-after residential areas in the centre of the city, such as El Viso, where the Venezuelan investors Miguel Ángel and Áxel Capriles arrived in April last year to purchase Villa San José on Pablo Aranda 3, just opposite Florentino Pérez’s real estate bunker.

In terms of benchmark prices, one example is the 11 homes that are being built on the plots of the former headquarters of RTVE. The Ministry of Finance put that plot up for auction at the end of 2015 and it was awarded to Martell Investment for €10.8 million, which represents a repercussion price of €4,800/m2. Construction of those homes has now begun and the prices fluctuate around €7,000/m2.

Boom in prices

In just two years, the prices in the most sought-after neighbourhoods of the Spanish capital have soared by more than 20% (…).

According to a recent report from Engel & Völkers, maximum prices in this Madrilenian neighbourhood amount to €6,000/m2, although, as sources specialising in the sale of luxury homes at the agency explain, “there are no new build properties in the area, and so the final prices depend a lot on the features of each project”.

In terms of the area, like in the most trendy areas of Madrid, prices have risen sharply over the last year. According to Engel & Völkers, prices have risen by 10% since 2017, “although, at the moment, more operations are being closed than last year because there is greater access to credit, but, nevertheless, prices are barely rising”.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Large Overseas RE Funds Are Building Homes In Spain

10 April 2017 – Expansión

Large international funds such as Invesco, Harbert, Activum SG and Stoneweg are developing residential projects in Spain in search of high returns.

Following their arrival in Spain at the end of 2013, the international investment funds have become the players to watch in the Spanish real estate market. Attracted by the decrease in prices following the burst of the bubble, the funds entered the market looking for opportunities in the tertiary sector (primarily, in the office and commercial segments). Nevertheless, the price rises of these properties and the improvement in the macroeconomic situation in the country have led them to place their focus on a new type of investment: residential assets.

“The main advantage of investing in residential assets is the return. Currently, the returns on residential investments is greater – by between 13% and 20% – than those generated by other assets (be they commercial, logistics, etc.), which have been cut recently, as the upwards trends have been reduced by increasingly higher competition, due to the shortage of products in good locations and the rise in land prices”, said Gonzalo Gallego, Partner in Financial Advisory at Deloitte.

“We have seen many international funds and players investing in the residential sector: Kennedy Wilson, Lone Star, Greenoak, Grosvenor, Autonomy Capital, Invesco, as well as family offices and representatives of large equity firms such as Shaftesbury, the Capriles family, Stoneweg and Dazia, amongst others. In general, they promote to sell, but we are also awaiting the imminent arrival of international giants such as Greystar and Round Hill and Allianz, in the residential rental business, where they see an important niche for the professionalisation and institutionalisation of this sector”, explains Humphrey White, CEO at Knight Frank in Spain.

One of the most active funds is the German fund Activum SG Capital Management. Currently, that investor, through its Spanish subsidiary ASG Iberia, is working on the construction of 2,000 homes in six developments, such as in San Juan (Alicante), Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) and Málaga.

Another international fund that has decided to back the residential sector in Spain is Invesco. “We are trying to avoid or assume urban planning risk in our residential investments, with the aim of not exceeding our investment schedule. For this reason, we only invest in buildable land and in properties that do not need special urban planning procedures to change their use or buildability”, explain sources from the fund’s residential department in Spain. Its projects include the development of 30 homes on Paseo de la Habana in Madrid, another one on c/Serrano, also in the capital, and the transformation of an office building into 58 homes close to Calle Colón in Valencia.

Meanwhile, Harbert Management Corporation (HMC) has decided to invest in the Spanish residential sector through a local partner, the management company Momentum. “In 2008, partners that have experience working with funds founded Momentum. In 2012, we started to see opportunities for those investors in the residential sector and, in 2014, we purchased our first plot of land in Aravaca from La Caixa”, explained Gabriel Fernández de Gamboa, Founding Partner at Momentum. Alongside this management company, HMC has invested in six plots of land in Madrid and another one in Málaga for the development of more than 600 homes and is searching for new opportunities in the market.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Invesco Develops Luxury Homes On Madrid’s Golden Mile

29 December 2016 – Expansión

Invesco joins forces with the Barba Group / The partners are going to invest more than €26 million in 30 high-end apartments. The construction work will begin in 2017.

A plot of land measuring more than 700 m2, next to Paseo de la Habana and Calle Serrano in Madrid, is one of the latest additions to Invesco’s real estate portfolio in Spain. The German fund manager has invested more than €25 million to buy this plot of land, located in Plaza Valparaíso, where it will create 30 luxury homes. “We have been negotiating the purchase of this plot of land for a year now. It was owned by a family and a religious congregation. In the end, we have completed the acquisition and we have requested a licence to begin construction”, say sources at the fund.

The German fund has been one of the most active investors in Spain in 2016, and after acquiring several important retail assets such as Prada’s flagship store on Paseo de Gracia and a batch of eleven Eroski hypermarkets, it has placed its focus on the residencial segment. “Spain is one of the largest markets for Invesco. We have purchased profitable assets for several funds there, such as on Paseo de Gracia and the hypermarkets. But, in addition, we have entered the world of property development, like we have in other countries such as the USA and certain Asian markets, with funds that seek added value opportunities; Spain is one of the first countries where we have begun”, explained Tim Nalder, Head of Invesco Real Estate in Spain.

Added value

To this end, the German firm has teamed up with the real estate company Barba Group and, through a joint venture, has started to develop high-end homes in the most exclusive areas of Madrid. “Last year, Invesco told us about its plans to invest across Europe with an added value fund that offers high returns and we have already invested more than €100 million through the joint venture”, said César Barba, CEO of the Barba Group.

The latest major project is this plot of land on Paseo de la Habana, where 30 homes will be constructed and then sold for around €6,500/m2. There will be several ground floor and penthouse duplexes, with swimming pools and terraces. The most expensive home will be sold for €1.5 million. But the jewel in Invesco and Barba’s project will be a sky terrace, located on the top floor of the block, which will have a gym and swimming pool, amongst other services. The construction work at this exclusive development, which has already started to be marketed, will begin between April and May next year.

Currently, Invesco’s most advanced project in the capital is a development containing nine 3- and 4-bedroom homes, with terraces and solariums, located in the Arturo Soria neighbourhood, which will be ready for its first residents in the spring. Moreover, this joint venture recently bought the building at number 53 on Calle Serrano in Madrid, where it will create high-end homes on the upper floors and a retail store for a luxury brand on the ground floor.

In total, Invesco is working on four developments in the capital and another housing complex in Valencia. Invesco has invested more than €500 million in the Spanish market during 2016 between its residential and retail asset purchases. “Currently, Invesco has €200 million to invest across Europe and Spain is going to be one of our primary markets”, said Nalder.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Work Begins At Pryconsa’s Luxury Housing Development In Madrid

14 December 2015 – El Mundo

The details of one of the most iconic, exclusive and eagerly-awaited residential projects in Madrid have finally been revealed: the development that Pryconsa is undertaking on the 15,000 m2 plot of land that previously housed RTVE’s Buñuel Studios and which the Madrilenian based property developer acquired in November last year for €35.27 million.

It is a prime location, at number 5 on Avenida de Burgos, next to Paseo de la Habana, the best area in the district of Chamartín, surrounded by parks and gardens and just a stone’s throw away from hot spots such as the Chamartín train station, Plaza de Castilla and the Cuatro Torres.

In tribute to the great Aragonese filmmaker, who has lent his name to the studios for decades, the project has been named, in part, after his home town: Calanda Homes. The property development will contain 89 three- to five-bedroom homes, and will measure between 163 m2 and 218 m2. It will include different types of properties, such as flats (all with large terraces), ground floor flats with gardens and penthouse apartments with terraces of between 117 m2 and 165 m2. The homes will be distributed across two four-storey buildings, 35 m apart and located within a huge urbanisation containing gardens, a (Munich style) swimming pool, padel court and gym, amongst other features.

The project will be developed in two phases. During the first phase, the marketing of which has just begun, prices will start at €808,000 and go up to €1.8 million. Work to demolish the old television studios began last Wednesday, and if construction proceeds according to plan, then the property developer will hand over the keys to the homes in the first phase in June 2018.

Sales success

“During the first few days, almost 50% of the first phase that we are currently marketing has been reserved”, said José León, CEO of the company. (…).

Original story: El Mundo (by Luis M. De Ciria)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The State Auctions Off 2 Buildings In Madrid For €24.3M

23 October 2015 – Cinco Días

The State Company for Real Estate Management (‘Sociedad Estatal de Gestión Inmobiliaria de Patrimonio’ or Segipsa) has sold a small palace on the Paseo de la Castellana and RTVE’s former headquarters on Paseo de la Habana for €24.3 million in total, at auction. The public company put the two assets, plus a floor on Calle Serrano, on the market for €19 million back in September.

The Palacete de Moreno Benítez, located at number 64 on the Paseo de la Castellana, is one of the few still standing on the Madrid thoroughfare, and has been awarded to Caboel for €13.5 million. This figure represents an increase of almost 92% above the asking price of just over €7 million. Caboel was created as an investment vehicle for the Caprabo group.

The property, which is currently unoccupied, has a constructed surface area of 1,341 m2 over 5 floors, according to details provided by the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations.

Similarly, the state company has awarded RTVE’s former headquarters on Paseo de la Habana, to Martell Investments, for €10.8 million, which represents a 60% increase on the starting price of €6.7 million. RTVE’s former headquarters, located on Paseo de la Habana, 75, has a constructed surface area of 2,258 m2…and is also currently unoccupied.

The properties sold belong to the program for generating value from the State’s real estate assets.

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake