Blackstone Buys Lar’s Logistics Portfolio for €120M

18 July 2018 – Expansión

Blackstone has purchased the Socimi Lar España’s logistics portfolio, comprising five warehouses and a plot of land for development, for €119.7 million. That sum represents an appreciation of 83% with respect to the purchase price of €65.6 million.

Specifically, four of the warehouses acquired are located in Alovera (Guadalajara), one is located on the Juan Carlos I Industrial Park in Almussafes (Valencia), whilst the land to be developed for logistics use is located in Cheste (Valencia).

The five logistics warehouses span a combined surface area of 162,000 m2 and have an occupancy rate of 100% – all of them have stable rental contracts. Meanwhile, the surface area in Cheste spans 182,000 m2.

The warehouses in Alovera were acquired between August 2014 and May 2015 and the property in Almussafes was purchased in May 2015. The advisors to Lar España on the operation have been CBRE, Pérez Llorca and Hill International.

Asset rotation

This operation forms part of the asset rotation process that the company launched last year. Specifically, the Socimi’s first divestment came in September 2017, with the sale of an office building in Arturo Soria, and since then, it has carried out two other sales.

Together, the divestments carried out by Lar España to date amount to €265 million, more than half the €470 million in divestments forecast in the business plan to 2021.

The President of Lar España, José Luis del Valle, said that the company’s plan involves selling those assets that are not strategic to focus on the retail portfolio.

In addition to the asset sales, the company’s business plan involves investing €220 million in shopping centres and retail parks. Within the context of that plan, Lar purchased the Rivas Futura shopping centre for €62 million and the Abadía shopping arcade for €14 million.

In parallel, the Socimi plans to invest €247 million in commercial developments and €49 million to improve its retail assets.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

MDSR Investments Buys Travesía De Vigo Shopping Centre For €49M

3 November 2016 – Real Estate Press

The establishment, located in the city centre, has a surface area of more than 65,000 m2, of which 24,736 m2 is dedicated to retail space, according to data from the Spanish Shopping Centre Association.

Inaugurated in October 2003, the shopping centre is leased out almost in its entirety to tenants such as Carrefour, several brands from the Inditex group, including Pull & Bear and Stradivarius, as well as Corfefiel, Springfield and WomenSecret. In addition, it has an underground car park with more than 1,500 parking spaces.

This is the fifth investment that the Israeli fund has made in Spain in less than a year. In this way, in recent months, MDSR Investments has acquired the following retail parks: La Dehesa in Alcalá de Henares, Connecta in Córdoba and Puerta del Ave in Ciudad Real, as well as the Mercado de Campanar shopping, leisure and restaurant complex in Valencia.

“Our objective is to acquire more commercial assets and become a key player in the market for retail spaces in Spain within a short period of time”, said Annalaura Benedetti, Head of MDSR Investments in Spain.

Until now, the shopping centre was controlled by Meteore Alcala y Pradera, a British fund that owns 43 shopping centres and business parks across several European countries, which are worth around €2,000 million.

The real estate consultancy firm Catella has advised the vendors in the operation whilst the Pérez-Llorca has provided legal advise to the buyer. “This acquisition consolidates the appetite from institutional investors for shopping centres with a significant area of influence and first-rate tenants”, said Carlos López, Partner at Catella.

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake