Portal de L’Àngel Ratifies is Position as Spain’s Most Expensive Street

14 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Portal de l’Àngel has reaffirmed its position as Spain’s most expensive street in Spain for opening a commercial premise. The busy Barcelona thoroughfare charges an average rent of €3,360/m2 per year, according to the report Main streets across the world 2018, compiled by Cushman&Wakefield. The amount this year has not varied with respect to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Madrid’s Calle Preciados continues in second place in the ranking, with an average rent of €3,240/m2 per year, which represents a 2% increase with respect to prices last year.

Across Europe as a whole, Portal de l’Àngel occupies the 18th position in the ranking of prime high streets in the region, whilst Calle Preciados is positioned at number twenty. In terms of the main commercial thoroughfares around the world, Barcelona’s prime street is placed at number 67 and Madrid’s at number 71.

In the global ranking for 2018, Causeway Bay, in Hong Kong knocked off Fifth Avenue in New York from the top of the podium, with a rental price of €24,606/m2 per year. Retail rents on the New York prime street amount to €20,733/m2 per year. In third place is New Bond Street in London with an average price of €16,071/m2 per year.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE: Investor Interest in High Street Stores Skyrockets

5 July 2018 – Cinco Días

Stores on the most commercial streets of Spain have become an object of desire for investors in the real estate market. Large funds and insurance companies alike are investing in these types of assets and experts predict that a new record is going to be set in the segment this year.

Investors are expected to spend around €1.1 billion on these types of commercial premises in 2018, according to forecasts from the consultancy CBRE. That figure would exceed the amount invested in high street stores in 2017 by €300 million, equivalent to a growth rate of 36.9%. Of interest are shops on commercial thoroughfares such as c/Preciados and c/Serrano in Madrid and Paseo de Gracia and Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona. In fact, those two cities accounted for 79% of total investment last year. “Nevertheless, other cities in Spain are on the rise and there is growing demand for investment products in cities such as Bilbao, Valencia, Sevilla and Málaga”, according to the report “The Keys to Retail in Spain”, published by CBRE yesterday.

Investors regard these types of well-located assets as a good option for placing their money, a solid alternative in the context of low-interest rates and because these high street stores perform better (than other commercial assets) in the face of competition from online retailers. Currently, according to CBRE; the returns on these properties amount to 3.5% in Barcelona and to 3.25% in Madrid; in other cities (with more risk), the returns are greater.

The stars of these acquisitions are mainly the large funds. Hines, M&G, AEW, Thor, Union Investment, CBRE GI and Deka. “In 2017, in addition, an insurance company entered the high street sector for the first time: Generali acquired the Pull & Bear store on Calle Preciados in Madrid”, according to the report. Other active players include the Socimis, such as Tander, Ores, and Silicius, which have started to express interest.

In terms of large operations so far this year, in January, the German fund Deka acquired 16 Inditex stores for €400 million. Another significant operation was the acquisition of Mercado de San Miguel by the Dutch fund Redevco, for €70 million.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Portal del l’Ángel is Still Spain’s Most Expensive High Street: €280/m2/month

19 February 2018 – Eje Prime

The retail sector strengthened its market during 2017. During the second half of the year, it saw growth in the demand for rental properties of 14%, whilst the number of premises for sale rose by 9%. Of all of the high streets across the land, Portal de l’Ángel in Barcelona retained its position as the most expensive in Spain, with an average rent of €280/m2/month, ahead of the Madrilenian street Calle Preciados, where the average price of a retail premise stands at €270/m2/month.

Last year, €4 billion was invested in the Spanish retail sector, in contrast to the crisis that the same market is currently experiencing in the USA. The reasons for the growth in Spain include, amongst other aspects, the strong economic outlook, the boom in commercial tourism and the dynamism of retail trade, according to a report from the real estate consultancy firm Forcadell.

The upward trend, which has now seen two years of increases, is encouraging demand for retail assets. Nevertheless, in cities such as Barcelona, the supply of premises for rent remains at very low levels, above all on the first and second line, which has led to a reactivation of the third line, according to the report.

This lack of commercial space has resulted in a scarcity of prime assets in the Catalan capital. Some companies have already chosen to move to less central locations or to opt for other formats to invest in retail.

Between June and December, the restaurant sector was the segment that grew by the most in the commercial sector in Barcelona, followed by the fashion operator segment, which increased its commitment to flagship stores and showrooms, and the food retail market, which is immersed in a process of positioning itself close to its customers. The profile of investors in retail in the city are Socimis and foreign investment funds.

Investments in Barcelona  

One of the most noteworthy operations closed during the second half of 2017 in Barcelona saw the opening of Uniqlo’s flagship store on Passeig de Gràcia, the Japanese firm’s first store in Barcelona, which spans a surface area of 1,800 m2.

On the same street, Adolfo Domínguez is also going to open a mega-store measuring 682 m2, whilst nearby, on Rambla de Catalunya, the French lingerie brand Etam has inaugurated a store measuring 500 m2. Finally, Leroy Merlin is finalising the opening of an establishment measuring 2,450 m2 on Calle Fontanella, near Plaça de Catalunya, scheduled for before the spring.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona’s Vía Portaferrissa Looks To Reposition Itself As Prime Real Estate

27 November 2017 – Eje Prime

Portaferrissa is claiming its place amongst the prime shopping streets of Barcelona once again. The road has a privileged location, between Portal de l’Àngel and Las Ramblas, receives local and tourist traffic and has several available retail spaces, but its prices are not competitive and only a handful of operations have been closed in recent times. Now, two historical properties are making a move to put Portaferrissa back on the prime map.

One of them is at number 25, so-called Casa Gralla, which until just a few months ago was occupied by Pepe Jeans. The property is owned by the Casacuberta family, which also controls the building that houses the Decathlon store on Calle Canuda, as part of a portfolio containing more than twenty assets.

During the 1990s, the ground floor premises of number 25 housed shopping arcades, Gralla Hall, but that closed at the beginning of the 2000s, when the model showed its first signs of weakness.

Pepe Jeans then took over the lease of the premises and sub-leased part of the space to Quiksilver, which remained for years. Nevertheless, that company did not invest in creating a retail store, other than eliminating the separation of the former arcade.

The Casacuberta family has now begun to renovate the property to merge the two spaces, which will span 1,900 m2 after the renovation. The most recent significant negotiations (held with a view to finding a tenant) were with Adidas, with which a pre-agreement was reached, although the operation did not end up going ahead.

Now, the property is facing its third year on the market, although its prices, which are well above market rates, may still be a barrier.

Another one of the premises on the market on Portaferrissa is Palau Castanyer, which currently houses the Art Montfalcó souvenir shop. That property was sold to KKH Capital group in November for €24 million.

Falling prices 

Portaferrissa begins at La Rambla dels Estudis and ends at La Plaça de la Cucurulla, just stone’s throw from the very busy Portal de l’Àngel. Prices on the street reached their peaks before the crisis, with an average of €1,808/m2 per year in 2005, although the prices of stores measuring less than 100 m2 ended up exceeding €2,500/m2.

However, since then, prices have plummeted, by around 30%, according to sources in the sector. “In 2007, River Island rented the store at number 13 for €970,000, and a few years later, it was leased for €600,000”, say the same sources.

According to the recent report Main Streets Across the World, compiled by the consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield, the average rental price per square metre per year on Portaferrissa amounted to €1,980 in 2016, in line with the previous year.

Original story: Eje Prime (by I. P. Gestal)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Montejo Family Puts 2 Prime Stores In Madrid Up For Sale For €20M

30 October 2017 – Eje Prime

The commercial real estate segment is continuing to revolutionise Madrid. The latest operation is being prepared by the family office owned by the Montejo family of jewellers, which has put two of its prime stores in Madrid up for sale. The company has put a package of two establishments on Calle Goya on the market for €20 million, according to sources at the group speaking to Eje Prime.

The operation, advised by the company specialising in real estate management and consultancy TBCA, comprises, on the one hand, the store at number 25 Calle Goya, which has an asking price of €11.5 million. The establishment, which is currently occupied by Joyería Montejo, has a retail surface area of 158 m2 and a façade of 9m.

On the other hand, the Montejo family has also put a second store in Madrid up for sale, also located on the prime thoroughfare. Located at number 43 Calle Goya, that establishment is currently leased to the Italian firm Kiko, specialising in cosmetics. The asking price for that retail asset is €7.6 million and it has a retail surface area of 164 m2, spread over two floors.

The Montejo family, which has awarded the exclusive mandate for the sale of this package of assets to TBCA, also has other investments in Madrid, in the industrial and residential segments, although for the time being, no other parts of its portfolio are up for sale, according to sources at the real estate company.

In recent months, family offices have become the most active players in Spain’s real estate sector. With the search for the creation of trans-generational value, these types of vehicles are diversifying with the acquisition of their assets, in terms of geography, products and clients, in search of robustness with sustainable investments.

In this way, retail assets have become the currency of exchange for this kind of company, which either divest these types of products or negotiate better rents to get more out of them. Such is the case of the Madrilenian Lurrueña family, which has just leased the premises at number 54 Calle Serrano to the Prada group, which is opening a Miu Miu store. The establishment has a surface area of 250m2 spread over two floors and was occupied until now by the historical Lurrueña shoe shop, also owned by the family. (…).

But, the activity is not limited to Madrid alone. The family offices are also active in Barcelona. Although the city has lots of high profile players, such as the Tous family, Caboel, owned by the founder of Caprabo, and the Andic family, owner of the Mango fashion retail group, the latest real estate group to star in an operation of this kind in the Catalan capital, has been the Carcassona family, which has leased its store in Portal de l’Àngel to Inditex.

As Eje Prime revealed, the historical haberdashery Mercería Santa Ana, owned by the Catalan Carcassona and Capdevila family, will close its doors, located at number 26 Portal de l’Àngel, after signing an agreement with the Galician giant to open a large format store for its underwear and sportswear brand Oysho (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake