Tag: portfolio sales

Bbva Completes Its Second Sale of Written-Off Loans in Less Than a Week

5 January 2020 – BBVA sold two of its largest portfolios of written-off loans. Following the sale of “Project Juno”, the bank signed the transfer of a portfolio comprised of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an approximate gross value of €2.1 billion.

BBVA signed an agreement to transfer a portfolio of written-off loans (named “Project Hera”) to Cabot and funds managed by CarVal Investors. The loans were to SMEs, with a gross value of approximately €2.1 billion.

On Wednesday, BBVA announced another sale of a portfolio of written-off loans (known as “Project Juno”). In this case, the portfolio consisted of loans to consumers with a gross value of €2.5 billion. The operation was BBVA’s largest sale of a portfolio of written-off loans so far.

Over the past two years, BBVA has carried out several operations involving the sale of loan portfolios – mostly loans to developers and mortgages. Among them, the sale announced in December 2018 stands out. It was a portfolio of loans (known as (“Ánfora”) with an approximate gross value of €1.2 billion, primarily consisting of mortgages (both doubtful and bad loans). In addition, in June 2018, the bank sold a portfolio of loans to developers with a gross value of €1 billion, called “Sintra”; and in July 2017 it sold another portfolio of loans to developers with a gross value of around €600 million, known as “Jaipur”.

In November 2017, BBVA announced the transfer of its real estate business in Spain to Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., an operation that was completed in October 2018.

En español

BBVA ha cerrado un acuerdo para transferir a Cabot y a fondos gestionados por CarVal Investors una cartera de préstamos fallidos (bajo el nombre de ‘Proyecto Hera’) provenientes de pymes, con un valor bruto cercano a los 2.100 millones de euros.

BBVA anunció otra venta de una cartera de créditos fallidos (conocida como ‘Proyecto Juno’), en este caso compuesta de préstamos a consumidores, por valor bruto de 2.500 millones de euros. Esta operación fue la mayor venta de una cartera de créditos fallidos que ha realizado BBVA hasta la fecha.

En los últimos dos años, BBVA ha cerrado varias operaciones de venta de cartera de préstamos, en su mayoría, de crédito promotor e hipotecario. Entre ellas, destaca la venta anunciada en diciembre de 2018 de una cartera de créditos (conocida como ‘Ánfora’), por un valor bruto aproximado de 1.200 millones de euros, compuesta principalmente por créditos hipotecarios (dudosos y fallidos). Asimismo, en junio de 2018 firmó la venta de una cartera de crédito promotor por valor bruto de 1.000 millones de euros, llamada ‘Sintra’; y en julio de 2017, otra cartera de préstamos al sector promotor, con un valor bruto cercano a los 600 millones de euros, bajo el nombre de ‘Jaipur’.

En noviembre de 2017, BBVA anunció el traspaso de su negocio inmobiliario en España a Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., operación que se cerró en octubre de 2018.

Original Story: BBVA

Sareb to Sell Portfolio of 140 Flats in Catalonia

5 January 2020 – Sareb announced that it would sell 140 flats, plus another thirty parking spaces and storerooms, in Catalonia. Many of the flats are currently occupied illegally by squatters and may now have to deal with a possible new owner, likely vulture fund. The sale follows a similar divestment of 400 properties late last year.

The bad bank has already evaluated the squatters using local social services and determined that they must be evicted.  In cases where the people living in the flats are determined to be vulnerable families, Sareb looks to arrange alternate living quarters. That was not considered to be the case in these circumstances.

Investment funds generally acquire portfolios such as this with significant discounts of up to 70-80% on the initial value. The new owners will have to incur legal expenses to remove any occupants and to subsequently renovate the homes, which are generally in rather poor condition.

The regional government of Catalonia, for its part, has the right of first refusal for all properties sold in portfolios, by banks or by Sareb.

En español

Sareb anunció que venderá 140 pisos, más otros treinta estacionamientos y almacenes. Muchos de los pisos están ocupados ilegalmente y ahora pueden tener que tratar con un posible nuevo propietario, probablemente un fondo de buitres. La venta sigue a una desinversión similar de 400 propiedades a fines del año pasado.

El banco malo ya evaluó a los ocupantes ilegales utilizando los servicios sociales locales y determinó que deben ser desalojados. En los casos en que se determina que las personas que viven en los apartamentos son familias vulnerables, Sareb busca organizar viviendas alternativas. Ese no fue el caso en estas circunstancias.

Los fondos de inversión generalmente adquieren carteras como esta con descuentos de hasta 70-80% sobre el valor inicial. Los nuevos propietarios tendrán que incurrir en gastos legales para desalojar a los ocupantes y posteriormente renovar las viviendas, que generalmente están en malas condiciones.

La Generalitat de Cataluña, por su parte, tiene el derecho un derecho de tanteo para todos inmuebles que vendan a través de carteras, bancos y Sareb.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Jorge Zuloaga

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Patrizia Finalises Acquisition of Logistics Portfolio from BentallGreenOak

10 December 2019 – Patrizia has finalised its acquisition of a major portfolio of logistics and industrial assets, including 42 buildings and projects under development in Europe. Of those, eleven, or almost a third, are located in Spain.

The company agreed to pay the US fund BentallGreenOak €1.2 billion euros for the portfolio, which includes 309,000 square meters of space in Spain, out of a total of 1.4 million square meters of pre-existing space for rent, and another 138,000 additional square meters under development.

A group of institutional investors including both a Danish and a Korean pension fund, alongside Patrizia’s Logistik-Invest Europa II fund.

Original Story: Expansión – Rebeca Arroyo

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Merlin Properties Nears Sale of Portfolio of 26 Office Buildings

18 November 2019 – Merlin Properties is close to finalising the sale of a portfolio of 26 office buildings in Madrid and Barcelona for an estimated 200 million euros. The socimi is selling assets, with a total area of 133,000 square meters, which it considers to be non-strategic. Merlin expects to finalise the sale by the end of November and disclosed that it already has received a deposit from the presumed buyer.

The sale is taking place a few weeks after the firm managed to enter into Madrid’s Operation Chamartín as a partner. Chamartín is the largest urban development project currently underway in Europe. Merlin acquired a 14.4% stake in Distrito Castellana Norte, the owner to the development rights for Operation Chamartín from the San José construction group. The socimi agreed to pay 169 million euros for the stake, in addition to granting an €86 million loan to the construction group.

Original Story: La Información

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Portobello Capital to Sell Year’s Largest Portfolio of Hotel Assets

8 November 2019 – Portobello Capital is selling the properties where the Blue Sea Hotels & Resorts chain operates for an estimated 230 million euros. The sale, which would be the largest of the year, would separate the properties from Blue Seas’ hotel management business.

The portfolio of properties includes sixteen assets with a total of about 3,300 rooms.

Original Story: El Economista – Alba Brualla / Araceli Muñoz

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Spain’s Banks Look to Sell €19 Billion in Real Estate Assets and NPLs in 2019

21 October 2019 – Although the pace of sales has fallen in recent years, Spain’s banks are continuing their efforts to reduce their exposure to non-performing loans and foreclosed real estate assets left over from the financial crisis of the first half of this decade. In the year to date, those banks have sold portfolios of toxic assets worth a total of more than €7 billion. Another twelve other transactions worth approximately €11.7 billion, however, are on course to conclude by the end of this year.

Sabadell has been particularly active, having sold €2.55 billion in portfolios such as Greco and Rex. Unicaja and Ibercaja have also sold assets worth more than €1.5 billion. Santander is currently negotiating the sale of another two portfolios.

Spain’s financial institutions are expected to end the year with total sales of nearly €19 billion, compared to 41.7 billion euros last year, down by more than half.

Original Story: El Español – María Vega

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Santander to Sell Two Portfolios of Land and NPLs Worth Nearly €6 Billion

21 October 2019 – Santander is finalising plans to sell two major portfolios of NPLs and REOs, worth a total of approximately 6 billion euros. The bank has already contacted major potential investors to prepare themselves to analyse two portfolios: €2.7 in NPLs, called the Project Atlas, and another €3 billion in land.

Santander has been analysing the portfolios since the spring of this year. The bank is looking to increase the pace at which it is reducing its exposure to the Spanish real estate market. According to publicly available data, Santander had €12 billion worth of NPLs and another €10 billion in foreclosed properties as of June.

These would be the financial institution’s largest divestments since 2017, when it sold €30 billion in assets it had inherited from Banco Popular to Blackstone. Market sources believe that the bank will only finalise the sale during the first quarter of 2020, due to its size and complexity.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Jorge Zuloaga & Ruth Ugalde

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

BBVA Looks for Buyer to Acquire Up to €1.3 Billion in Toxic Real Estate Assets

14 October 2019 – BBVA is looking to sell off up to a third of its approximately €1.3-billion portfolio of non-performing real estate assets. The Spanish bank acquired many of the assets during Spain’s financial and real estate crisis when BBVA bought up several of the country’s failing savings banks.

The bank is looking to rid itself of the €3.6 billion in foreclosed assets and €1.345 billion in shares of real estate companies, in addition to unpaid loans from SMEs and individuals valued at about €5 billion.

Some of the groups potentially interested in acquiring the assets include Cerberus, which already bought BBVA’s real estate business in 2018, Apollo, Blackstone, Bain Capital and Lone Star.

The sale, which consists of residential, commercial and land assets is still in its initial phase. However, the bank is looking to complete any sale before the end of the year.

Original Story: Business Insider – Adrián Francisco Varela

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Hines Invests in Two Last-Mile Logistics Assets in Villaverde

8 October 2019 – Hines, the world’s fourth-largest real estate fund by volume of assets under management, has finalised its first acquisition in the logistics sector in Spain, as the growth of e-commerce continues to roil the market.

The US fund has acquired two last-mile logistics assets in Villaverde, on the outskirts of Madrid, from Allegra. Allegra hired Knight Frank to lead the sale of a portfolio consisting of two warehouses in Villaverde and a plot of land in San Fernando de Henares. Hines paid 20 million euros.

Both warehouses have a 10-year leasing contract with the logistics operator Ontime. The two units have a surface area of ​​9,798 and 7,676 square meters, respectively.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Ruth Ugalde / Elena Sanz

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Retailing Giant Opts to Sell Real Estate Assets Through El Corte Inglés Real Estate

8 October 2019 – While the Spanish company El Corte Inglés is one of the biggest retailers in the world, it is also one of the large owners of real estate in Spain.  The firm has assets valued at more than €17 billion. The retailer has given up on a plan, called Operation Green, that the consultancy PwC had designed for the portfolio. Instead, it is now planning on channelling the assets through a new real estate subsidiary, El Corte Inglés Real Estate.  

Original Story: El Confidencial – Ruth Ugalde

Photo: EFE

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner