Conren Tramway Starts Work on SA65 Office Building in Barcelona

18 May 2018 – Press Release

Conren Tramway is an independent real estate investment management company jointly owned by the brothers Jaime-Enrique and Paco Hugas (Tramway Capital) and the German manager Conren Land AG. Conren Tramway invests in core plus, value-added real estate operations and developments in the office markets in Madrid and Barcelona, and occasionally in Spain’s main secondary cities. They are operations that require urban planning, renovation and commercial management to reposition the assets in order to create value (…).

SA65 is a 7-storey building with a gross leasable area of 8,300 m2. Its parking lot contains 92 spaces for cars (20% are suitable for electric vehicles), 34 for motorbikes and 100 for bicycles, as well as storerooms and a large terrace with views over the city. The property has a LEED Gold certification. The building work has been entrusted to the construction company INBISA. The details of the project, its surface area and finishes can be found on the firm’s website www.conrentramway.com.

With the start of the construction work, marketing of the building has also begun with a great reception from international companies interested in moving their headquarters to the 22@ district. SA65 fits well with the calendar for the handover of rental properties in new build offices in the 22@ district, where a large proportion of the projects are committed through pre-leases.

“SA65 is a project that reflects Conren Tramway’s capacity to fit mixed-used projects into the urban fabric, in this case, next to the new headquarters of the design school, a new build hotel, a residential façade and other office buildings”, says Paco Hugas. “It is an attractive project thanks to its size (8,300 m2), design and functional layout, which fit well with existing demand”, according to Jaime-Enrique Hugas.

Conren Tramway is also managing projects on Calle Badajoz (17,500 m2) and in the Paral.lel district (33,800 m2) and it is analysing several investment operations in Madrid, where it is now focusing its efforts.

Original story: Press Release

Translation: Carmel Drake

Savills: Spain’s Commercial Property Market Outlook Is Improving

11 March 2015 – Property Wire

There are already signs that Spain’s residential property market is recovering and now a new report shows that its commercial markets are also growing.

International real estate advisor Savills is predicting CBD office yields in Madrid will move from 5% to 4% and 4.5% for super prime properties, as a lack of good quality stock puts pressure on pricing.

This follows strong investment volumes in Spain’s office market during 2014 in which €2.8 billion was transacted, triple the €990 million total in 2013.

The firm states that in terms of location, 60% of investment was made in Madrid, 30% in Barcelona and the remaining 10% in other locations throughout the country.

Savills reports that the growing amount of demand and the lack of supply continues to push achievable yields down in the CBD and the main business areas. Prime yields at the end of the year moved by 100 basis points, secondary areas by 75 basis points and out of town locations saw a change of 50 basis points.

‘Investors preference for Spain’s more mature market of Madrid is undeniable, accounting for a total of €1.65 billion. But the lack of good quality stock is putting pressure on yields,’ said Luis Espadas, director of investment at Savills Spain.

‘The yield in the CBD stands at 5%, and for super prime properties could achieve between 4% and 4.5%,’ he added.

The firm finds that SOCIMIs, the Spanish equivalent of REIT’s, were very active in the office market, with 27% of their total capital being invested in commercial property and 76% of that total in offices.

‘Whilst the SOCIMI and domestic investors were very active in 2014 this year we predict we will see large Latin American investors capitalizing on opportunities in the Spanish office market,’ said Pablo Pavia, director of investment at Savills Spain.

The Savills report also states that take up in the office market at the end of 2014 was 382,000 square meters, some 2.5% less than the previous year. However, 2013 take up was heavily distorted by the Vodafone letting of 50,000 square meters, and discounting that letting take-up grew 12% on the previous year.

Additionally, it points out that there are a number of large space requirements currently in the market, several of which are seeking space exceeding 5,000 square meters.

‘Thanks to signs of a recovery in Spain some occupiers are more willing to sign pre-lease agreements on speculative space in the CBD which in term is prompting major market players to carry out speculative developments. The increase in take up activity will cause rents in the best properties to continue to rise through 2015,’ said Ana Zavala, director of office agency at Savills.

According to Savills rents in the CBD are currently in excess of €25.50 per square meter and could reach €28 per square meter in 2015 given continued strong take up. The firm also predicts landlord will continue to undertake refurbishment projects in 2015, with three quarters of new space in the pipeline for the upcoming year related to refurbishment projects.

Original story: Property Wire

Edited by: Carmel Drake