Tag: Property Registry

Riu Hotels Wins a Small Victory Over Casanova in the Dispute Regarding Edificio España

1 March 2019 – El Español

A small victory (bringing the total to two) for Riu Hotels in the fight for ownership of the commercial space in Edificio España. The judge has dismissed the precautionary measures that the Baraka group, owned by the Murcian businessman Trinitario Casanova, requested to prevent the registration of the property in the name of the hotel group.

The magistrate has rejected the claim on the basis that there is no evidence, “in a clear and unequivocal way, of the relationship that must necessarily exist between what is claimed in the lawsuit and what is recorded in the Property Registry”. Specifically, Baraka requested that the inscription in the registry should include a note establishing the existence of a dispute over the ownership status.

The objective of that measure is to ensure that any possible investor in the commercial space knows that problems may arise in the future regarding the ownership. Nevertheless, the magistrate considers that the group owned by Trinitario Casanova has not proved its ownership of those spaces in the correct way.

Baraka is going to appeal

Specifically, and according to explanations provided by the group, there is a discrepancy between its lawyers and the judge because the lawsuit against the hotel firm was made directly by Baraka’s parent company, rather than by the company that the group used to purchase Edificio España (and which was subsequently transferred to its parent company ahead of the sale to Riu).

This is the second time that the courts have rejected Baraka’s requests, which in the opinion of Riu Hotels is good news. “We are continuing to work to open Hotel Riu Plaza España in the summer of 2019”, said the group in a statement to this newspaper.

The decision by the judge will be appealed by the Baraka group (…) and the Murcian group is convinced that it is in the right.

Original story: El Español (by Arturo Criado)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Riu Wins Legal Battle over Ownership of Edificio España

15 November 2018 – Preferente

On Thursday, the judge of the Court of First Instance number 51 of Madrid rejected the provisional measure requested by Grupo Baraka against Riu Hotels regarding Edificio España, where the hotel chain is finalising the construction of the largest hotel in the centre of the Spanish capital.

The judge sided with Riu and ruled that Grupo Baraka must pay the legal costs. Baraka sought to record in the Property Registry that an open litigation case existed regarding the ownership of the building, but that claim has been rejected by the court.

Riu considers that the legal ruling clearly shows “the lack of basis imposed by Mr Casanova and his business group, which represents an important step for clarifying that Riu is the sole owner of the property”.

The hotel chain led by the siblings Carmen and Lui Riu expects to open its new hotel in Madrid, the jewel in the crown of the Riu group, next spring.

Original story: Preferente (by R. P.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bouygues Relaunches Its RE Business In Spain

3 February 2017 – El Independiente

Bouygues, the French industrial giant that operates in the construction, public works and telecommunications sectors, wants to reactivate its real estate division in Spain. Its Spanish subsidiary was created in 1989, but following the burst of the real estate bubble, its activity in the sector was paralysed. Now, it is returning to property: at the end of 2016, it completed the construction of a hotel in Barcelona, the Ibis Bogatell, located next to the Olympic Park, and it wants to increase the number of projects in its portfolio in 2017.

That is according to Bouygues’ Spanish subsidiary. “We are not going to promote residential properties”, specified the Director General of Bouygues Inmobiliaria, Ana Vidal. “We are going to focus on the hotel, office and retail sectors, amongst others”. Although the French Group never disappeared from the Commercial Registry, Bouygues’ real estate activity in Spain has been suspended for almost seven years.

Before the real estate bubble burst, the multi-national firm was a key player in the market, in particular in the construction of business parks and shopping centres. In the case of the latter, Bouygues constructed Parque Oeste (Alcorcón, Madrid), Alcalá de Guadaira (Sevilla) and El Triangle (Barcelona). In the year 2000, the French group expanded its operations to Portugal.

The crisis forced the subsidiary to carry out an aggressive capital reduction in 2010, which left its own funds at 10%. “We are not going to be a Metrovacesa or a Merlin”, said Vidal. “We want to boost the development of projects in Spain through selective, carefully-chosen projects, which prioritise environmental improvement”, added the Director General. One of the models that the real estate division is likely to promote are eco-neighbourhoods, such as the one Bouygues developed in Bordeaux, called “Ginko”.

Bouygues Inmobiliaria is looking to become a “pure property developer”, adopting the turn-key formula, whereby it will take responsibility for identifying the plots of land, designing the properties and executing the construction work. In addition to Barcelona, the subsidiary has acquired a plot of land measuring 18,000 m2 in the industrial area of Julián Camarillo, to the east of Madrid.

Bouygues’ return to activity is further evidence of the recovery of the sector in Spain. Nevertheless, the improvement is slow and uneven. The property development sector estimates that 450,000 new homes were constructed in 2016, compared with 400,000 during the previous year. And house prices have soared in Madrid and Barcelona, along with in the traditionally robust Basque real estate market; however, they are falling in more than half of Spain’s provinces.

Original story: El Independiente (by Pablo García)

Translation: Carmel Drake