Tag: Puig

Meridia’s Socimi Invests €26.5 Million in an Office Building in ​​Madrid’s Financial District

26 March 2018

Meridia’s socimi is growing its participation in the office sector. The fund, led by the Catalan executive Javier Faus, bought 90% of an office building in Madrid’s financial district. The group is in negotiations to acquire the remaining 10% in the coming days. The total price for the property is expected to involve an investment of 26.5 million euros.

The building has 7,000 square meters of area, according to Meridia Real Estate III Socimi, the company through which the fund is finalising the deal. Merida is financing the purchase with equity and a seven-year loan, granted by a Spanish financial institution, of 17 million euros.

Meridia’s socimi listed on Spain’s Alternative Stock Market (MAB) on December 29, the 47th socimi to join the MAB and the last in 2017. The socimi’s shares started trading with a market value of one euro per share, giving the company a capitalisation of 78.5 million euros. The company, which was established last year, is the fund’s third investment vehicle, created by Faus in 2001.

The vehicle has attracted the attention of various investors since its inception. The last to announce its interest in the socimi was the Puig family, which owns the Puig perfume and fashion group. The group acquired 5.25% of the socimi’s capital through its real estate investment firm Inmo.

In addition to the Puigs, its main shareholders include: the institutional investor Dreof, based in New York, which holds 18.39% of the group, a church pension fund, with 15.75%, the European institutional investor Periza Industries (1.13%), the Israeli Harel investment and financial services group (11.98%) and Credit Suisse (7.88%).

The rest of the socimi’s capital is in the hands of two local family offices: Anangu Grup, the principal holding of the Catalan company Eurofred (6.56%) and the Puig family’s Inmo (5.25%). According to a document sent to the Alternative Stock Market, the president of Meridia, Javier Faus, personally owns 5.21% of the socimi.

Original Story: EjePrime – C. Pareja

Translation: Richard Turner

Núñez i Navarro Invests €4.2M In Office Refurb

1 December 2017 – Eje Prime

Núñez i Navarro is strengthening its commitment to the office sector. On Thursday, the real estate developer presented a new office project in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona). The building in question is the Marina Factory, whose remodelling is going to involve an investment of €4.2 million.

The work on the property will be completed in March next year, after 19 months. The asset, located at number 450 Rambla Marina, has six floors measuring 1,200 m2 and 1,430 m2 and two retail premises. In total, it has capacity to house 1,000 people throughout its 10,000 m2.

The Marina Factory is located in an up-and-coming area of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. The boost from Plaza Europa, which is two kilometres away from the office, has converted the area into a first-rate office district, with companies such as the perfume group Puig, the consultancy firm KPMG and the group Gallina Blanca choosing to locate there.

Núñez i Navarro is one of the largest Catalan property developers and one of the companies in the sector that has best overcome the crisis, with a policy of low indebtedness.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Emilio Cuatrecasas Buys Empordà Golf For €20M

10 July 2017 – Expansión

Emilio Cuatrecasas is continuing his commitment to the Costa Brava. A group of investors led by his holding company, Emesa Corporación, is finalising the purchase of Empordà Golf Resort from Habitat Inmobiliaria for around €20 million. The operation involves two 18-hole golf course in Gualta (Girona) and a hotel complex, which has 87 rooms and which is managed by Double Tree by Hilton.

The resort had awakened interest from other investors, but in the end, the lawyer has taken the lead in the bidding. The operation will now begin a due diligence phase. The group led by Emesa will go on to control 90% of the capital of the sports facility given that the remaining 10% will continue in the hands of numerous small shareholders, who are also members of the golf course.

The complex was constructed in 1996 by the Figueras family – the former owners of Habitat – and, since the beginning, its members have included well-known Catalan business people, such as Emilio Cuatrecasas himself, Pedro Fontana and members of the Puig, Esteve and Uriach families. Besides the hotel, the resort includes a residential area, with rental apartments and homes.

The purchase of Empordà Golf will not see the asset form part of the chain of rural hotels that Emilio Cuatrecasas is promoting in the Empordá region. In 2016, the lawyer announced his intention of launching a new brand specialising in small, high-end hotels and last summer, he completed his first acquisition: a small palace in Ullastret, which he will transform into a hotel after investing €7 million. Although this asset is located in the lawyer’s target region, the hotel at Empordà Golf does not fit with the profile of unique buildings that he is looking for in that case.

Emesa groups together the business and real estate stakes owned by Cuatrecasas and its assets are worth more than €480 million.

Habitat, which is chaired by Bruno Figueras, continues under the control of banks and international funds.

Original story: Expansión (by M. Anglés and J. Orihuel)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Inmo Acquires 4.7% Of Colonial & Buys Puig’s HQ From BBVA

25 April 2017 – El Español

Inmo, the real estate company owned by the Puig family, has acquired shares in Inmobiliaria Colonial to take its stake in the company to 4.7%. Meanwhile, it has also purchased the headquarters of the Puig perfume and fashion company that BBVA put up for sale in October.

Inmo encompasses the real estate activity and assets of the family-owned group, and Inmo’s investment in Inmobiliaria Colonial comes in response to its “willingness to diversify” its exposure in the real estate sector, according to a statement issued on Monday.

Regarding the acquisition of Puig’s headquarters in Plaza Europa de L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona), the property has 21 storeys and covers a surface area of 14,300 m2. (…).

Inmo’s announcement on Monday comes after Colonial reported in February that it had teamed up with the real estate company owned by the Puig family to develop a new office tower in Barcelona, an “iconic” building in the Catalan capital that will involve investment amounting to €32 million.

The project forms part of the investment in new real estate assets that the real estate company announced in its three markets: Madrid, Barcelona and Paris, for €400 million in total.

In the case of the new tower in Barcelona, the project will be constructed through a joint venture, which Colonial will constitute together with the Puig family’s real estate arm (50% each). The latter will contribute the land on which the property will be built.

The new tower will be located in Plaza Europa, next door to the headquarters that the perfume group rents out. The project involves building a 60m tall, 21-storey building, which will have a surface area of 14,000 m2. (…).

Colonial announced the new tower under the framework of investing in new assets that forms another part of its growth strategy, which it launched in 2005 after completing its clean-up and restructuring process.

Since then, the firm has accumulated investments in new assets amounting to €1,760 million, according to its President, Juan José Brugera. (…).

Original story: El Español

Translation: Carmel Drake

Alpha 2: Colonial Invests €400M In RE In Spain & France

7 February 2017 – Expansión

On Monday, Colonial, the second largest real estate company in Spain (after Merlin Properties) unveiled its new strategic plan, known as Alpha 2. Under this plan, the company has invested €400 million in four operations: three in Spain and one in France (Paris). The group has opted to undertake operations to reposition its assets. In this way, it will allocate €250 million to property acquisitions this year and the remainder will be spent on renovation work.

The group will invest €51 million on an office building on Paseo de la Castellana, 163, which has a surface area of 11,000 m2. The property is currently occupied and will be renovated floor by floor, as the current tenants vacate the property.

In Barcelona, the group has acquired the headquarters of Fundación Bertelsmann, on Travessera de Gràcia, 47-49. The operation, including the remodelling work, amounts to €41 million. On the other hand, Colonial will spend €32 million to build a new office tower in Plaza Europa, number 46-48. This operation will be performed through a joint venture with the perfumery and fashion group Puig. The future building will be located opposite the Catalan company’s current headquarters.

Finally, the fourth operation involves the acquisition of a building at number 112-122 Avenida Emile Zola in Paris. In total, the group will spend €245 million on this purchase, in an operation that was announced a few weeks ago.

This plan complements another one, executed last year, known as Alpha, which initially planned to make investments amounting to €400 million, but in the end spent more than €500 million.

Its purchases included the acquisition of 15% of the Socimi Axiare’s share capital. The company led by Pere Viñolas (pictured above) spent €135 million to become the largest shareholder of that listed company, which debuted on the stock market in the summer of 2014 and which has been setting itself up as one of the main owners of office buildings in Madrid and Barcelona – it has very similar portfolio to that of Colonial.

Currently, Colonial owns 59 properties in Paris, Madrid and Barcelona, with a combined value of €7,543 million, according to the most recent estimates, performed as at 30 June 2016. Its most recent acquisitions include several office buildings, such as IBM’s headquarters in Madrid, located on Calle Santa Hortensia, worth €154 million. The Mexican group Finaccess (former owner of the Modelo group, the manufacturer of Corona beer) sold that property, along with another building on Calle Serrano, in exchange for a stake in Colonial.

Alpha also included the purchase of a 4.4% stake in the French firm SFL, which the Reig family sold for €106 million.

During the 9 months to September 2016, the real estate company in which the Sovereign fund of Qatar, Finaccess and Villar Mir hold stakes, generated revenues of around €205 million, up by 21% compared to the same period in 2015.

During the same period, Colonial earned €249 million, up by 17%, whilst its level of indebtedness (LTV) amounted to 40.3%. Just three months ago, the real estate company carried out a bond issue amounting to €600 million.

Original story: Expansión (by G. Trindade and R. Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Puigs Acquire a Lot From Catalunya Banc

4/12/2014 – El Confidencial

The Puig family purchased a plot located at 34 Plaza Europa  square in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat from Catalunya Banc. The piece of land is situated just in front of brand-new Torre Piug skyscraper opened last April. The 14.300-square-meter tower (pictured) designed by Rafael Moneo also belongs to Catalunya Banc which lets it to the Puigs under a lease-to-buy contract signed for seven years.

The lot has got a 14.000 square meter maximum building coverage. The family bought it with view to a future expansion of its headquarters. Sources from the sector imply the deal might have involved a €12 million amount.

Perfumery chain denied having acquired the lot but the purchaser was Corporación Exea, its 100%-held family holding. The investee was established when one of the children of Mariano Puig, Marc, accepted the office of the groups’ chairman. Management of Corporación Exea rests in hands of Banco Sabadell’s president, Josep Oliu.

The industry hums the Puigs imitate Amancio Ortega (Inditex) and Isak Andic (Mango) in investing in real estate assets for rent.

The Puig group reviewed the portfolio with all properties in its possession. For example, it hanged a ‘for rent’ sign on original premises of Antonio Puig at 9 Travessera de Gracia street in Barcelona, occupying a 4.000 square meter floor area. Also, the family has put up for sale the old Myrurgia factory, also 4.000 square meters, on the Mallorca street with an asking price set at €14 million.

 

Original story: El Confidencial (by Marcos Lamelas)

Translation: AURA REE