Insur Delays the Scheduled Delivery of 650 Homes by 2 Years

3 June 2019 -Eje Prime

Insur has announced that it is delaying the scheduled delivery of more than 650 homes by two years. However, the real estate group claims that the delays “are not significant” and are due to external factors, such as the entry into force of the mortgage law, the strategy replanning of the company and “the redesign of plans to reflect the demands of clients”.

Nevertheless, the news follows the announcement of similar delays, and profit warnings, by rivals such as Neinor, Metrovacesa and Quabit, and so the market is understandably nervous about this latest news.

In the case of Insur, the company is delaying the delivery of more than 650 homes in 11 different promotions, including the BA-2 and BA-3 developments in Entrenúcleos, located in the municipal district of Dos Hermanas in Sevilla.

Nevertheless, the property developer claims that the delay in the scheduled delivery of its homes has nothing to do with Neinor’s profit warning and assures that the company’s analysts are not worried.

Currently, Insur has 275 homes under construction and 1,625 properties in developments through joint businesses. It also owns a portfolio of land spanning 95,000 m2 on which to build another 880 homes and has long-term purchase options over twelve plots with a buildability of 208,000 m2.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Marta Casado Pla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Spain’s Property Developers Glimpse the First Signs of a Moderation in Prices

29 May 2019 – Expansión

Yesterday, several of the largest property developers in Spain met for a Medcap roundtable event moderated by Deloitte to discuss the outlook for the residential market.

Specifically, representatives from Metrovacesa, Aedas, Quabit, Insur and Lar participated in the discussions, during which they observed that house prices in Spain are starting to moderate in some of the more mature markets, although they acknowledged that there are still many secondary cities where the new (growth) cycle is just beginning.

In this context, the representatives identified a number of focuses and challenges facing the sector, namely:

Licences: All of the property developers are pushing for great agility from the public administrations when it comes to the granting of construction permits.

Construction: The labour shortage in the construction sector is pushing up prices and leading to delays in project finishes.

Concentration: Property developers are larger and more professionalised now than before the crisis; they require critical mass to be resilient to real estate cycles.

Industrialisation: Prefabricated homes allow construction periods to be shortened and for greater control over the processes.

Access: Young people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford to buy a home.

Overall, the experts consider that the residential sector is still immersed in the early stages of the new cycle, but only time will tell whether they are right.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Quabit Buys ‘Rayet Construcción’ for €13.1M

16 May 2019 – Eje Prime

Quabit has acquired 83% of the shares in the construction company Rayet Construcción for €13.1 million as a means of “reducing uncertainties in terms of the costs and timeframes of its construction projects”, according to a statement issued by the company to Spain’s National Securities and Markets Commission (CNMV).

The company reported its results on Wednesday and announced a 5%-10% decrease in turnover due to delays in the delivery of its business plan, whereby following in the footsteps of its rivals Neinor and Metrovacesa, which have also revised down their results in recent months.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Quabit Issues 4-Year Bonds Amounting to €20M

29 March 2019 – Valencia Plaza

The property developer Quabit Inmobiliaria has issued bonds amounting to €20 million through its wholly owned subsidiary Quabit Finance. The bonds have a maturity of 4 years and a coupon of 8.25%, which will be paid annually.

The success of the placement represents a great boost to the company’s strategy and confirms investors’ confidence in its management capacity. The funds raised will be used to undertake new investments, finance new projects and whereby continue with the firm’s growth and expansion plan.

Original story: Valencia Plaza

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Quabit’s Revenues Soared in 2018, but its Profits Fell by 53%

28 February 2019 – Eje Prime

Quabit’s revenues soared but its profits decreased. The real estate company closed 2018 with a net profit of €6.7 million, down by 53% compared to the previous year, when it reached €14.3 million. The company attributes that reduction to the “activation of tax credits in 2017, amounting to €26 million”, according to reports in a relevant fact submitted to Spain’s National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV).

The firm’s EBITDA also deteriorated, with losses of €25.3 million, a figure that quadruples the loss recorded a year earlier when it amounted to €7.3 million. “The negative impact in terms of EBITDA is due to the extraordinary effect of the valuation corrections on the land and the lower discounts on the debt”, said the company in a statement about its results.

In terms of revenues, they soared last year to reach €39.6 million, whereby multiplying the figure from the previous year (€5.7 million) eight-fold. At the end of the year, the gross value of its assets amounted to €506 million, 27% higher than at the end of the previous year. That growth was attributable to the company’s new investments and the revaluation of its portfolio.

In terms of its portfolio, Quabit handed over 190 homes in 2018 and also invested in its land bank, increasing it by around €180 million since 2017. It currently has around 4,000 homes in different phases of development and is working on the launch of new projects included in its business plan for 2018-2022.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Málaga Captures the Attention of Neinor, Aedas & Quabit, Amongst Others

20 January 2019 – La Información

The real estate sector is certain. After Madrid and Barcelona, the city where the property business is going to grow by the most is Málaga. The capital of the Costa del Sol is on everyone’s lips and is forming the focus of the real estate investments being made by many of the leading firms in the sector. Aedas, Neinor and Quabit are just a handful of the property developers that have decided to set up cranes in the Andalucían city, which is seeing how more and more people are choosing to live and spend their summers there.

The experts are not hesitating to point to the capital of the Costa del Sol as the third city in the shadow of the real estate market, behind only Madrid and Barcelona (…).

The attraction of foreign investment is another of the most important factors in Málaga. In this sense, Fernando Ferrero, Director of Merlin Properties, said that in the office sector, there is still “a lot of potential in Madrid” (…), but he highlights Málaga and Palma de Mallorca as the two cities where foreign investment is proving to be very important (…).

The property developers have been wise to it and so, in recent months, have started to launch promotions in Málaga. That is what Neinor Homes has done, which is offering several urbanisations in the capital, as well as some in nearby areas, such as Marbella and Estepona. In the same way, Quabit (…), has launched itself in the province with both single-family homes, and blocks of flats. Aedas Homes is not being left behind and is going to build Vanian Green Village, a housing complex in Estepona, another town that is growing in the capital’s shadow.

The boom in residential properties, both primary residences and holiday homes, has turned Málaga into a reference for the future of real estate. So much so that the data for the granting of new building permits soared in the province by 56.85% in 2018. In total, 7,678 permits were granted compared with 4,895 in 2017, according to data from the Official Architects College of Málaga (…).

Original story: La Información (by Lucía Gómez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Quabit Buys Land in Madrid for €3.8M to Build 85 Homes

29 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Quabit is expanding its land portfolio to fulfil its growth plan. The listed real estate company has purchased a plot of buildable land measuring 8,500 m2 in Valdemoro (Madrid) for €3.8 million, according to a statement issued by the company.

The property developer is going to build 85 homes on that site, through which it expects to generate revenues of €17 million. With this new investment, over the last year and a half, Quabit has incorporated residential land on which to build 4,925 homes all over Spain into its portfolio.

Moreover, the real estate firm now owns a portfolio of buildable land to fulfil 75% of the objectives established in its Business Plan for 2017-2022. So far this year, the property developer has invested €35.7 million in the purchase of land in areas such as Madrid, the Costa del Sol and the Corredor de Henares, as well as in the Balearic Islands. In total, Quabit has added 116,700 m2 of land to its portfolio on which to build 980 homes and through which it expects to invoice €179 million.

Since it launched its new business plan in 2017, the property developer controlled by Félix Abánades has invested almost €200 million in residential land. Currently, Quabit is marketing fifty developments comprising 3,724 homes. The property developer’s land bank spans 1.1 million m2 for the construction of 8,800 homes.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Quabit Reassures Investors of Business as Usual Despite Falling Share Price

24 October 2018  – Eje Prime

Quabit is reassuring its investors. The property developer chaired and controlled by Félix Abánades has informed Spain’s National Securities and Market Commission (CNMV) that it does not think that the decrease in its share price in recent weeks is justified “given that it does not correspond to the current value or the fundamentals of the company”.

In this vein, the company has confirmed that it is working “intensely and with absolute normality”, in accordance with the objectives established in its strategic business plan, which will be completed in 2022.

The property developer has also explained that the legal battle over the mortgage tax is not affecting the company’s activity, either from the point of view of granting loans to the company or of signing credits with its customers. In any case, the company has announced that it has yet adopted any decision regarding the possibility of initiating claims.

Quabit finalised the first half of the year with profits, for the first time, of €1.14 million, compared with losses of €3.52 million recorded as at June 2017, according to a statement filed by the company with the CNMV in July. Similarly, in terms of turnover, the group tripled its revenues during the first half of the year to €9.15 million, three times the amount recorded during the 6 months to June 2017.

Abánades’ company currently has fourteen developments under construction in several areas of Spain, containing 909 homes in total, after recently starting work on a dozen residential projects.

Since 2017, Quabit has invested €193 million in land on which to build almost 4,850 homes, which means that it has already fulfilled 75% of the promotion target established in its plan for 2017-2022.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Malaga, or How the Sun is Shining Again on the Costa del Sol

14 August 2018

With sales and prices in rapid ascent, the real estate sector is firmly committed to continuing the recovery of the property market in the Andalusian city.

The sixth largest city in Spain, with 569,002 inhabitants in 2017, Malaga is the Andalusian city where housing prices have increased the most in the first quarter of this year, according to data from Urban Data Analytics, with a year-on-year increase of 19.4%. According to data from the Ministry of Development, valuation prices rose by 10.8% to 1,506.8 euros per square meter. The increase was also substantial compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 when the square meter in Malaga was priced at 1,440.40 euros per square meter.

The recovery of the residential property market in the city on Spain’s Costa del Sol can be largely explained by the rapid pace of acquisitions, which are being carried out by domestic and international buyers, and which have steadily increased in recent years. While there were around 3,150 transactions in 2013, there were close to 5,000 in 2015 and over 7,000 in 2017.

Also, compared to the token level of new construction in other Spanish cities, new developments in Malaga have been substantial. Just in the first quarter of 2018, 242 purchases of new homes were finalised in the city, equivalent to 12.3% of the total.

In its report, Vision 2018: the Real Estate Market in Malaga, the consultancy Savills Aguirre Newman notes that the market’s strength in the city will cause the Costa del Sol to reach record sales for the year, adding that Malaga has positioned itself as the main power in Andalusia, even ahead of the capital, Sevilla.

Thus, the consultancy stresses that construction began on 5,236 homes in the Andalusian city, compared to the 2,980 in the capital. As for deliveries, Malaga finished a thousand more homes than Sevilla: 2,580 finished units compared to Sevilla’s 1,511.

Projects underway in Málaga

Faced with this data, operators such as VBare, Inbisa and Quabit have already finalised operations in the city, which also stands out for the demand for land for logistics platforms, large commercial projects and student residences.

In April, Quabit stated that it owns 200,000 square meters of land in the province of Malaga for the construction of 1,700 homes, equivalent to 20% of the developer’s portfolio of land. For its part, VBare completed the acquisition of 14 homes in the city in June for 1.35 million euros for placement on the rental market, for which it expects a profitability of approximately 5.1%. Gilmar, a real estate agency, also chose Malaga’s city centre as the site of its 32nd office.

With the presence of 40,087 companies, of which 87.1% are in the service sector, Malaga’s office market has also once again taken off. Another report by Savills Aguirre Newman places the occupancy rate of offices in the city’s prime area at 90%. Rents are also increasing, reaching 18 euros per square meter in the central street Larios. According to the consultancy, the trend will continue in 2018, which will cause buildings that have been unoccupied for nearly a decade to be taken up. The demand for land for logistics platforms is also increasing in the city, particularly for areas exceeding 5,000 square meters, which are rare.

On the commercial side, one of the larger projects underway is the Designer Outlet Centre, which Sonae Sierra and McArthurGlen have added to the Plaza Mayor shopping centre, with an additional 85,198 square meters (added to the rest of the existing complex), housing a total of 107 stores.

Also, the new wave of student residences has also reached the Andalusian city. Syllabus, a subsidiary of Urbania, will build a new student residence in the historic centre of Malaga in a ten million euro investment. The new development will have 143 rooms and an area of 4,600 square meters and will be ready by 2020.

Lastly, in June, the Malaga City Council approved a project for a luxury macro hotel in the city’s port. The hotel will be a 150-meter-high, 45,000-square-meter building that will be developed by the Qatari investor Abdullah Al Darwish. The building, which will involve an investment of 116 million euros and will be located in the Dique de Levante, will begin construction in 2020 and will be inaugurated three years later.

Original Story: EjePrime – C. De Angelis

Translation: Richard Turner

 

Quabit Acquires Land from Sankar in Exchange for 4.55% of its Own Shares

3 August 2018 – El Español

Félix Abánades, President and largest shareholder of the listed real estate company Quabit, is continuing to immerse himself in a quagmire of capital increases that he has been promoting in order to raise funds to use to purchase land, on which to build almost 8,000 homes between now and 2022. His ambitious objective is to invoice almost €2 billion, generate a cash flow of almost €500 million and distribute €90 million in dividends.

Land in exchange for shares

Basically, these increases have been of a non-monetary nature, with the purchase of land in exchange for shares in Quabit. A much cheaper route than the two lines of credit amounting to €100 million that the firm signed with the fund Avenue between December 2016 and December 2017.

Those loans carry a clear risk, given that the principal, on which interest of between 12% and 16% is charged, must be repaid within a maximum term of 4 years following the drawdown date.

Repayment commitment

In light of the probability that the principal will not be returned on time, Avenue forced Quabit to issue warrants, an abusive right over the shares in favour of the fund that, in the worst case, would see it take ownership of 8.56% of the property developer.

For the time being, with Quabit trading at €1.77, at the close of business on Thursday, that option would be ruled out, given that the subscription prices agreed with Avenue for the execution of those rights over the shares range between €3.07 and €3.75.

Six capital increases in one fell swoop

It is for that reason that, in light of this negative outlook, Abánades carried out six capital increases in one fell swoop last November, for a combined total of €41.8 million, with the issue of shares at a price of €2, with a nominal value of €0.50 and a premium of €1.50.

All of those increases were of a non-monetary nature, in which Abánades captured estates from the Basque property developer Ondabide in Mijas (Málaga) and plots in Guadalajara contributed by Rayet, Abánades’s own company. The other four capital increases were placed by the President of Quabit with the Malaga-based property developer, Sankar Real Estate.

Agreement with Sankar

Quabit’s agreement with Sankar, for the subscription of those four increases, was aimed at obtaining plots in the Malagan municipalities of Mijas, Marbella and Estepona and in the Menorcan town of Mercadal, some in the form of proindivisos for 30% of the surface area.

The total operation will allow Sankar to acquire 4.55% of Quabit’s share capital, once the four increases have been fully subscribed. A package of 6.78 million shares, valued initially at an issue price of €13.56 million.

For the time being, Sankar has subscribed to two of these increases. With the public deed of the capital increase of the latter, relating to estates on the island of Menorca, the Malaga-based property developer has been obliged to report to Spain’s National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV) its stake as a reference shareholder of Quabit, given that it now owns 3% of the shares. Specifically, its stake amounts to 3.31%.

Losses of 12%

A package of 4.93 million shares that have accumulated losses of 12% compared with the €2 price for which they were issued, taking as a reference Quabit’s COB trading price on Thursday, €1.77.

The consequence of these non-monetary increases is affecting the personal stake of Félix Abánades, the President of Quabit, who has seen his position in the company decrease from 24% just a few months ago to the current level of 21.4%. He is trying to maintain the rate with the acquisition of financial instruments that, in the future, may yield another 1% of share capital.

Original story: El Español (by Juan Carlos Martínez)

Translation: Carmel Drake