HNA Acquires Logistics Platform in Guadalajara for €10.5 Million

28 October 2019 – HNA has acquired a logistics platform in Alovera, Guadalajara, from an undisclosed family office in Madrid for 10.5 million euros. The consultancy Knight Frank and InmoKing Real Estate advised on the deal.

The acquisition of the 16,674 square-meter asset is part of HNA’s current strategy of increasing its investments in the real estate sector.

In February, the company also acquired the office building located at Calle Emilio Vargas  2, in Madrid. The 7,574-m2 building has seven floors and is currently 100% leased.

Original Story: Eje Prime

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Villar Mir to Invest in Portfolio of Office Buildings

16 August 2019

Villar Mir, through its subsidiary real estate company Espacio, is planning to build a portfolio of office buildings. The firm’s strategy includes development of acquisition of existing assets for rehabilitation and the development of new buildings.

Villar Mir has a land bank valued at 220 million euros on which it intends to build office buildings. The company’s objective is to create a cash flow that will provide it will a secure position during the coming economic cycle.

The group’s first project will be a turnkey development on a 25,000-square-meter plot of land it owns in Valdebebas, Madrid.

Original Story: Eje Prime

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Aedas Homes Acquires Plot of Land in Zaragoza for 198-Flat Development

15 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Aedas Homes has initiated operations in Zaragoza, acquiring a plot of land in the neighbourhood of the AVE train station. The purchase from the public company Zaragoza Alta Velocidad (ZAV) involves an investment of 19.3 million euros and will result in 198 new homes.

The firm currently has 4,232 homes one sale throughout Spain and enough land to build another 15,000. Aedas also acquired more land in area, though it declined to reveal details.

The plot the firm acquired is located between Delicias station and Avenida Navarra. The asset’s surface area is 5,821 square meters, with a buildable area of 27,956 m2. Zoning in the area allows for the construction of four buildings, with a maximum height of 19 floors.

Original Story: Heraldo – Jorge Alonso

Axa Sells Eight Buildings in Barcelona to Germany’s KanAm Grund for €100 Million

14 July 2019

A major German investment fund, KanAm Grund, has acquired eight buildings in Barcelona, in a deal reportedly worth 100 million euros. All are currently leased to the Catalonian government.

The seller, the French investment giant Axa IMRA, originally acquired the assets, together with another five buildings, from the Catalonian government in 2013 for €172 million. At the time, Spain was still mired in the real estate and financial crisis and the sale had been the cash-strapped administration’s second attempt to offload the assets. As part of the agreement, the Catalonian government agreed to remain in the properties for twenty years.

The buildings included in the deal consist of the Conselleria de Justícia, on Calle Pau Claris; the Citizen Service Office on Calle Carrera; the General Subdirectorate for Initial Employment Authorizations, on Calle Puig i Xoriguer and the headquarters of the Institut Català de les Dones (ICD), on Plaza Pere Coromines. The remaining buildings include the headquarters of the Institut Obert de Catalunya, on Avenida Parallel, the Territorial Judicial Archive of Barcelona, on Calle Roger de Flor, the headquarters of the General Directorate for Language Policy, on the Portal de Santa Madrona and the Employment Office on Calle Doctor Joaquim Pou.

Axa retained five of the larger assets in the portfolio: the offices of the Conselleria de Justícia and the headquarters of the Agència de l’Habitatge de Catalunya, both on Calle Aragón; the Conselleria de Enseñanza, on Via Augusta, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment, on the Gran Vía, among others.

Original Story: El Confidencial – E. Sanz / M. Lamelas

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Ores Acquires Store Leased to Inditex for €11 Million

23 June 2019Idealista

The Ores socimi, which is owned by Bankinter, has just acquired a new commercial space. The store, located in the town of San Sebastián, is currently leased to the Spanish retail giant Inditex and has a total area of ​​729m2.

The store is located at 26 Calle San Marcial and is occupied by a Zara Kids store.

Ores paid €10.9 million for the asset as part of its continuing strategy to seek growth in its home market of Spain. Last year, the socimi paid out almost 180 million euros in acquisitions. Ores Socimi currently has 34 assets in its portfolio, with a market value of over 357 million euros and a gross annual income of 21 million euros.

Original Story: Idealista – Custodio Pareja

Translation/Summary – Richard D. Turner

 

Cerberus Looking to Top Blackstone as the Largest US Investor in Spanish Real Estate

7 February 2019

Cerberus has a plan for Spain: the fund is looking for continued growth in the country. So, the US fund is putting together one of the most powerful teams in the Spanish real estate industry. Its goal in the medium term is to triple its investments in residential development, continue to grow its logistics business and start a new front in the rental business.

Cerberus has already invested more than 10 billion euros in Spain and now wants to exploit new lines of business such as rentals and logistics. The fund also has plans to leverage its development operations through the acquisition of more land and after buying Inmoglaciar. Blackstone, in total, has already invested more than 26 billion euros in Spain since 2014.

The American fund has generally avoided the limelight. In Spain, the fund has maintained a fairly low media profile, but that now seems about to change, as Gonzalo Gallego, who was responsible for the fund’s real estate investments in Spain, commented on Wednesday.

“We do not usually hold public events, and I think it’s a good time for a change. Cerberus has come to stay in Spain, we are 22 people dedicated to it, and it is already the second most important office in the world,” the representative said.

A look towards rentals

The change is also linked to the fund’s interest in expanding its investments in rentals. Mr Gallego stated that the sector is one of the pillars of the fund’s new strategy. Therefore, they have begun assembling a team dedicated exclusively to the sector.

Cerberus stated that the team consists of local experts who are seeking to “develop strategies that add value to their acquisitions.” The business will not be based solely on buying NPLs, though Mr Gallego stressed that the Spanish market has many such opportunities. “We invest in an asset by asset basis,” he said.

Another business the fund has experienced success with is REOs. Mr Gallego thinks that “they are wonderful.” “We know how to reposition and sell them to our investors; we work with almost 400 funds actively in the sale of these portfolios, it’s not a coincidence, it’s a strategy,” he explained.

Cerberus Real Estate believes that Spain still has enormous potential, although the current macro situation is forcing them to be more careful with their investments. “We are very optimistic regarding Spain, but some cold winds could freeze up some types of investments,” Mr Gallego said.

Opportunities and mergers

In the end, Cerberus believes that it has a ‘pipeline’ full of opportunities and that is why the fund is predicting an excellent year ahead, especially since there will be a “consolidation of the market” with “very important” corporate operations.

The North American fund came to Spain in the middle of the financial crisis (between 2010 and 2012) with the objective of taking over banks and real estate companies, as it did in other countries. The first did not go well after some attempts with the older banks (cajas). However, the fund’s luck with real estate has been better. Cerberus already controls more than €50 billion in assets, from Bankia, Sareb, Cajamar, Liberbank and BBVA.

Its next acquisition could be the developer Solvia Desarrollo Inmobiliario (SDIN) of Banco Sabadell, which is selling land worth more than 1 billion euros. The bid for these assets has already begun, and financial sources claim that the fund has shown interest in them.

Original Story: Vox Populi

Translation: Richard Turner

BP Acquires 65 Gas Stations in Spain from Avenue Capital and JZ International

2 October 2018

The British oil company has reached an agreement to take over 100% of Kingbook Inversiones Socimi and Petrocorner Retail, the owner and manager of gas stations in 21 provinces of Spain.

The oil company BP has reached an agreement with the venture capital funds Avenue Capital and JZ International for the acquisition of the Kingbook socimi and Petrocorner Retail, a company that owns and operates 65 gas stations spread across 21 provinces in Spain.

The operation has already been finalised, pending the corresponding regulatory approvals, as confirmed by official sources at BP.

Kingbook Inversiones, 60% owned by GL Europe REIT (Avenue), with the remaining 40% held by JZ Real Estate (JZI), both vehicles domiciled in the Cayman Islands, was delisted from the Alternative Stock Market (MAB) on July 20, just one year after its debut.

Kingbook had already warned in June that it was conducting “very advanced” negotiations for the sale of 100% of the company. The firm had been building its portfolio since 2014.

Another source close to the operation said that DISA (Shell in the Peninsula), the Canary Islands oil company chaired by Demetrio Carceller (Damm), also considered acquiring the asset.

The service stations that will become the property of the company formerly known as British Petroleum are distributed between the north, the centre and the southeast of Spain. Specifically, the oil company chaired by Luis Aires in Spain will increase its presence in Asturias, Cantabria, Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa, Navarra, León, Burgos, Zamora, Valladolid, Ávila, Madrid, Valencia, Albacete, Alicante, Murcia, Jaén, Huelva, Málaga, Granada, Almería and the Balearic Islands.

BP is thus consolidating its position as the third largest fuel distributor in Spain, behind Repsol and Cepsa and ahead of Galp and Shell. With this agreement, BP will control around 700 service stations in Spain. In 2017, the company stated, within its expansion strategy, that it owned 648 total stations.

Until now, these gas stations were operated by Petrocorner, which has also acquired BP. According to Petrocorner’s website, the service stations are branded by Repsol, Cepsa, BP, Shell, Galp, Avia, while some are independent.

According to the latest accounts sent to the Mercantile Registry, Kingbook lost more than €1.5 million in 2017, compared to a loss of €1,733,446 in 2016.

Although the price of the transaction was not disclosed, the statement company submitted to MAB said that its assets were valued, according to the consultancy CBRE, at approximately 70 million euros (€40 million book value).

Avenue Capital has participated in several important operations in Spain. The US fund gave financial support to Quabit and is participating in the purchase of debt from Banco Santander’s Ciudad Financeira. In June, the fund acquired tile company Roig Cerámica (Rocersa).

Original Story: El Confidencial – Juan Cruz Peña

Photo: Reuters

Translation: Richard Turner

Zambal Socimi Acquires Everis’s Headquarters in Madrid

1 October 2018

Zambal, a socimi managed by the IBA Capital Partner fund, has acquired the Novus Building, the headquarters of Everis, located at 1 Fuente de la Mora (Madrid) for 90 million euros from funds controlled by AXA Im Real Estate.

Market sources explained to Expansión that the price of the transaction, in which the company that owns the property was sold, includes the debt associated with it.

The building, last renovated in 2017, is occupied by Everis NTT Data Company, which occupies 88% of the gross leasable area. In addition to the consultancy, other tenants include Hilti and Eurest.

Novus is located in Manoteras, one of Madrid’s business centres, near the headquarters of Iberdrola, La Caixa and BMW. Overall, the Novus Building has a gross leasable area of 42,945 square meters, divided into five floors of offices, storage areas and common gardens.

The property also has four courtyards and 561 parking spaces. The consultancy Cushman & Wakefield, which had already advised Everis in its leasing operation, and EY Abogados provided services for the seller, while the law firm Garrigues and PwC, the buyer’s financial and tax advisor, advised Zambal.

Other operations

With this transaction, Zambal has strengthened its asset portfolio. The socimi bought two office buildings at the end last year. One is located at 25 Albarracín Street, in the area of Julián Camarillo, in Madrid. The complex is currently leased to the French multinational Atos for about 38 million euros.

The company also acquired an office building located at 77 Avenida de San Luis from Naturgy (formerly Gas Natural) for about €120 million. The gas company is still a tenant. Zambal, created in 2013, debuted on the Alternative Stock Market (MAB) in 2015 and currently has a market capitalisation of 667 million euros.

Original Story: Expansión – Rebeca Arroyo

Photo: zambalspain.com

Translation: Richard Turner

AP67 Acquires Four Plots of Land in Madrid for €4.6 Million

9 October 2018

The socimi, which is listed on the MAB, is expanding its portfolio of assets in the area of Leganés, where it focuses most of its operations. The lands the socimi acquired have several possible uses, including industrial, commercial, offices and residential.

AP67 is continuing to pursue its strategy of investing in a good-sized portfolio of assets in Leganés. The socimi, which went public in May, just acquired four plots of land in the southern city of Leganés, part of greater Madrid. The total investment reached 4.6 million euros, according to the company’s announcement to the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB).

With this operation, the real estate manager, controlled by the architects Álvaro Rubio and Francisco Escudero, founders of the Akydeko studio, has added a variety of types of assets to its portfolio. In total, the plots of land have an area of ​​more than 8,500 square meters.

The largest plot of land is located at 7 Calle Rey Pastor de Leganés, where AP67 acquired a 4,899 square-meter plot of industrial land for 625,000 euros. In the Sector Partial Plan 4 of Leganés, the socimi paid 2.6 million euros for a 3,360-square-meter plot of land for commercial and office use.

Finally, on 40 and 48 Calle Juan Muñoz, Rubio and Escudero’s firm acquired two small plots measuring 400 square meters and 39 square meters, respectively. The socimi paid 1.3 million euros for the two.

The purchases were made with equity and a mortgage loan signed with Banca Pueyo for 1.34 million euros. “With these acquisitions, the company continues to meet its investment objectives and expand its portfolio of assets,” the socimi announced. AP67, which debuted on the MAB valued at 34 million euros, aims to double the number of assets it currently has in the next few years.

Original Story: EjePrime

Translation: Richard Turner

Arcano Advises on the Sale of One of the Largest Resorts in Andalusia: the Islantilla Golf Resort

31 August 2018

The shareholders have sold 100% of the Resort to a vehicle managed by Alantra REIM, in a transaction advised by Arcano.

The Resort will be operated by GAT (Gestión de Activos Turísticos), and comprehensive renovations are planned.

The integral plan to reform the Resort will boost the forthcoming urban development of “Islantilla Norte,” which has more than 160,000 m2 in area.

The Islantilla Golf Resort, which was inaugurated in 1992, is a Resort with a 4-star hotel, located between Isla Cristina and the marshes of the Piedras River (Costa de la Luz).

The Resort counts with a 4-star hotel with 204 rooms, a spa with thermal baths, gym, a large outdoor pool and an indoor pool, a 27-hole golf course, the “Beach Club Islantilla”, 2 tennis courts, a paddle court, 3 football fields with natural grass and FIFA measurements, facilities for events, and special bird watching routes in southern Andalusia. It also has a school for nautical activities such as windsurfing, kite surfing, surfing, catamarans and sailing.

The Resorts has a total of 5 restaurants: the Las Carabelas Buffet Restaurant, Colon Bar, La Ola Grill Restaurant, Beach Club Restaurant, and an Italian restaurant in the golf clubhouse.

The Resort has a national clientele, but more than 50% of its clients are international (mainly from the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland, Portugal and Germany) who can enjoy the Resort during its 365 day-year.

The new owner of the asset is a vehicle managed by Alantra REIM. Investors have opted for the hotel as an investment and development opportunity, which will be exploited on a rental basis by GAT, and where an investment to reposition the establishment is planned.

The selling shareholders are also the owners of 1.4 million square meters of adjacent land, called “Islantilla Norte” with more than 160,000 buildable square meters for the development of a hotel, golf course, commercial area, as well as a 120,000-m2 residential area.

According to the selling shareholders: “The complete reform of the hotel will increase occupancy and variety of the current Islantilla Golf Resort clientele, which will benefit the residential, commercial and leisure development of Islantilla Norte, which we will undertake during the coming years.”

According to Luis Iglesias, Partner at Alantra REIM: “With this second hotel investment in 2018, we continue to build a quality hotel portfolio in a sector with a great capacity.”

Arcano, a leading independent financial advisor, has been the exclusive financial advisor to the sellers.

About ARCANO PARTNERS

Founded in 2003, Arcano is a leading independent financial advisory alternative management firm. With offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon and New York, it has a team of more than 155 professionals. Within the Investment Banking team, Arcano has more than 55 professionals in Spain, with previous experience in some of the largest investment banks in the world.

The team has successfully closed 56 transactions since 2016. Arcano has a strategic alliance with the investment bank Jeffries, which has a presence in more than 34 cities around the world and a team of 3,800 people, which provides a global platform for execution and distribution.

Original Story: Arcano Press Release

Translation: Richard Turner