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

LaSalle Acquires Six Makro Stores for €73 Million

2 July 2019

LaSalle Investment Management announced that it had acquired a portfolio of six properties, all currently occupied by MAKRO Spain, from Metro Properties, as part of a sale-and-lease-back operation. The investment group acquired the portfolio on behalf of the French public pension scheme ERAFP for €73 million. Following the transaction, MAKRO Spain will remain the sole tenant of all six assets with a 15-year fixed lease term with extension options.

The six properties are located in Bilbao, Zaragoza, Badalona, Valencia, Alicante and Palma De Mallorca. Each constitutes the dominant wholesale store in its area. Makro mainly caters to buyers from the hotel, restaurant and catering sectors.

Original Story: Property Magazine International

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

 

Sabadell Opts to Sell Subsidiary to Oaktree

1 July 2019

Banco Sabadell, a Catalan bank, has opted to sell its developer, Sabadell Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, to the U.S.-fund Oaktree in a transaction reportedly worth 850 million euros. The asset management firm beat out its main rival for the asset, a partnership made up of Cerberus and Kronos.

Sabadell and Oaktree will now negotiate any additional particulars to the agreement. The sale would bring in a windfall for the Catalan bank, strengthening its capital ratio while reducing its risk-weighted assets (RWA).

Oaktree, in turn, will now compete with Neinor, Metrovacesa, Aedas, Via Célere and others. The developer’s holdings include high-quality, developable lands to the north of Madrid and in Barcelona.  Two thirds of the land is ready to develop or already under construction.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Jorge Zuloaga

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

 

BMO Acquires Building in Madrid for €20MM

28 June 2019

BMO Real Estate Partners finalized its acquisition of the building located at 30 Calle Serrano, in Madrid. The firm bought the asset for approximately 20 million euros from Bankia.

BMO acquired the asset through its Best Value Europe I fund (BVE I), which owns a total of 13 high-street assets throughout Europe, worth than 700 million euros. The real estate consultancy Ascana brokered the deal.

The building is currently leased to Matarranz, a luxury linens store, and is located in Madrid’s wealthy golden mile. The 1000-m2 store was the subject of interest by a number of potential buyers.

Original Story: Idealista – Custodio Pareja

BBVA Finalises Transfer of Most of its Anfora Portfolio

28 June 2019

BBVA has closed the transfer of most of the credits rights that comprise the Anfora portfolio. The transaction was announced in December 2018.

At the end of 2018, BBVA reached an agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), to transfer a credit portfolio in Spain, which was composed by mortgages credits (mainly non-performing and in default).

Today the great majority of the loans in this portfolio (with a gross value of about €1.2 billion) were transferred to Anfora Investing U.K. Limited Partnership, which is owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The transfer of the small amount of credits that remain in the Anfora portfolio (with a gross value of approximately €130 million) is expected for Q3-19.

BBVA expects the transaction to have a positive impact on the Group’s net attributable profit of approximately €130 million, which will be reported in Q2-19 financial results. In addition, it is also expected to have a slightly positive impact on the fully-loaded CET1 ratio.

Link: BBVA

doValue Finalises Acquisition of 85% of Altamira for €360MM

28 June 2019

doValue, the Italian NPL specialist, acquired 85% of Altamira Asset Management from firms controlled by Apollo Global Management, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The Italian firm paid 360 million euros.

The operation had been originally announced in December. doValue finalised the acquisition this month after Banco Santander decided not to exercise its tag-along rights, maintaining its 15% stake. DoValue had offered to acquire 100% of the firm.

After the acquisition, DoValue will have €130 billion in assets under management.

Original Story: EjePrime

Blackstone Finalising Sale of Mortgage Portfolio to CarVal Investors

25 June 2019

Blackstone is finalising the sale of 10,000 mortgages loans to CarVal Investors for nearly €1 billion. Blackstone originally acquired the loans as part of a €5.5-billion portfolio it bought from Catalunya Banc in 2014.

After the sale, which Blackstone expects to finalise in the coming days, the U.S. firm will still own another 9,000 lower-quality loans from the Catalan bank.

CarVal Investors specialises in the investment, through various funds, of loan portfolios sold by financial institutions. The company, with offices in Minneapolis, London, New York, Luxembourg and Singapore, has invested more than 20,000 million dollars in nearly 2,000 loan portfolio transactions in 31 countries.

Original Story: Vox Populi – Alberto Ortín

Photo: Europa Press

Aquila Capital Acquires Land for Logistics Platform in Toledo

25 June 2019

Aquila Capital, a subsidiary of the German group Aquila Management Corporation, took a position in the Spanish logistics sector through its acquisition of 50 hectares in Illescas, Toledo.

Aquila’s real estate developer, AQ Acentor, signed the agreement with the temporary joint venture formed by Urban Castilla La Mancha and Plataforma Central Iberum Gestión de Proyectos. The developer will build a logistics platform on the land, with construction slated to begin in 2020.

Original Story: La Vanguardia

Russian Magnate Acquires San Roque Gold Club in Sotogrande

24 June 2019 – El Confidencial

Russia’s former Minister of Industry, Viktor Khristenko, has acquired the San Roque golf club in Sotogrande from the Japanese group Asahi Kanko through his company Golf Estates.  San Roque is considered one of the four preeminent courses in Cádiz, along with Valderrama, the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande and La Cañada.

Gold Estates, which already owns three gold courses in Russia, acquired the totality of the outstanding shares of Asahi Kanko SAU (AKS) , a Spanish subsidiary of the Tokyo-based golf course group. AKS currently has 40 million euros in funds and revenues of €1.5 million a year.

It has a wholly-owned subsidiary, Suite Hotels, which operates the club building and the two 18-hokle golf courses. The San Roque Club also has an equestrian centre. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Carlos Pizá de Silva. Sevilla

Translation/Summary – Richard D. Turner