Tag: renewable energy

ASG to Invest €30M+ in Luxury Residential Project in Salamanca

9 April 2018 – Inmodiario

ASG Homes has started to build Residencial España, an exclusive residential development containing 24 luxury homes located in the heart of Salamanca, in whose construction it is going to invest more than €30 million.

Following the demolition of the iconic Edificio España, ASG Homes is breathing new life into the plot overlooking the central Plaza de España to build what is going to be the most exclusive residential complex in Salamanca. A total of 24 luxury homes, all with a storeroom and 2 parking spaces included, will comprise 2-, 3- or 4-bedrooms with surface areas ranging from 100 m2 to 260 m2 for the largest penthouses, which will also have terraces spanning up to 75m2.

The development, which has been designed by the Architecture Studio owned by Chus Manzanares, will be equipped with the highest quality finishes and the latest home automation technology. Thus, it will offer owners the possibility of controlling their homes from a distance using their smartphones (…).

Homes supplied by 100% renewable energy

Residential España is also going to be the first development in the city to be supplied with 100% renewable energy through vertical geothermal energy, with heat pumps and PEX tubes to supply water and heating, obtaining high energy yields from its energy sources through a new system that uses the heat from the earth to warm homes. The system will use the heat source that is generated below the surface of the Earth and direct it to the building, whereby resolving 100% of the heating and hot water needs.

Similarly, Residential España will be revered for its high-quality common areas, which will include a 150 m2 spa-gym with a heated indoor pool on the ground floor, as well as a sensory shower, sauna and steam room and a fully-equipped gym (…).

Original story: Inmodiario 

Translation: Carmel Drake

GMP Invests €24M to Construct New Office Building in Madrid

19 February 2018 – Eje Prime

GMP is marking a turning point in the office sector. The group, owned by the Montoro family and the sovereign fund of Singapore, has invested €24 million in the construction of what-is-going-to-be one of the most prime offices in Madrid. One of the many features of this property, which is going to have a surface area of 14,300 m2, is the sports area that it will have on its roof, which will include two padel courts, an athletics space and an area for doing outdoor exercises.

This innovation in services reinforces the new energy with which office buildings are being planned – the segment is currently booming in the Spanish real estate sector. The land was already owned by GMP, which has started to market the property, which will open in June this year. The rental price for the asset, located in Madrid’s financial district, will amount to around €18/m2/month.

The building, called Oxxeo, will have sustainability certifications and is expected to generate great interest amongst large companies, which are the typical tenants of offices in the area. Designed by the architect Rafael de la Hoz, the property has five stories, with 2,945 m2 per floor, and a 2-storey underground parking lot with capacity for 450 vehicles, according to El Economista.

In addition, the GMP building is committed to renewable energy with the placement of photovoltaic panels to generate electricity; and it will be the first office building in Spain to have its own dynamic lighting system adapted to the circadian cycle (biological clock), which will allow the colour of the light to change independently during the course of the day.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Acciona’s Future – Positive Outlook But What Next?

12 June 2015 – Expansión

Acciona’s Chairman, José Manuel Entrecanales, says that the Group’s restructuring has been completed and that the company is now looking to re-launch itself.

The construction and services group Acciona, which held its annual general shareholders’ meeting yesterday, expects to take a decision regarding the future of its energy and real estate activities before the end of the year. It is exploring the option of listing some or all of its business on the stock market in 2016, according to José Manuel Entrecanales, who spoke at the end of yesterday’s meeting. His comments come just a few weeks after Acciona announced that it is considering adopting the Socimi format for its real estate division. Socimis have operating assets that generate yields, and whereby often promise high dividends.

New partners

As an alternative to the real estate listing, or in parallel to it, Entrecanales is also considering ushering in a new shareholder. The Group has already gone down that route for its renewable assets outside of Spain, for which it has signed a partnership with KKR.

Regarding renewables, Entrecanales confirmed that the group is now analysing several alternatives to the ones it was initially considering. The option of publicly listing its overseas renewable assets on the US stock exchange, once KKR acquired 33% of those assets, has been parked for the time being. Now, it is analysing the possibility of listing all of its assets, including the Spanish ones, and even doing so on the Spanish stock market.

Entrecanales said that the options for going public in the USA or Europe are well matched at the moment. He also indicated that the new proposal has been made in conjunction with KKR.

Entrecanales said to the shareholders that “both the real estate and energy activities may be susceptible to independent access to the equity markets”, although he said that the process is being subjected to internal review.

Transmediterránea and Bestinver

As for the future of the Transmediterránea subsidiary, the Chairman of Acciona said that the outlook is now “optimistic” after the restructuring that has been undertaken and that, as a result, the group has decided to “defer any corporate transactions involving sales, mergers or the entry of new shareholders, at least until the results clearly reflect the true value of the company”

Regarding the other subsidiary, Bestinver, which suffered from the “sudden” exit of its management team last year, Entrecanales said that it has overcome its “troubles” and that the company now has the management team it needs to “face a bright future”.

As such, Entrecanales envisages a new phase of growth and expansion for the group, after going through what he refers to as a “hard stage” over the last two years, during which time the group “has faced one of the toughest challenges in its history”.

Entrecanales downplayed the latest incident that took place this week, when the company was excluded from the Ibex 35 due to its low trading volumes. “It is not a big deal” said Entrecanales. He has no plans to adopt any special measures to try to return the company to the Ibex, such as for example, undertaking a share split to give more liquidity to the securities.

Original story: Expansión (by Miguel Angel Patiño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

KKR Considers Buying One Third Of Acciona’s RE Subsidiary

18 March 2015 – El Confidencial

The group owned by the Entrecanales family is looking for a partner to allow it to ‘ride the wave’ of the real estate recovery and has invited the US fund to be its travel companion.

KKR. The acronym of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has become Acciona’s most important partner in recent times. Last June, the private equity giant purchased a third of the international renewable energy business owned by the Entrecanales family’s group for €417 million, and in a stroke, that allowed the Spanish group to clean up its accounts, fulfil its divestment plan six months early and rethink other sales that it had on the table, such as Bestinver and Acciona Inmobiliaria.

The sale of the latter became more attractive after the company was strengthened through the hiring of Walter de Luna, who was until then the number two at Sareb, as the CEO, and Luis Moreno, who was his right hand man at the bad bank; they joined the company with the clear challenge of designing a plan for growth. Nevertheless, that plan requires resources and, once again, Acciona’s American friend seems to be willing to help out.

According to knowledgeable sources, KKR is considering buying share capital in Acciona Inmobiliaria; and if the negotiations between the two parties go well, they will culminate in a third large transaction between the fund and the Spanish group, because, as well as having acquired the international renewable energy business from the construction company, KKR has also created a joint venture with the Spanish group, containing wind assets, the famous ‘yieldco’, which it expects to list on the Nasdaq soon.

In recent official presentations, Acciona itself has formally acknowledged the badly-kept secret that it is looking for a partner to inject the money it needs to reinvigorate its real estate subsidiary and thus be in a position to benefit from the recovery that is emerging in the sector, now that it has managed to sort out the direction of the parent company.

The book value of Acciona Inmobiliaria amounts to c. €1,500 million and market sources indicate that the goal of the Entrecanales family would be for the new partner to take ownership of around one third of its share capital. Nevertheless, other alternatives have also been put on the table (in the discussions with KKR), such as tackling projects together, since the Spanish group has (lots of) projects (in the pipeline) and the American fund has cash.

KKR’s commitment to Spain

Spain has become a priority market for KKR in Europe, where its Operations Director, the Spaniard Jesús Olmos, has been the main driver behind the firm’s growth in our country in recent years. He has led the investment of more than 2,400 million dollars in companies such as Saba, Telepizza, Uralita, Grupo Alfonso Gallardo, Port Aventura, T-Solar and, of course, Acciona. These transactions have been strengthened by the fund’s decision to open an office in Madrid and recruit Alejo Vidal-Quadras, who was the CEO of 3i España until last December.

Now, one of KKR’s next goals in our country is to position itself as a player of reference in the real estate sector, as well as to open its sphere of operation to investments in credit and to continue its growth in infrastructure.

Meanwhile, after seven years of crisis and various failed sale attempts, Acciona Inmobiliaria managed to recover in 2014 to record positive results; it closed last December with an EBITDA – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – of €3 million, compared with losses of €2 million a year earlier.

The group owned by the Entrecanales family values its subsidiary at €1,529 million, of which it considers around 70% (€1,199 million) to be gross gains by the group. By geographical region, 87% of the subsidiaries’ assets are located in Spain and only 13% are overseas; whereas if we analyse the subsidiary in terms of turnover, 45% relates to property (primarily residential), 37% corresponds to land in Spain, 8% is land overseas and development activity accounts for the remaining 10%.

Original story: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake