Tag: renovation

Mapfre to Invest in Property due to Low Interest Rates

7 March 2019 – Expansión

Mapfre has announced its intention to invest in more real estate in light of the low interest rates in the global markets. The insurance group ended 2018 with real estate investments worth €2.9 billion, accounting for 4.3% of its total investments, having invested heavily in the renovation of its asset portfolio during the year.

Given the scarce supply and illiquidity of the real estate markets in Madrid and Barcelona, the firm has already created two companies headquartered in Luxembourg to invest in properties in Paris and Germany. It also plans to acquire real estate in Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan and Luxembourg.

Moreover, it has teamed up with the German real estate fund manager GLL, with whom it aims to invest up to €300 million in properties in some of the main European cities.

The objective of the insurance company is to generate returns of between 4% and 6% p.a. on a recurring basis and to diversify its portfolio.

The firm did also divest some properties last year, in Portugal, Chile and Palma de Mallorca, which together with the appreciation of other assets, resulted in net gains for the group of €47 million.

Most of Mapfre’s investment portfolio comprises public and corporate fixed income securities, which had balances of €49.3 billion and €8.9 billion, equivalent to 56% and 18% of its total portfolio, respectively, at year end 2018. Equities accounted for €2.4 billion (4.9%) and investment funds €1.3 billion (2.7%).

Original story: Expansión (by E. del Pozo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España’s Profits Fell by 4.6% in 2018 to €129.3M

1 March 2019 – Expansión

Lar España recorded a net profit of €129.3 million in 2018, which represented a decrease of 4.6% with respect to the previous year, whilst its revenues grew by 0.3% to €77.8 million.

According to explanations provided by the company, this result includes a charge of €17.9 million in the first quarter, to comply with the Grupo Lar management contract, as it achieved divestments of €100 million.

Without that negative effect, which is only going to be recorded in 2018 (…), the resulted would have amounted to €155.7 million, 7% more than in the previous year. Meanwhile, the EBITDA amounted to €55 million, up by 0.3%.

The firm completed divestments amounting to €272.5 million in 2018 and invested €75.6 million in the renovation of its asset portfolio.

In terms of dividends, the sale of the luxury homes at Lagasca 99 (Madrid) will allow the company to increase its remuneration to shareholders from €0.49 in 2017 to €0.80 in 2018, a rise of 63.2%.

At the end of 2018, the firm’s financial debt amounted to €621.7 million. Last year, its assets appreciated in value by 12.1% (…).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Saint Croix Buys an Office Building in Madrid for €24M

31 January 2019 – Diario Vasco

The Socimi Saint Croix Holding has acquired an office building located on Calle Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena 17 in Madrid for €23.95 million.

The price of the building, which also includes 166 parking spaces, has been paid in part with two commercial premises owned by the company whose value amounts to €3.5 million, according to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

Specifically, the commercial premises are located on Calle Caleruega 66, 68 and 70 as well as on Calle Rutilo 21, 23 and 25, both in Madrid.

In addition, the company has paid €20,385,500 in cash to complete the purchase price.

During 2019, the Socimi is planning to undertake a comprehensive renovation of the building to reposition it and adapt it to the standards demanded by the market.

Original story: Diario Vasco 

Translation: Carmel Drake

AEW Buys an Office Building in Barcelona from Lar for €28.8M

31 January 2019 – Eje Prime

The German company AEW has completed the purchase of a building in Barcelona from Lar. The real estate fund manager has completed the acquisition of a building from the Socimi, which is on a mission to divest its non-strategic assets.

The purchase of the building, which is located on Calle Joan Miró in the Catalan capital, has been closed for €28.8 million. The property, which has an approximate surface area of 10,500 m2, will be subjected to a comprehensive renovation for the construction of offices.

“The strong labour market and the limited available supply has convinced us to enter the office market in Barcelona for the first time”, explained Carsten Czarnetzk, Head of Operations at AEW in Spain.

AEW is one of the largest administrators of real estate assets in the world, with assets worth €63.5 billion. AEW has more than 600 employees, and its main offices are located in Boston, London, Paris and Hong Kong. The group opened its office in Spain in January 2017 and has completed more than €400 million in transactions since then.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España to Invest €14M in the Renovation of Anèc Blau

29 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Lar España is pushing ahead with its plan to reign in the Spanish retail sector. The Socimi, which launched a €500 million investment project last year, to run until 2021, is continuing with its roadmap with three new projects in 2019. The company is planning to build one new complex this year, renovate one of the jewels in its crown, Anèc Blau, and open its new centre in Sevilla, Lagoh, at the end of the year.

Specifically, the company is going to dedicate €13.8 million to the renovation of Anèc Blau, a shopping centre located in Castelldefels (Barcelona) and which is one of the company’s best assets. The objective is to start to renovate it this year without closing the centre’s doors.

On the other hand, Lar España is preparing a new development for this year, although its location has not yet been revealed, according to Hernán San Pedro, the Socimi’s Director of Investor Relations, speaking to Eje Prime.

The third workstream of Lar’s plan for this year is the announced opening of its new complex in Sevilla, Lagoh (previously called Palmas Altas), which is going to have a surface area of 25,000 m2 and which has already reached an occupancy rate of 70%. “Experiences are going to form the centre of the complex, with a golf course, a climbing wall, a lake and a garden on the roof”, says the executive.

Lar España is planning to disburse almost €500 million between now and 2021, of which €265 million will be dedicated to building new complexes and improving existing centres and another €250 million will be for new acquisitions (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by I.P.G.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Rockspring Buys McCann’s HQ in the 22@ District of Barcelona

25 January 2019 – Expansión

The owner of the Mercadona logistics platform in Sant Esteve Sesrovires is now investing in the office segment in Barcelona.

International investors are continuing to back the office segment in Barcelona to benefit from the boom in demand and the growth in rents that are being recorded in the sector. The latest player to invest is the British fund Rockspring – which has formed part of Patrizia Immobilien since last year – which has purchased an office building located in the 22@ district, the area that is registering the highest demand. The amount of the operation could reach €12 million, according to sources in the sector.

The property, located at number 123 Calle Ciudad de Granada, on the corner with Calle Tánger, was the former headquarters of Laboratorios Kin until that company moved to other offices on La Diagonal. The manufacturer of dental hygiene products, which used to own the property, carried out a comprehensive renovation project, which involved its change of use from industrial to offices, and it put it on the rental market. Savills Aguirre Newman was engaged for its marketing and was also responsible for searching for an investor (…).

In May last year, the property was leased in its entirety to the multi-national advertising company McCann, which left Edificio Planeta and opened its corporate headquarters in 22@, where it occupies a surface area of 3,000 m2.

The useful surface area of the offices amounts to 2,740 m2, spread over four floors measuring 650 m2 each and an attic spanning 140 m2. The rental price agreed with McCann amounts to €16.50/month (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Andalucía’s Culture Department Approves ‘La Equitativa’ Hotel Project in Málaga

18 January 2019 – Málaga Hoy

The majority owner of the La Equitativa building, which is behind the partial restoration of the property for the installation of a 5-star hotel, now has the path clear to obtain the building permit for the work. The Delegation of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía has just issued a favourable report for the renovation project, plans for which were submitted almost eight months ago, which paves the way for the Urban Planning Department to grant permission for the intervention.

That was confirmed to this newspaper by sources close to the owner company, who indicated that it was the last procedure that was pending with the municipal entity. In terms of the timeframes that the company is working with to launch the work, the same sources said that it will depend on the announcements made by the municipal entity, which will have to validate compliance with the other technical requirements before proceeding to grant the permit.

The unblocking of the hotel project came on 22 June, when Key International, an investment fund headquartered in Miami, acquired 100% of the east part of the building, which comprises a ground floor plus seven upper storeys, through the firm Alameda Retail. The sale and purchase operation also involved one home and a commercial premise, and although they barely account for 3% of this section of La Equitativa, they were limiting the possibility of the project going ahead as a hotel.

That circumstance forced the private firm to not rule out the possibility of opting for residential use for that part of the building. Having closed the purchase of the remaining buildings, an operation that required several weeks of negotiations with the tenants, the investment fund has free reign to push ahead with its first objective: hotel use. It was precisely that purpose that sparked the firm’s interest in buying La Equitativa in the first place, closing the purchase of 60% of the historical building, which had been owned by Rubcapel until that time.

At the end of April, through the company Key Continental, a request was filed with the Urban Planning Department to proceed with the renovation of the property for that purpose. The data points to an establishment with capacity for around 80 rooms, with an investment of around €14 million. In addition, there will be commercial premises on the ground floors.

Once the position of Delegation of Culture, which is in favour of the intervention, has been defined, then the company may soon resume contact with hotel chains to close an agreement for the management of the establishment.

The other part of La Equitativa corresponds to the tower, comprising 14 floors, which will also be renovated but which will retain its residential use. For that, the owner, Ingomar, also requested a building permit from the Urban Planning Department last October.

The restoration of this building, which is still in the processing phase, is part of a major transformation process currently on-going in La Alameda area, with the future arrival of the metro and the semi-pedestrianisation work, promoted by the Town Hall, as some of the main features.

Original story: Málaga Hoy (by Sebastián Sánchez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Mazabi Sells Fever’s New HQ in Central Madrid for €6M

14 January 2019 – Expansión

The Spanish family office Mazabi has decided to sell an office building that it owns along the Prado-Recoletos thoroughfare in Madrid, next to the Congress of Representatives.

The property, which has a surface area of 1,400 m2, spread over the basement and six upper floors, is located on Calle Santa Catalina, 4. Mazabi acquired the property three years ago as a value-added investment, and during this period, it has renovated it and found a new tenant to now sell it for a profit.

Specifically, the property is soon going to be home to the headquarters of the US social platform Fever in Spain. The company, which has headquarters in New York, London and Madrid, has decided to relocate to these new offices in light of its major growth plans. Fever’s employees are expected to move in once the renovation and design work for the new offices has been completed, in a period of approximately nine months.

The operation, which has been brokered by the real estate consultancy Catella, has been closed for €6 million. The buyer is a Spanish family office (…).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Málaga: One of Spain’s Top Cities for Hotel Investment Again in 2018

11 January 2019 – La Opinión de Málaga

Málaga has consolidated its position as one of the tourist areas with the highest volume of hotel investment in recent years, even though the data for 2018 was somewhat lower than that registered in 2017, which was an “extraordinary” year, according to a report presented yesterday by the consultancy firm Colliers International Spain. In this way, Málaga recorded a total investment of €215 million in 2018, which represented 5% of the national total, estimated at €4.81 billion. The study includes investments in existing hotels (improvements and sales/purchases) as well as those dedicated to land and non-hotel properties (for their conversion to hotel use).

The consultancy firm explained that hotel investment at the national level increased by 23.1% in 2018 with respect to the previous year, to achieve a “new historical maximum”. Nevertheless, in the case of Málaga, investment decreased by 50%, motivated by the high levels reached in the area in recent times, with a “very vertical” investment, which has made investors “more cautious” following an “extraordinary” 2017 (…), according to the Partner and Director for Hotels at the consultancy, Miguel Vázquez.

In 2018, ten hotel transactions were closed in Málaga (two in the capital and eight in the rest of the province). The most important deal was the purchase of a hotel by the Greek hotel group Ikos Resorts. In the capital, the purchases corresponded to NH Málaga and Vincci Málaga – in both cases, the ownership changed hands but the hotel management remained the same.

Two buildings were also purchased for hotel use, both in the capital: the Equitativa (acquired by the Didra investor group) and another on Calle Puerta del Mar, where the chain Catalonia is going to open a hotel. On the other hand, there were two land operations, also in the capital, by Room Mate and Well&Come.

The Canary Islands was ranked ahead of Málaga as the region that accounted for the most investment in 2018 (€1.63 billion), which represented 35% of the total, followed by the Balearic Islands, with €944 million (21%). Madrid accounted for another 13% of hotel investment (€601 million) whilst Barcelona recorded €244 million (5%), very similar figures to Málaga. The Catalan capital also saw its investment volume decrease by 50% in 2018, according to data from Colliers International Spain (…).

The strength of the holiday sector

Based on the figures for 2018, Spain was ranked in second place for hotel investment in Europe, behind the United Kingdom, according to data recorded to September 2018, with a market share of 24% of the total for the region, which amounted to €21.6 billion. In total, 273 hotels were purchased, containing 36,189 rooms, 91 more than during the previous year, when 182 establishments changed hands involving 28,813 rooms (…).

Original story: La Opinión de Málaga (by José Vicente Rodríguez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE: Hotel Investment Set a New Record of €4.9bn in 2018

10 January 2019 – Expansión

The hotel segment broke a new record last year thanks to two key operations: the takeover of Hispania by the US fund Blackstone and the takeover of the chain NH by the Thai firm Minor.

The hotel segment made history again in 2018 with a record investment volume of €4.9 billion, which represented an increase of 33% with respect to the previous year, boosted by the US fund Blackstone’s takeover of the Socimi Hispania and the Thai firm Minor’s takeover of the Spanish chain NH.

According to data from the consultancy CBRE, last year, 240 hotel assets were transacted in Spain spanning 36,500 rooms in total, which represents growth of 17% and 30%, respectively. In other words, more and larger-volume operations were closed in 2018 than in 2017.

The hotel market whereby completed five extraordinary years, driven by the excellent evolution of tourism. Spain is a market leader in this activity, with 81.9 million international visitors in 2017 and 81.2 million last year (…).

The most active investors in 2018 were institutional players, which accounted for 66% of operations, followed by hotel groups (21%) and private equity and family offices (13%). In the ranking of operations, the purchase of Hispania stands out, which ended up in the hands of Blackstone after the fund acquired more than 90% of that company. The US giant purchased the Hungarian-born magnate George Soros’ 16.56% stake in Hispania in April and, subsequently, launched a takeover valuing the company at €1.992 billion. After successfully completing the takeover in September, Blackstone became the largest hotel owner in Spain, with a portfolio of 46 assets and more than 13,144 rooms.

After the purchase of Hispania, came the takeover of NH by Minor. Following that operation, the Thai group became the owner of a portfolio of 350 hotels in Europe and Latin America – 30% of which are in Spain.

Other significant operations also included the entry into the market of the Chinese group Gaw Capital, which acquired 50% of the Hospes Hotel Group, worth €125 million, teaming up with Omega Capital, the family office owned by Alicia Koplowitz, owner of the other 50% of the chain.

In terms of individual assets, the purchase of the luxury Villa Magna Hotel in Madrid stands out. The Turkish group Dogus sold it to the Mexican Socimi RLH, chaired by Allen Sanginés-Krause for €210 million.

Renovation

The National Director of CBRE Hotels España, Jorge Ruiz, explained that, as well as the vertiginous sale of hotel assets, the notable investments in asset renovations stood out once again.

“The Spanish hotel stock is better equipped today to face the challenges on the horizon, such as the recovery of competing destinations, the impact of a hard Brexit and a slowdown in the Spanish economy”, he said.

Ruiz explained that, unlike during the previous upward cycle, hoteliers have opted to invest in renovating their portfolios, which will allow them to increase their prices.

In terms of the type of assets, vacation hotels accounted for 64% of investments, following the trend established in 2017, due in large part to the purchase of Hispania, whose hotels are located primarily on the Spanish islands and along the coastline. Investment in urban assets went from 40% to 36%. In 2018, the main star asset were 4-star hotels, which accounted for 64% of operations, followed by 5-star hotels, with 21%.

Star destinations

By destination, the Canary Islands accounted for 35% of investment, followed by the Balearic Islands, with 20%. The third-ranked location was Madrid, with 12%, followed by Barcelona (8%) and Málaga (5%) (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake