Restaura’s Former Directors Launch A €60M Fund

16 August 2016 – Expansión

AKM is transforming itself into an investment entity manager, regulated by the CNMV, and is finalising the September launch of a fund amounting to €60 million, which aims to buy and renovate residential buildings in Madrid and Barcelona.

The firm is led by Xavier González, who was executive Vice President of Restaura. One of its other founding partners is Fernando Conde Arriera, who was Commercial and Marketing Director of the same real estate company. The executive management team of the new management company also includes Lorenzo Abascal and Stephen Koen, both former Directors of Andosins, a holding company owned by the Cerqueda family, which in turn owns the Andorran bank Andbank, together with the Ribas family.

Since 2013, AKM has launched three funds with a combined capital value of almost €63 million and its portfolio contains a dozen real estate assets in Madrid and Barcelona. In the capital of Spain, the firm owns, amongst others, residential buildings located on Calles Francisco Silvela 65 and Menéndez Pelayo 41, as well as a complex of 14 properties on Arganzuela-Santa María de la Cabeza, containing 214 homes, 31 premises and 224 parking spaces.

Original story: Expansión (by J. Orihuel)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Kennedy Wilson & Renta Corporación Buy ‘Puerta del Sol, 9’ For €30M

18 May 2015 – El Mundo

The real estate group Restaura closed the sale of the building at Puerta del Sol, number 9, for more than €32.2 million on Wednesday. The ground floor of this historic property houses Casa Labra, the famous restaurant-cafeteria where Pablo Iglesias founded the PSOE on 2 May 1879.

A consortium created by the US fund Kennedy Wilson and Renta Corporación acquired the main property for €30 million; meanwhile, the owners of Casa Labra paid €2.3 million to purchase the ground floor, according to reports published yesterday by the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia. The property, which occupies 4,000 square metres, is currently in the process of obtaining a licence to accommodate shops; it is located in one of the most important retail areas of Madrid, next to El Corte Inglés and the Apple store.

The bid submitted by Renta Corporación and Kennedy Wilson beat those presented by other funds, including Axa Real Estate, Meyer Bergman and Thor Equities, which is some cases offered more money but with less immediate payment conditions and, therefore, less attractive for Restaura. Allegedly, the real estate consortium chaired by Xavier Solana needed immediate liquidity to meet the obligations arising from its bankruptcy – it owes Sareb €14.2 million, the Tax Authorities a further €6.2 million and Barclays another €3.7 million. As one of its creditors, Sareb tried to foreclose the mortgage and repossess the building.

Renta Corporación and Kennedy Wilson have created a company that has starred in some very important real estate transactions in Madrid and Barcelona (in recent months). Most notably, it purchased an office building in the district of Chamberí, which is going to be converted into luxury homes.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

Restaura Crawls Out From Bankruptcy Thanks to an 80% Release

8/07/2014 – El Mundo

Restaura reached an agreement with its lenders which allows it to get out from the insolvency status assigned to it in November 2011. In virtue of the contract, the company will be forgiven 80% of its indebtness, currently amounting to €118 million awaited to be paid-off within five years.

The equity owed to the Tax Office will be redeemed during a five-year waiting period. Apart from the agreement with the lenders, Restaura agreed with Sareb on allocation of real estate assets worth €45 million in order to cover the debt owed to banks.

“Normalization stage”

Restaura pointed out that the agreement which allowed it to crawl out from the bankruptcy process lays a foundation for revival of the firm´s real estate transactions, entering in the “normalization stage”. The new phase will be marked by cooperation with international investors on developing single buildings found in the prime areas in main Spanish cities.

For instance, the renovation of the Puerta del Sol building in Madrid, said to consume €40 million.

The real estate firm highlighted that the high quality assets found in its portfolio have played a crucial role at the moment of coming to an agreement with the lenders. It has allowed acquisition of over €200 million worth of assets during the negotiations process.

Also, branches of the Restaura Group, Montbeau Inmobiliaria and Zuritze both found in the bankruptcy process are going to obtain an 80% release with a five-year waiting term.

 

Original article: El Mundo

Translation: AURA REE