VIA Outlets will Start Renovating its Shopping Centre in Sevilla in Q4

11 October 2018 – Eje Prime

VIA Outlets has a start date for the remodelling and expansion of its shopping centre in Sevilla. The European group is going to start the building work on its Sevilla Fashion Outlet before the end of the year, according to explanations provided by the company to Eje Prime. The start of the complex’s reconstruction coincides with the opening of Torre Sevilla, owned by CaixaBank, and the relaunch in 2019 of Palmas Altas, owed by Lar España.

The company is going to invest more than €13 million in this comprehensive renovation project of the Sevillan outlet centre, the group’s second largest in Spain, after its complex in Mallorca. Amongst other aspects, “the building work will include the reconfiguration of the restaurant and food area”, says the company, which is also going to increase the number of parking spaces by approximately 40%.

In terms of aesthetic considerations, the renovation will involve a general remodelling of the centre, which will include a new façade, a renovated entrance and new common areas. “This, as a whole, will contribute to repositioning Sevilla Fashion Outlet as the only premium outlet in Andalucía”, says the group.

The retail complex has been owned by VIA Outlets since January 2017, when it purchased it from the fund Irus European Retail Property. With a surface area spanning 16,400 m2, Sevilla Fashion Outlet has already started the work to recondition and expand the complex’s parking area.

Founded in 2014 as a joint venture between  APG, Hammerson, Value Retail and Meyer Bergman, VIA Outlets has seen rapid growth in the real estate retail market. In just four years, the group has acquired eleven centres around Europe and, recently, it recruited two new senior managers. They were Otto Ambagtsheer (formerly of Unibail-Rodamco), who has been appointed as the Operations Director, and Peter Stals (formerly Blackrock),  who is the company’s new Finance Director (…).

The portfolio of VIA Outlets spans a gross leasable area (GLA) of more than 259,000 m2 and is home to more than 850 brands across the nine European countries in which it has a presence. In 2017, the group’s eleven centres recorded sales of more than €1 billion and were visited by more than 30 million people.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Jabier Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Vastned Buys Its Sixth Retail Store In Madrid For c. €10M

21 December 2016 – Expansión

The Dutch group Vastned is continuing to expand its real estate portfolio in Spain. The company has just acquired its sixth retail outlet in Madrid for around €10 million. The property, which has a surface area of 600 m2, is located at number 37 on Calle Fuencarral and is leased to the sports clothing and equipment brand Décimas.

Following this operation, Vastned now owns three stores on Calle Fuencarral; it already owned number 23 and 25 on the Madrilenian street. “Fuencarral is one of the most sought-after retail areas for operators, investors and domestic brands looking to expand their businesses due to its high footfall. As a result, store rents and prices per m2 in the area are on the rise”, explained Enric Vial, CEO at Retail Prime Locations, which advised Vastned in the operation.

Vastned owns another store on Calle del Carmen, next to Calle Preciados (the most expensive retail street in Madrid), as well as on Calle Serrano 36, which is leased to the luxury firm Ferragamo. In November, it purchased another store, located on Calle Ortega y Gasset, for €16 million, which is leased to the luxury shoe designer Jimmy Choo.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Deutsche Bank Buys Diagonal Mar For €495M

2 August 2016 – Expansión

Yesterday, Deutsche Bank completed the purchase of the Diagonal Mar shopping centre from Northwood for around €495 million, making it the largest shopping centre transaction in the history of the Spanish market.

In this way, although the final price has been adjusted downwards with respect to the non-binding offer presented by the entity (which valued the asset at €505 million), it still exceeds the €451 million that Intu Properties paid for Puerto Venecia (Zaragoza) and the €375 million that Klépierre spent on the acquisition of Plenilunio (Madrid).

The operation also generates significant capital gains for Northwood, which acquired the property from the Irish bad bank Nama for €150 million in 2015. CBRE has advised this operation on the sell-side, whilst Deloitte advised the buy-side.

Background

The shopping centre, located in district 22@ in Barcelona, has passed through many hands since the real estate company Hines was awarded the mixed use project at the end of the 1990s. The project included a residential area, offices, hotels and a large shopping centre, with a constructed surface area of 100,500 sqm and a gross leasable area (GLA) of 87,000 sqm, as well as 5,000 parking spaces.

In 2002, the German investment fund Deka paid around €240 million for the property, which, was subsequently sold, in 2006, to the Irish investment group Quinlan for €300 million, in its first operation in Spain. Nevertheless, following the burst of the Irish bubble, the asset was taken over by the banks.

Three years after that operation and in a very different economic environment, the property has generated a lot of interest. Specifically, 18 candidates submitted non-binding offers for the property, including Axa, Invesco, Hines, Unibail, the Singapore sovereign fund GIC, Blackstone and the Socimi Merlin, which was the only Spanish company that submitted an offer, for less than €450 million. Only four candidates participated in the final phase: CBRE Global Investment, ECE, Henderson TH and Deutsche Bank.

In order to reposition the asset, Deutsche Bank plans to invest €30 million over four years in a project that includes restructuring the top floor of the shopping centre to create more space for high-end fashion brands (€15 million), refurbishing the other floors with a budget of around €8 million and renovating the centre’s exterior façade for almost €7 million.

With this renovation, the purchaser expects to strengthen Diagonal Mar’s competitive position and increase its gross operating profit (EBITDA) over five years from €20 million in 2015 to more than €26 million.

Impact

The shopping centre, opened in November 2001, was designed by Jean-Louis Solal and the architect Robert A.M. Stern. Diagonal Mar is located in a prime spot, approximately five kilometres north east of the city centre. With more than 200 outlets dedicated to fashion, restaurants, leisure, a bowling alley and other services, the centre has 4,800 parking spaces and an outdoor space: La Terrassa del Mar. Diagonal Mar received 16.7 million visitors last year, up by 2.3% and generated net sales – excluding Alcampo (which falls outside of the transaction perimeter) – of €210 million, up by 8.5%. (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Savills Advises Sale Of Retail Outlet Portfolio In Puerto Banús

13 July 2016 – Mis Locales

Savills has advised the sale of a portfolio of five retail outlets in Puerto Banús.

The purchaser is a vehicle owned by domestic private investors, managed by N+1 Real Estate, and the consideration paid has not been disclosed.

Located on the waters edge in the marina, the five retail outlets have a combined gross leasable area of 578 sqm in an area that has the highest concentration of luxury brands per square metre in Spain and one of the highest footfalls of high end consumers in the country, with more than 5 million visitors per year. The five retail outlets are currently leased to fashion companies, including brands such as Guess and La Martina, restaurants and other services.

Alejandro Sánchez-Marco, Director of Private Wealth at Savills, explained that “Puerto Banús is a market that is very much in demand by the main operators in the luxury segment in the country. The high number of people that visit the marina in Puerto Banús each year and in particular the average expenditure profile in this area, mean that it has an occupancy rate of almost 100% and a confluence of the main operators in this segment, which attracts investor interest from the main domestic and international groups”.

The yield on commercial premises in luxury High Street areas with high footfalls in Spain, amounts to around 3.75% on average in Madrid and Barcelona, however, those yields can contract even more in the best locations. The main provincial capitals represent a good alternative for those investors seeking a product profile of this kind with a more attractive yield.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corum Convictions Sells Retail Outlet In Tarragona For €9.43M

31 May 2016 – Mis Locales

The real estate consultancy BNP Paribas Real Estate has advised Corum Convictions, the real estate investment company owned by Corum Am, regarding the sale of a retail outlet in Tarragona worth €9.43 million.

The asset, located in the Les Gavarres shopping area in Tarragona is leased to Media Markt, the European leader in the sale of domestic appliances and high quality IT equipment.

The property has been acquired by Actipierre Europe, the real estate company owned by Ciloger, which, in turn has been advised by Invesco Real Estate to carry out the transaction. Corum Convictions applies an open and opportunistic strategy to its investments with a high rate of distribution, and to this end, it invests in all types of assets (offices, shops, healthcare, hospitality, business, car parks…) both in France as well as across the Eurozone.

Vincent Dominique, Director of Corum Am, has said that “With this sale, we continue to drive our opportunistic acquisition and arbitrage strategy, which benefits from the effects of economic cycles. In fact, based on what we expected in 2013, the year in which the most recent economic cycle in Spain bottomed out, both in terms of the macroeconomic environment and the real estate investment sector, the decrease in rates has allowed an increase in asset values, which has resulted in high and secure rental income and first-rate tenants”.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aguirre Newman Puts Large High Street Portfolio Up For Sale

21 April 2016 – El Confidencial

Aguirre Newman has decided to put the “For Sale” sign up on one of the largest assets that it owns through its fund, Zaphir. The asset in question is a portfolio of retail outlets spread across Spain, all of which are located on major high streets. Moreover, unlike the operations carried out by the banks and El Corte Inglés, this portfolio has lots of different tenants.

The firm, which has engaged Arcano to lead the process, considers that this multiplicity of clients is an advantage, along with the €32 million of prior year tax losses recorded by the holding company that owns these premises, which mean that the operation carries tax advantages of around €8 million.

Zaphir has already started to show the 32 assets that comprise this operation to a restricted number of interested parties, mainly core investment funds, Socimis and large family offices, on the basis that the estimated sales price amounts to €80 million, according to sources familiar with the process.

Although the portfolio is spread across Spain, almost half of the premises (15) are located in Madrid and they account for 56% of the rental income, together with some first-rate properties, such as number 82 on Calle Serrano, which houses the Trussardi store.

Despite the interest that some of these premises may awaken individually, the operation has been structured as a “share deal”, in other words, the company will be sold in its entirety, which will allow the new owner to avoid paying taxes on the gains generated by these assets, and any others than it already owns, until the prior year tax losses have been offset.

The average yield of the portfolio is estimated to amount to 4-4.5%, whilst its historical occupancy rate stands at 90%, with clients ranging from retail giants such as Zara Home, Vips, Trussardi, Cortefiel and Punt Roma, to pound shops and newsagents.

The sales process

Aguirre Newman’s decision to sell this portfolio forms part of its divestment plans for the Zaphir fund, which just two months ago completed the transfer of its logistics assets to Neinver and Colony for €87 million.

But, this divestment also comes at a particularly sweet time for the sector, given that interest in investing in profitable real estate assets is at its peak, due to the environment of zero and negative interest rates and the recovery of the Spanish economy.

In fact, last year, according to several studies, almost €1,200 million was spent on transactions in the retail sector, and some establishments in prime areas were sold with yields of around 3%.

This year it is expected that operations involving this kind of asset will multiply, both on the high streets of major capitals, as well as in secondary cities. These operations are beginning to address the recovery in consumption and the growing interest for a presence in our country, from both major fashion firms (Inditex, Primark, H&M and Uniqlo) as well as from players in the restaurant world (the hamburger chain Five Guys has arrived in Spain, opening its first property in Madrid).

The calendar communicated to potential buyers allows for the presentation of non-binding offers within the next two weeks, with the aim of closing the operation before the summer. Aguirre Newman and Arcano both declined to comment on the operation.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Phalsbourg To Build Macro Shopping Centre In Torrejón

23 December 2015 – Expansión

The French group has purchased a plot of land measuring 138,000 m2 from the Town Hall of Torrejón, where it plans to develop a huge shopping centre.

The French group Compagnie de Phalsbourg, which specialises in the promotion and management of shopping centres, has chosen Spain for its first international adventure. The company, founded by Philippe Journo, has completed the purchase of a plot of land measuring 138,000 m2 in the Madrilenian suburb of Torrejón de Ardoz, where it plans to construct a huge shopping centre. “After more than 20 years of experience in France, we have decided to expand overseas. We have looked at opportunities all over the world, including in: China, Russia, Italy, Romania, etc. In the end, we have decided to invest in Spain because now is the right time here…”, explains Raphael Martin, the Director General of Compagnie de Phalsbourg.

The French group has been awarded this plot of land, which is located next to the Torrejón air base, through a public tender. It will pay €15.4 million (plus VAT) for the site. “We have just completed the land purchase and we want to begin construction at the beginning of April, so that the tenants can begin to move in during 2017 and then open their doors between April and May 2018”, says Martin.

The new shopping centre, called Open Sky, will have a retail surface area of 65,000 m2, spread across 60 stores, plus 2,500 parking spaces. “It will be an open concept containing, for the most part, fashion chains with stores of between 50m2 and 500m2, distributed along a corridor that will run for more than than 1.5km”. Compagnie de Phalsbourg will invest €110 million in the centre and will create around 450 jobs.

This is not the only project that Compagnie de Phalsbourg has underway in Spain. The company is also working on the second phase of this project, which involves the construction of an outlet centre measuring around 22,000 m2, designed by the renowned architect Philippe Starck.

“In total, we are going to invest €170 million, plus the amount that the brands will spend opening their stores. Up to 800 people will work at our complex in Torrejón”.

In addition, the French group, which owns assets worth €1,200 million, is evaluating other projects in the Spanish market. “We are looking at other locations in Madrid, Barcelona and the País Vasco”.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake