Tag: retail park

Celsa Sells Land In Santander To Ratisbona For €1.1M

3 May 2016 – Expansión

Celsa is selling land in Cantabria. The steel group owned by the Rubiralta family, which began negotiations to refinance its bank debt (€2,700 million) a few weeks ago, is finalising an agreement to sell off some land owned by its subsidiary Global Steel Wire (GSW) in Santander. The land in question is assigned for non industrial use. The plot is located on the Nueva Montaña industrial estate and has a total surface area of 3,167 m2.

According to sources close to Celsa, the sale is expected to be completed before the end of the month, for a consideration of €1.1 million. The purchaser is Ratisbona, a German company – with a subsidiary in Spain – which is dedicated to the promotion, construction and sale of warehouses assigned to supermarkets and retail parks, and which has carried out projects for chains such as Aldi, Lidl, Mercadona and Aki.

Background

This is not the first time that Celsa is selling land in Santander. In 2014, it sold another plot in Nueva Montaña, where the chain Bricomart built a centre. In 2015, the group commissioned Aguirre Newman to sell a portfolio of real estate assets owned by GSW in Santander, Castellbisbal and Sant Andreu de la Barca (Barcelona) and Toledo.

In the context of its negotiations with the banks, Celsa has submitted an industrial plan to its lender entities, which features a lamination factory in Bayone (France) as its star project, with an investment of up to €60 million.

Original story: Expansión (by J.Orihuel)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare Buys Four Retail Outlets In Almería For €20M

19 April 2016 – Valencia Plaza

Axiare Patrimonio has purchased four retail outlets in the Viapark retail park, located between Almería and Roquetas de Mar, for €20 million, according to a statement made by the Socimi to Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) on Monday.

These four outlets, which have a combined gross leasable surface area of 15,745 m2 and more than a thousand parking spaces are leased in their entirety to Decathlon, Carrefour, Bricomart and Kiabi.

The Socimi has highlighted that these retail spaces have “excellent” visibility, are easily accessible from the A7, the Mediterranean Highway, and are located in an area of “limited” competition, which comprises a population of approximately 385,000 inhabitants, which increases during the holiday season.

The CEO of Axiare, Luis López Herrera-Oria, highlighted that, with this operation, the company is strengthening its presence in the retail outlet segment and is continuing to pursue its strategy focusing on offices.

Following this acquisition, the total investments made by Axiare increase to almost €900 million, with a portfolio of 31 assets in the Spanish real estate sector. 72% of the properties in its portfolio are offices, 14% are logistics platforms and 14% are primarily retail outlets.

For this operation, Axiare has been advised by Aguirre Newman for commercial matters and Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, Malcolm Hollis and Cushman & Wakefield in the due diligence process, meanwhile, Solvia has managed the sale of the properties on behalf of one of its clients.

Original story: Valencia Plaza

Translation: Carmel Drake

JLL: Shopping Centre Investment Reaches Record High

7 October 2015 – Cinco Días

Real estate investment in the retail sector is breaking records, reaching levels above even those seen before the crisis. Total investment volumes amounted to €2,588 million during the first nine months of the year, an increase of 42% with respect to the same period last year, according to data from the real estate consultancy JLL.

The worst year of the crisis for this segment was 2011, when investors spent just €500 million in Spain during the whole year. At the other end of the spectrum, 2007 was the best year in terms of transaction volumes, which totalled almost €4,000 million.

During the last three quarters, 486 assets have been acquired in total through 46 operations, the majority of which have involved the purchase of shopping centres and prime retail parks (i.e. the largest assets in the best locations).

The star product for investors, by transaction volume, are shopping centres, which account for 52% of all sales. After these purchases, are their interest in individual shops (23%).

In Q3, the most noteworthy operations included the acquisitions made by Grupo Lar, which recently purchased the MegaPark de Barakaldo shopping centre for €170 million, in an operation that was advised by JLL, as well as the El Rosal shopping centre for €87.5 million. In addition, the Rivas Futura shopping centre was sold to Credit Suisse for €52 million and the Connecta Córdoba park was sold to MDSR Investments for €15.3 million.

Another highlight was the transactions involving two supermarket portfolios: the Caprabo Blue Box portfolio, which was sold to Meridia Capital for €97 million; and a group of Carrefour and Día supermarkets, which were purchased by Kennedy Wilson for €88 million.

Original story: Cinco Días (by A.S.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar Buys A Shopping Centre In Vizcaya For €170M

22 July 2015 – Expansión

Lar España Real Estate has agreed to purchase the Megapark de Baracaldo (Vizcaya) retail park and outlet from the fund Oaktree for €170 million, in a deal that represents the Socimi’s largest single investment to date.

Following this transaction, which will close in October, the listed company will have made a total investment in real estate assets of €828 million since its creation at the beginning of 2014.

Lar España is negotiating this purchase whilst it carries out a capital increase amounting to €135 million, according to the company’s reports to Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

The property acquired covers a surface area of 64,000 m2, of the Megapark de Baracaldo’s total surface area of 128,000 m2, which constitutes the largest retail space in the País Vasco and the fourth largest in Spain.

Specifically, Lar has acquired a retail park measuring 44,152 m2, which is home to 14 medium-sized retail outlets, which are leased to fashion, household and entertainment brands, such as Media Mark, Decathlon, El Corte Inglés and Toys R Us, amongst others.

Similarly, it has acquired a ‘factory outlet’, the only one in the North of the country, which contains 59 retail premises in its 19,395 m2 surface area, which are leased to Nike, Mango, Puma, Desigual and Purificación García.

Lar estimates that the site has an initial occupancy rate of 92% and a yield of 6.25%. (…).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lone Star Puts ‘Rivas Futura’ Retail Park Up For Sale

9 July 2015 – Cinco Días

The opportunistic fund Lone Star has put the Rivas Futura retail park, in the Madrilenian town of Rivas Vaciamadrid, up for sale. The retail space covers an area of more than 40,000 m2 and includes around 30 large stores, such as Toys’r’us, Leroy Merlin, Media Markt, Decathlon, Kiab and Prenatal.

The retail park opened in May 2006. In 2008, the insurance company Axa Reim purchased it from Avantis for €81 million. Subsequently, it was included in Eurohypo’s secured loan portfolio.

The asset was subsequently included in the so-called Project Octopus, loans that were sold by Commerzbank (after its acquisition of Eurohypo), which Lone Star ended up purchasing.

This retail park currently has an occupancy rate of 80% and market sources say that the sales price could stand at around €70 million. The transaction has been brokered by Knight Frank, which has declined to comment on proceedings.

In Spain, Lone Star also acquired Kutxabank’s real estate arm, Neinor, last December, for €930 million and obtained control over the former Basque cajas’ property management platform. This fund, led by Juan Pepa in Spain, is committed to the residential market, through Neinor, and has plans to invest up to €1,000 million in land.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Investment In Shopping Centres Exceeds €1,000M In H1 2015

1 July 2015 – El Confidencial

During the first three months of 2015, investment in shopping centres tripled to €520 million, compared with the €150 million recorded during the first quarter last year. In fact, in barely three months, the figures exceeded the sum of those recorded between 2010 and 2013. As such, the sector will close the first half of the year with total investment of just over €1,000 million and will reach €3,000 million within 19 months.

Those are the forecasts made by the consultancy Knight Frank, which expects that 2015 will close above the historical average, but that the investment volumes seen last year will not be repeated.

“Whilst 2014 and 2015 so far have been characterised by investment in prime shopping centres, of considerable size, the next few months will see investment opportunities involving smaller, core plus and value add products, in secondary cities”, says Elaine Beachill, Capital Markets Manager at Knight Frank. “Over the last 18 months, activity has focused on the best streets and areas of Madrid and Barcelona, but from now on, we will see transactions right across the country”.

In terms of the performance of shopping centres, Knight Frank highlights the strong results of smaller local centres, located in urban areas and secondary cities with a significant area of influence. The segment least affected by the crisis has been the prime High Street. Rents in retail stores on the main streets have remained stable and they have experienced low vacancy rates. “In fact, there is a significant shortage of space on the prime High Street and when a store becomes available, it is leased out very quickly”, says Félix Chamizo.

Nevertheless, established secondary sites – traditionally in less demand – have been the first choice for certain foreign brands setting up in Spain for the first time. That is the case of Hema, Dealz, Tiger and the Chinese retailers Mulaya and Okeysi. There is growing interest from retailers and investors in the area around la Puerta del Sol. Projects in the surrounding area, such as Canalejas, indicate a possible increase in rents in the area and certain retailers are already taking up position.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Elena Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Wang Jianlin Plans To Invest €3,000m In Macro-Complex In Madrid

22 January 2015 – Expansión

Following his investment in Atlético de Madrid, the Chinese tycoon, owner of the Edificio España, is studying the possibility of building a residential and tourist complex that would also include casinos. He is considering two locations: Campamento and Venta de la Rubia.

Yesterday, for the first time, the Chinese businessman, Wang Jianlin (pictured), owner of the conglomerate Wanda Group, confirmed his plans for the creation of a residential and leisure macro-complex in Madrid. “We have already had a meeting with the Spanish President and it is now up to Spain to take a decision”, said Wang in China, after signing an agreement to acquire 20% of the Atlético de Madrid football club.

The objective of Wang Jianlin, who has assets of more than $13,200 million, according to the most recent Forbes ranking, is to invest at least €3,000 million in the creation of an upmarket complex that would include up to 15,000 luxury homes. The development would also house leisure areas, such as a retail complex, theme parks and casinos. In fact, Jianlin has already hired the project’s creator from the gaming magnate Sheldon Adelson in Macau, say sources close to the entrepreneur.

Location

In terms of the location of the macro-complex, Wang Jianlin and his team have two options. On the one hand, the site in Venta de la Rubia, in Alcorcón, where Sheldon Adelson was going to build the failed Eurovegas project. On the other hand, an old barracks site in Campamento, in Madrid, which is currently owned by the Ministry of Defence.

In favour of the former are its location, close to Madrid’s tourist attractions, such as the Royal Palace, and crucially, the fact that it has a single owner, the central Government, which would massively simplify future negotiations regarding construction. Against, is the price that Jianlin would have to pay for the site, which covers almost 9 million square metres, and the fact that a development plan already exists and modifications to it may delay construction.

The second option, in Venta de la Rubia, is close to Santander’s business park, as well as to the land where Atlético de Madrid plans to build its new sports facilities; in addition, Wang would be allowed to create a tailor-made development plan for the site. Furthermore, the owners of the land, who are united through a Compensation Board and which include companies such as Metrovacesa and the Urtinsa group, would be willing to hand over some of the land for free – something they already offered to Adelson, according to real estate sources – since the rest would be re-valued.

Regardless of the location that Wang Jianlin and his team finally choose, the construction of this macro-complex would revitalise this area to the south-west of the capital. “The goal is to convert the Paseo de Extremadura into the new Castellana, and develop the whole of the surrounding area through the Jianlin complex”, explain sources close to the businessman.

“He is keen to start very soon”, said Enrique Cerezo, President of Atlético de Madrid, yesterday. Mr Cerezo has acted as a guide to Jianlin during his visits to Madrid. Yesterday, the President of the Community of Madrid, Ignacio González said that  “The regional government is “fully” committed”.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake